1 


JOHN    RANDOLPH 

From  original  given  by  Harmanus  Bleecker  to  the  State  of  Virginia,  in  State  Library. 


JOHN    RANDOLPH 

OF  ROANOKE 

i773-!833 

A  BIOGRAPHY   BASED  LARGELY   ON  NEW   MATERIAL 


BY 

WILLIAM    CABELL    BRUCE 

AUTHOR    OF 
BENJAMIN    FRANKLLN   SELF-REVEALED"   AND  "BELOW    THE   JAMES' 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 

VOLUME    II 


G. P.  Putnam's  Sons 
XewYork  g  London 

TL\)Z  Knickerbocker  $re*« 
1922 


Copyright,  1922 

by 

William  Cabell  Bruce 


ft'* 


V> 


1/ 


/h\ 


Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I. — "Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled" 


II.— The  End       . 

III.— The  Randolph  Will  Litigation 
IV. — Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator 

V. — Randolph's  District     . 
VI. — Randolph  on  the  Hustings 


VII. — General  Observations  on  Randolph  as  an 
Orator  . 


VIII. — Randolph  as  a  Statesman 
IX. — Randolph  as  a  Man 
X. — Conclusion 
Appendix 

Notes  for  Volume  I 
Notes  for  Volume  II  . 
Index 


i 
30 

49 

61 

98 

174 

199 
218 
252 
708 
713 
73i 
758 
787 


iu 


r>2  4.'H7 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

John  Randolph        ....  Frontispiece 

From  original  given  by  Harmanus  Bleecker  to  the  State 
of  Virginia,  in  Va.  State  Library 

Roanoke,  the  Seat  of  John  Randolph     .    .  360 

Taken  from  Howe's  Historical  Collections  of  Virginia 

John  Randolph  Bryan,  John  Randolph's  Godson     .     466 

From  the  original  painted  for  John  Randolph,  and  now 
owned  by  John  Stewart  Bryan  of  Richmond,  Va. 

Frances  Bland  Tucker  .....     504 

Half  sister  of  John  Randolph,  and  wife  of  Judge  Jno.  Coalter 

Judge  Henry  St.  George  Tucker  .         .         .512 

From  the  portrait  owned  by  the  Hon.  Henry  St.  George 
Tucker,  Lexington,  Va. 

Judge  N.  Beverley  Tucker 520 

From  a  portrait  owned  by  George  P.  Coleman,  Esq.,  of 
Williamsburg,  Va. 

Maria  Ward  .         .         .         .         .         .         .     568 

From  the  portrait  owned  by  William  Everard  Meade,  Dan- 
ville, Va. 

John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  .....  672 

By  William  Henry  Brown 


CHAPTER  I 
4  'Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled*  * 

When  Randolph  reached  Richmond  on  his  return  from 
Russia  to  Roanoke,  he  was  so  ill  that  he  had  to  take  to  his 
bed ;  and  to  bed  or  room  he  was  confined  until  a  day  or  so 
before  the  first  Monday  in  November,  when  he  found 
himself  strong  enough  to  proceed  to  Charlotte  Court 
House  and  to  address  the  people  there  on  that  day.  On 
the  second  Monday  of  November,  he  addressed  the  people 
of  Buckingham  County,  and  on  the  third  Monday  of 
November  the  people  of  Prince  Edward  County ;  and  he 
was  prevented  by  rain  only  from  addressing  the  people  of 
Cumberland  County  on  the  fourth  Monday  of  November. T 

In  all  these  speeches,  doubtless,  he  still  had  sufficient 
command  of  his  mental  faculties  to  display  some  of  his  old 
brilliancy  and  force.  This  was  certainly  true  of  his 
speeches  at  Charlotte  Court  House  and  Prince  Edward 
Court  House,  and  his  audience  at  Prince  Edward  Court 
House,  at  any  rate,  was  willing  to  listen  to  him  hour  after 
hour.  But  to  every  really  observant  person,  to  whom  he 
had  been  a  familiar  figure  in  the  past,  it  was  obvious  that 
he  was  demented;  and  this  impression  was  created  even 
more  by  what  he  said  and  did  when  off  the  hustings  than 
when  on. 

When  he  had  retired  from  Congress  in  1829,  he  had 
prevailed  on  Thomas  T.  Bouldin,  of  Charlotte  County, 
then  a  Circuit  Court  Judge,  to  resign  his  seat  on  the  bench 

1  Nov.  27,  1 83 1,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  79,  Libr.  Cong. 


p  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  to  become  his  successor.  Judge  Bouldin  always  said 
that  he  yielded  reluctantly  to  Randolph's  persuasion,  and 
only  subject  to  the  condition  suggested  by  him  that, 
whenever  Randolph  should  desire  to  resume  his  old  seat, 
he  should  be  at  liberty  to  do  so.  Judge  Bouldin  was 
elected,  and,  at  the  close  of  his  first  term,  offered  himself 
again  as  a  candidate  at  the  Congressional  election  in  April, 
1 83 1 .  In  the  meantime,  Randolph,  too,  while  in  Russia,  had 
formally  announced  himself  through  Judge  Leigh  as  a 
candidate  at  this  election,  but  without  notifying  Judge 
Bouldin  or  his  friends  of  his  intention  to  do  so.  Subse- 
quently, finding  that  he  could  not  get  back  to  the  United 
States  in  time  for  the  election,  he  withdrew  his  name  as  a 
candidate.  Before  he  did  this,  however,  Dr.  Geo.  W. 
Crump,  who  had  made  way  for  the  return  of  Randolph  to 
Congress  in  1827,  had  offered  himself  as  a  candidate  in 
opposition  to  Judge  Bouldin  with  a  view,  it  was  said,  of 
keeping  the  bed  warm  until  it  suited  Randolph's  con- 
venience to  get  into  it.  Judge  Bouldin  was  elected,  but 
not  until  much  bitterness  of  feeling  had  been  stirred  up 
among  his  friends  by  Randolph's  conduct,  which  did  not 
fail  to  excite  a  spirit  of  responsive  bitterness  in  Randolph ; 
and  the  action  of  Dr.  Crump  Randolph  considered  a  piece 
of  officious  impertinence,  as  it  had  been  taken  by  Dr. 
Crump  without  his  consent  or  knowledge.  But  how  he 
gave  vent  to  his  animosity  towards  each  of  the  two  offend- 
ers, we  will  let  the  Rev.  John  S.  Kirkpatrick,  a  Presby- 
terian clergyman,  tell  in  his  own  way. 

"About  a  month  after  his  arrival  from  Europe,  he  made 
the  speech  at  Prince  Edward  Court  House  which  I  heard.  Its 
avowed  purpose,  so  far  as  any  was  avowed,  was  to  set  himself 
right  before  the  people  with  reference  to  Judge  Bouldin,  but, 
in  the  six  hours  I  stood  drinking  in,  with  quenchless  avidity, 
every  word  from  his  lips,  I  heard  nothing  that  availed,  or  that 
I  could  suppose  was  expected  to  avail,  for  this  end.  True,  he 
had  much  to  say  of  Judge  Bouldin,  and,  for  the  most  part,  it 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  3 

was  highly  complimentary,  and  was  never  ostensibly  unkind; 
yet,  in  the  most  favorable  light,  in  which  his  character  and  life 
were  presented,  there  was  always  something,  in  the  allusion  or 
tone,  that  set  him  before  us  as  one  to  be  pitied,  and  borne  with, 
rather  than  one  to  be  approved  and  admired.  Judge  Bouldin, 
in  a  conference  with  Mr.  Randolph  the  week  before, 
incautiously  said  that,  for  his  own  part,  he  had  been  willing 
to  pass  by  the  slight  he  had  received;  but  that  his  sons  and 
sons-in-law  had  demanded  that  he  should  resent  it,  so  far  as  to 
persist  in  his  candidacy  for  Congress,  notwithstanding  Mr. 
Randolph  had  taken  the  field  against  him.  Over  and  over 
again  in  his  speech,  did  Mr.  Randolph  refer  to  this  admission, 
saying  that  Judge  Bouldin  was  a  'wax  nose,'  to  be  twisted, 
and  shaped,  and  turned,  in  one  direction  or  another,  by  his 
'sons  and  sons-in-law,'  at  their  pleasure.  'What  are  they,'  he 
would  say,  'that  he  should  surrender  his  judgment  to  theirs? 
He  had  more  sense  than  all  of  them  put  together. '  I  wondered 
why  he  so  often  came  over  the  words,  'sons  and  sons-in-law,' 
and  always  with  a  most  significant,  sneer-like  emphasis.  I 
afterwards  learned  that  one  of  the  'sons-in-law'  was  not  regarded 
as  a  credit  to  the  highly  respectable,  and  much  beloved,  family 
of  the  Judge. 

"Just  before  the  speaking  closed,  Judge  Bouldin  gave  an 
explanation  of  what  he  intended  by  the  remark  so  often  cited 
by  Mr.  Randolph,  but  I  did  not  gather  its  import,  for,  during 
all  the  time  he  was  speaking,  Mr.  Randolph,  sitting  behind  him, 
kept  us  amused  and  laughing  with  inter jectional  comments  on 
what  the  Judge  was  saying,  which,  piercing  our  ears  with 
[their]  fife-like  shrillness,  allowed  nothing  else  to  be  attended 
to.  Thus,  the  Judge's  opening  remark  was :  'What  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph has  stated  respecting  our  conference  at  Buckingham 
C.  H.  last  week  is  strictly  true.'  'Yes,  it  is  true,'  piped  out 
Randolph.  'I  never  told  but  one  lie  in  my  life,  and  then  my 
mother  liked  to  have  killed  me  for  it.'  And  so  throughout  the 
judge's  speech  of  ten  or  fifteen  minutes.  I  have  said  that,  in 
the  reference  to  Judge  Bouldin,  there  was  a  mingling  of  praise 
and  disparagement,  yet  all  so  manoeuvered  that  no  offence  could 
be  taken,  or,  at  least,  confessed  to  have  been  taken.  Speaking 
of  the  Judge's  amiable  character,  Mr.  Randolph  declared  that 


4  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

he  loved  him  dearly.  'Yes,'  he  emphasized,  'with  all  his  faults 
I  love  him — and  you  all  know  and  regret  that  he  has  some;  as 
I  trust  he  loves  me  with  all  mine,  which,  although  of  another 
kind,  are  greater  than  his.'  Closing  what  appeared  to  be  a 
sincere  and  fervent  eulogy  of  the  Judge,  in  which  he  spoke  of 
his  talents,  integrity,  and  public  services,  he  reverted  to  his 
kindness  of  heart  and  gentle  manners,  and  ended  in  these 
words:  'I  do  not  believe  that  a  more  amiable  man  breathes 
on  the  earth  than  Judge  Bouldin.  Great  pity  he  isn't  a  woman !' 
If  there  was  kindness,  real  or  affected,  towards  Judge  Bouldin, 
there  was  none  toward  Dr.  Crump,  but,  instead,  undisguised, 
undiluted  bitterness.  His  offence  was  that  he  had  offered  himself 
as  a  candidate  for  Congress  in  Mr.  Randolph's  old  district,  not, 
indeed,  in  opposition  to  the  latter,  but,  far  worse,  as  the  friend, 
the  vindicator  or  substitute,  unsolicited,  and  unauthorized  by 
him.  This  was  a  presumption  for  which  there  was  no  atone- 
ment and  no  mercy.  The  castigation  of  Dr.  Crump  was 
reserved  for  the  cap-stone  of  the  whole-day  speech,  as  though 
his  audacity  had  supplied  the  materials  for  the  tower,  nay,  the 
very  spire,  of  a  climax.  In  his  invective,  Mr.  Randolph  said  in 
a  tone  in  which  contempt  and  hatred  were  so  blended  it  was 
hard  to  tell  which  predominated:  'I  have  a  very  slight  ac- 
quaintance with  the  gentleman.  True,  he  once  made  me  a 
visit  at  my  home,  but  he  came  uninvited,  and  departed  when 
he  chose  to  do  so.'  Dr.  Crump,  who  was  present,  and  heard 
with  apparent  composure  all  that  was  said  about  him,  at- 
tempted a  vindication  of  his  character  from  this  last  attack, 
and,  stepping  forward,  as  Judge  Bouldin  desisted  from  his  vain 
effort  to  get  a  hearing,  stated  that  he  did  make  the  visit  to 
which  a  reference  had  been  made,  but  that  it  was  in  compli- 
ance with  an  express,  urgent,  written  invitation  from  Mr. 
Randolph — that  he  had  been  cordially  received,  and  hospitably 
entertained.  He  went  on  to  detail  the  occasion,  reasons,  and 
all  the  circumstances  of  the  invitation  and  the  visit.  But  Mr. 
Randolph  would  not  hear  him ;  for,  as  soon  as  he  began  speak- 
ing, the  former  commenced  his  preparations  for  leaving  the 
house,  and,  as  he  was  being  supported  and  led  by  his  body- 
guard, from  his  seat  to  the  door,  he  discharged  his  last,  the 
Parthian  arrow — 'I  never  did  invite  you  to  my  house,  and, 


" Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled"  5 

what  is  more,  I  never  mean  to  do  it. '  (a)  These  were  the  last 
words  I  heard  from  Mr.  Randolph  that  day.  These  personal 
encounters  between  the  parties  named  could  have  consumed 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  day."1 

The  burden  of  Randolph's  speech  at  Prince  Edward 
Court  House  was  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  painful 
decadence  undergone  by  Virginia  in  recent  years,  and  the 
inferiority  of  the  younger  men  of  his  old  district  to  their 
fathers.  Thus,  after  making  a  slurring,  though  partly 
complimentary,  reference  to  Wm.  M.  Watkins,  the  brother 
of  Henry  A.  Watkins,  (b)  he  went  on  to  say,  according  to 
his  own  subsequent  version  of  his  words,  that  his  friend, 
Henry  A.  Watkins,  although  one  of  the  kindest  and  best 
men  in  the  world,  would  be  the  first  to  admit  the  higher 
claims  of  his  father  on  the  country  for  general  utility  and 
energy  of  character;  that  [this  sportively]  he  was  too  old 
to  know  much  of  his  father's  sons  personally  but  that  he 
could  venture  to  affirm  that,  placed  in  their  grandfather's 
shoes,  and  having  to  keep  off  the  calf  whilst  the  wife 
milked  the  cow,  they  never  would  have  achieved  what  the 
grandfather  had  done  in  point  of  character  and  fortune. 
The  latent  malice  in  these  remarks  is  too  manifest  to 
require  comment.  Equally  slighting,  too,  were  similar 
observations  made  by  Randolph  on  the  descendants  of 
Capt.  John  Morton,  Col.  Wm.  Morton,  Capt.  Nat.  Price, 
Patrick  Henry,  George  Mason,  Chief  Justice  Marshall, 
John  Wickham  and  John  Taylor  of  Caroline;  "In 
short,"  he  said,  "look  at  the  Lees,  Washingtons,  Ran- 
dolphs— what  woeful  degeneracy."2 

Disordered  as  Randolph's  mind  was  at  this  time,  the 
following  words  from  a  letter,  written  by  him  to  Dr. 
Brockenbrough  from  Charlotte  Court  House  immediately 
after  he  had  addressed  the  people  of  Buckingham  County, 

1  Personal  Recollections  of  the  Rev.  Jno.  S.  Kirkpatrick,  D.D.,  MSS. 

2  Letter  from  J.  R.  to  H.  A.  Watkins,  Jan.  21,  1832,  filed  in  Coalter's 
Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  exor.,  Cl'k's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va. 


6  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

furnish  proof  enough  that  his  old  literary  instinct  for  form 
and  color  had  not  deserted  him : 

"  On  my  road  to  Buckingham,  I  passed  a  night  in  Farmville, 
in  an  apartment  which  in  England  they  would  not  have  thought 
fit  for  my  servant;  nor  on  the  continent  did  I  ever  occupy  so 
mean  a  one.  Wherever  I  stop,  it  is  the  same — walls  black  and 
filthy— bed  and  furniture  sordid— furniture  scanty  and  mean, 
generally  broken — no  mirror — no  fire-irons — in  short,  dirt  and 
discomfort,  universally  prevail,  and  in  most  private  houses  the 
matter  is  not  mended.  The  cows  milked  half  a  mile  off — or  not 
got  up,  and  no  milk  to  be  had  at  any  distance — no  Jordan — in 
fact,  the  old  gentry  are  gone  and  the  nouveaux  riches,  where 
they  have  the  inclination,  do  not  know  how  to  live.  Biscuit, 
not  half  cuit,  every  thing,  animal  and  vegetable,  smeared  with 
melted  butter  or  lard.  Poverty  stalking  through  the  land, 
while  we  are  engaged  in  political  metaphysics,  and,  amidst  our 
filth  and  vermin,  like  the  Spaniard  and  Portuguese,  look  down 
with  contempt  on  other  nations,  England  and  France  espe- 
cially. We  hug  our  lousy  cloaks  around  us,  take  another  chaw 
oftubbacker,  float  the  room  with  nastiness,  or  ruin  the  grate  and 
fire-irons,  where  they  happen  not  to  be  rusty,  and  try  con- 
clusions upon  constitutional  points."1  (a) 

During  the  winter  of  1 831-1832,  Randolph's  dementia 
assumed  a  more  and  more  tragic  character,  to  which  drink 
and  the  habitual  use  of  opium,  fastened  upon  him  by  the 
promptings  of  disease  and  pain,  added  their  dark  pigments 
too.  In  the  opinion  of  John  Marshall,  of  Charlotte 
County,  and  Judge  Wm.  Leigh,  his  two  most  intimate 
friends,  in  his  last  years  he  was  an  insane  man  from  the 
time  of  his  return  from  Russia  until  the  month  of  May, 
1832,  when  his  mind  cleared  up  and  became  once  more 
comparatively  serene;  a  condition  which,  with  occasional 
aberrations,  continued  almost  until  the  last  hours  of  his  life. 2 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  344. 

a  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Cl'k's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  7 

No  good  purpose  would  be  subserved  by  going  very 
deeply  into  the  painful  testimony  which  was  brought  out 
with  respect  to  the  insanity  of  Randolph  at  this  period 
during  the  course  of  the  litigation  that  was  subsequently 
waged  over  his  wills. 

No  small  part  of  his  unreasoning  impulses  and  actions 
sprang  from  his  belief  that  all,  or  practically  all,  of  his 
overseers  and  slaves  had  been  faithless  to  him  during  his 
absence.  That  there  had  been  indeed  considerable  mis- 
conduct on  the  part  of  some  of  his  slaves,  and  a  certain 
degree  of  dereliction  of  duty  on  the  part  of  his  overseers, 
evidence  is  by  no  means  lacking  to  establish ;  but  a  shortage 
in  his  usual  crop  and  a  theft  of  wool  by  his  negro  head- 
man would  seem  to  have  afforded  the  only  really  sub- 
stantial justification  for  a  mad  resentment  which  involved 
every  one  on  his  Roanoke  plantations  in  its  excesses. 

Among  his  favorite  servants  were  an  old  man  whom  he 
called  "Daddy  Essex,"  and  his  beloved  John  and  Juba; 
but  now  his  heart  was  steeled  against  them  too.  When- 
ever Essex  came  into  his  presence,  he  would  break  out 
into  a  fit  of  passion.  He  accused  him  of  keeping  a  tavern 
during  his  absence  and  entertaining  a  peddler,  and  even 
went  so  far  as  to  strike  him  with  a  stick.  Of  John  and 
Juba,  though  he  was  slow  to  withdraw  his  confidence  from 
John,  he  said:  "When  I  arrived  in  New  York,  I  would 
not  have  taken  for  John  or  Juba,  or  for  the  smallest  child 
either  of  them  had,  2,000  guineas ;  but  now  I  would  as  soon 
sell  them  to  a  negro  trader  as  not. ' '  Finally,  he  sent  off  all , 
or  nearly  all,  of  his  house  servants,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
to  a  plantation  owned  by  Judge  Leigh  on  Dan  River. 
Even  John  was  driven  for  a  time  into  exile  from  his  person. 
In  place  of  these  trained  servants,  he  introduced  a  number 
of  "cornfield"  negroes  into  his  house;  among  them  a  field 
hand  named  Moses,  whom  he  called  "Bull,"  and  of  whom 
he  was  soon  heard  saying:  "Moses  goes  rooting  about 
the  house  like  a  hog."     Once  or  twice  he  even  either 


8  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

inflicted,  or  attempted  to  inflict,  personal  injuries  upon 
members  of  his  household.  ■ 

His  mind  also  became  enslaved  to  strange  hallucinations. 
One  was  that  his  life  depended  upon  ass'  milk,  and  some  of 
his  later  letters  to  his  friend  Nathan  Loughborough  are 
filled  with  feverish  appeals  to  him  to  hasten  the  progress 
to  Roanoke  of  certain  jennies  that  Loughborough  had 
undertaken  to  forward  to  him  for  the  purpose  of  supplying 
him  with  such  milk. 2  Then  later,  when  he  had  two  fine 
jennies  at  Roanoke,  and  was  having  them  milked  daily,  his 
mind  cherished  the  delusion  that  he  was  under  a  contract 
with  His  Satanic-  Majesty  not  to  drink  any  of  this  milk 
until  he  had  purchased  two  colts  or  horses  which  had  been 
sired  by  his  stallion,  Janus.  On  one  occasion,  he  told 
Judge  Leigh  that  he  was  glad  of  his  arrival,  because  Mrs. 
Leigh  and  her  little  boy  had  been  upstairs  in  his  house  for 
sometime,  and  that  he  had  had  hard  work  to  keep  the 
devils  from  them ;  on  another,  that  there  was  a  man  in  the 
next  room  writing  a  dead  man's  will  with  a  dead  man's 
hand. 

He  at  times  exhibited  angry  and  vindictive  feelings 
against  almost  all  persons  with  whom  he  had  had  any 
intercourse,  with  a  few  exceptions,  and  occasionally  he 
was  possessed  by  the  sheer  desire  to  kill  of  a  maniac. 3 

The  very  first  time  that  Judge  Leigh  saw  him  after  his 
return  from  Russia  he  became  satisfied  that  his  mind  was 
disordered. 

"My  opinion,"  Judge  Leigh  testified  in  the  litigation  over 
Randolph's  wills,  "was  formed  upon  his  appearance  and  man- 
ner— and  the  total  change  in  his  language,  feelings,  and  con- 
duct. He  had  in  his  appearance  a  fierce  wildness ;  he  was  ever 
restless,  scarcely  ever  still,  and  took  more  exercise  than  I 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Cl'k's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va.  2  Nathan  Loughborough,  MSS. 

3  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clerk's  office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Peters- 
burg, Va. 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  9 

thought  he  was  able  to  bear;  he  had  gusts  of  extreme  passion 
without  adequate  cause,  and  he  seemed  to  me  when  I  was  with 
him  to  sleep  scarcely  at  all."2 

In  many  respects,  as  is  too  often  the  case  when  the  mind 
is  dethroned,  he  was  the  exact  reverse  of  his  former  self. 
Edmund  Badger,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  hotel  in 
Philadelphia,  in  which  Randolph  died,  testified  in  the 
Randolph  will  litigation  that,  even  in  his  last  hours, 
Randolph's  manner  was  "peculiarly  pleasing  and  enter- 
taining." Now  it  was  excited,  irate,  savage.  Before,  his 
mode  of  living  had  been  generous ;  now  it  was  penurious. 
His  conversation  was  at  times  obscene,  though  John 
Marshall,  who  had  known  him  intimately  for  years,  testi- 
fied in  the  same  litigation :  "I  never  heard  him  use  such 
language  previous  to  his  return  from  Russia.  He  was 
generally  very  chaste  and  delicate  in  his  language."  His 
relations  to  women  had  always  been  marked  by  the  highest 
degree  of  chivalrous  deference  and  refinement.  At  this 
time,  he  wrote  on  one  occasion  to  Henry  A.  Watkins :  "I 
write  with  a  blotting  pen,  upon  greasy  paper — unclean,  all 
offensive  in  the  eye  of  God.  I  am  under  the  powerful 
influence  of  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  who  tempts  me  with  a 
beautiful  mulattress."  In  the  past,  his  treatment  of  his 
slaves  had  been  so  kind  and,  in  many  instances,  affection- 
ate that  John  Marshall  testified  in  the  will  litigation 
"that  his  slaves  almost  worshipped  him";  now  he  was 
harsh  and  abusive  to  them  to  an  extreme  degree.  He 
had  always  been  truth  itself,  and  now  he  repeatedly  re- 
sorted to  cunning  or  falsehood  to  carry  some  freakish 
point.  * 

If  anyone  has  been  so  fortunate  as  never  to  have  had 
a  relation  or  friend  bereft  of  reason,  and  is  yet  desirous  of 
knowing  how  pitiable  is  the  estate  of  "the  fair  and  radiant 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clerk's  office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg,* 
Va.  2  Id. 


io  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

palace,"  in  which  the  soul  resides  in  health,  when  it  is  no 
longer  "by  good  angels  tenanted,"  all  that  he  has  to  do  is 
to  peer  into  the  black  prison-house  of  frenzy,  horror, 
sensual  nakedness,  and  despair  which  the  depositions  in 
the  Randolph  will  litigation  exposed  to  the  eye  of  court 
and  jury. 

About  the  25th  day  of  April,  1831,  Randolph  was  re- 
moved to  the  home  of  John  Marshall,  at  Charlotte  Court 
House,  at  a  time  when  his  condition  was  so  feeble  that 
his  death  seemed  near  at  hand,  (a)  In  the  will  litigation, 
Marshall  testified  that,  while  there,  Randolph  sent  for 
him  very  often,  and,  when  he  came  into  his  room,  would 
frequently  say:  "You  are  too  late,  it  is  all  over."  And 
sometimes  he  had  a  small  bell  in  his  hand  which  he  would 
ring  slowly  and  say:  "It  is  all  over";  and  sometimes, 
instead  of  ringing  the  bell  himself,  he  would  make  John 
ring  it.  Again,  at  times,  he  would  seem  to  be  perturbed 
by  some  vague  fear  and  would  ask  Marshall  if  he  would 
stand  by  him,  and  yet  no  sooner  would  Marshall  come 
into  his  room  than  he  would  exercise  all  the  address,  of 
which  he  was  capable,  to  induce  him  by  one  suggestion  or 
another  to  leave  it.  But  it  is  gratifying  to  state  that  in 
the  ashes  of  Randolph's  former  identity,  after  he  returned 
from  Russia,  there  still  lived  some  of  its  nobler  traits. 
Though  he  could  no  longer  say  grace  at  his  table  without 
being  at  times  incited  to  profanity  by  some  trivial  occur- 
rence, he  still  persisted  in  going  through  its  forms.  A 
witness  in  the  will  litigation,  Wyatt  Car  dwell,  testified 
that  once,  when  John  was  given  a  whipping  at  his  master's 
instance  for  gross  misconduct,  it  was  plain  that  the  latter 
was  pleased  to  see  how  lightly  the  chastisement  was 
administered.  On  one  occasion,  during  dinner  at  Roanoke, 
when  Judge  Leigh  was  present,  Randolph  spoke  of  Judge 
Leigh's  grave  face,  and  later  said  that  he  was  sorry  that 
Leigh  had  come.  But,  when  he  saw  that  Leigh's  feelings 
"were  hurt,  he  arose  from  his  seat,  and  took  one  of  his  old 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  1 1 

friend's  hands  in  both  of  his  and  shook  it,  uttering  a  sooth- 
ing word  as  he  did  so  in  his  kindest  tone. 

More  than  once,  when  he  was  attempting  to  make  a 
fresh  will,  his  mind  reverted  to  the  desire  to  emancipate  all 
his  slaves  that  was  such  a  rich  refrain  in  his  life ;  though 
in  executing  a  previous  will  which  was  stricken  down  after 
his  death,  as  the  fruit  of  mental  incompetency,  he  had 
forsaken  for  a  time  this  purpose.  He  had  a  small  phial  of 
the  opiate  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  using  so  freely  after 
his  return  from  Russia.  It  was  labelled  ''poison,"  and  he 
declared  that  he  kept  this  phial  so  that  he  could  use  its 
contents  to  put  an  end  to  his  existence  in  case  he  should  do 
anything  dishonorable.  Much  else  had  been  completely 
transformed,  but  his  honorable  spirit  still  strove  to  work 
itself  free  from  the  murk  of  insanity. ■  (a) 

"I  am  fast  sinking,"  he  said,  "into  an  opium-eating  sot; 
but,  please  God!  I  will  shake  off  the  incubus  yet  before  I  die; 
for,  whatever  difference  of  opinion  may  exist  on  the  subject  of 
suicide,  there  can  be  none  as  to  'rushing  into  the  presence  of  our 
Creator'  in  a  state  of  drunkenness,  whether  produced  by  opium 
or  brandy."2 

But  even  the  sad  Acheron  or  the  black  Cocytus  of 
mental  distraction  is  lit  up  by  a  momentary  gleam  now 
and  then.  In  the  possession  of  the  Library  of  Congress, 
are  quite  a  number  of  letters  written  by  Randolph  to 
Andrew  Jackson  between  the  date  of  his  return  from 
Russia  and  the  date  of  his  temporary  restoration  to  reason 
in  May,  1832;  and  it  is  impossible  to  note  some  of  the 
vagaries  that  play  over  these  letters,  melancholy  as  is  the 
infirmity  revealed  by  them  as  a  whole,  without  a  smile.  It 
is  certain  that  such  an  irascible  man  as  Andrew  Jackson 
would  never  have  submitted  as  patiently  as  he  did  to 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Cl'k's  Offce,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

2  Garland,  v.  2,  344. 


12  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Randolph's  criticisms  in  some  of  the  letters  on  the  mem- 
bers of  his  first  and  second  cabinets  had  he  not  been  fully 
conscious  of  the  mental  irresponsibility  of  the  writer. 

In  one  letter,  Randoph  expressed  his  regret  that  Jack- 
son had  been  surrounded  by  such  advisers,  with  a  single 
exception,  as  the  members  of  his  first  cabinet;  and  also  his 
fear  that  "Leviathan"  (the  Bank  of  the  United  States) 
had  too  many  friends  among  the  members  of  his  second 
cabinet,  and  that  this  was  true  not  only  of  the  "monster  in 
Chestnut  Street"  but  of  the  "American  System"  and 
Internal  Improvements  too. x 

In  a  later  letter,  Randolph  declared  that  Jackson's  first 
Lord  of  the  Treasury  was  most  assuredly  leading  him 
to  the  Caudian  Forks  where  he  must  be  politically 
Burgoyned. 2 

In  another  letter,  he  informed  Jackson  that  he  deemed 
it  his  duty  to  tell  him  as  a  friend  that  he  was  surrounded 
by  evil  counsellors. 3  In  the  same  letter,  with  his  usual 
honesty,  sane  or  insane,  he  let  Jackson  know  that  his  views 
differed  from  his  in  regard  to  the  Tariff,  Internal  Improve- 
ments, and  the  Distribution  of  the  Federal  Surplus,  and 
that,  if  Jackson  were  a  friend  of  the  Chestnut  Street 
Monster,  as  he  was  its  bitter  enemy,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  him  to  support  him  cordially. 

Later,  in  still  another  letter,  he  hinted  that  "Levia- 
than" was  making  loans  to  needy  members  of  Congress 
and  to  Cabinet  ministers  in  embarrassed  circumstances, 
who  had  houses  full  of  children  and  no  estate. 4 

In  yet  another  letter,  he  warned  Jackson  that,  if  the 
latter  did  not  avert  the  impending  struggle  between  the 
great  slave-holding  interest  and  the  Federal  Government 
by  a  prompt  redress  of  the  intolerable  wrongs  of  that 

1  Richm.,  Oct.  29,  1831,  Jackson  Papers;  v.  79,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Mar.  11,  1832,  Id. 

3  Dec.  19,  1831,  Jackson  Papers  v.  79,  Libr.  Cong. 

4  Roanoke,  Mar.  11,  1832,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  80,  Libr.  Cong. 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  *  13 

interest,  he  should,  with  Earl  Grey,  "stand  by  his  order." x 
In  this  letter,  he  also  said : 

"I  am  resolute  not  to  assist  in  the  subjugation  of  South 
Carolina;  but,  if  she  does  move  (as  I  fear  she  will),  to  make 
common  cause  with  her  against  the  usurpations  of  the  Federal 
Government  and  of  the  Supreme  Court  especially.  The  late 
infamous  decision  of  those  minions  of  arbitrary  power  will 
give  us  Georgia.  Everything  south  of  Ohio,  except  perhaps 
Kentucky  and  the  western  district  of  Virginia,  must  be  with  us. 
With  this  noble  country  and  Cuba,  where  we  can  make  a  hogs- 
head of  sugar  as  easily  as  a  pound  can  be  grown  on  the 
Mississippi  or  in  Florida,  we  shall  have  a  vast  empire  capable  of 
indefinite  improvement  and  of  supporting  easily  40,000,000 
of  people." 

With  Havana  and  the  Bay  of  Tampa,  the  only  port  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  capable  of  receiving  a  first  rate  line-of- 
battle  ship,  they  would  have,  Randolph  also  said,  a  slip- 
knot around  the  throat  of  the  Mississippi,  and  could 
strangle  the  commerce  of  the  "free  States,"  northwest  of 
the  River  Ohio,  if  these  States  gave  them  any  annoyance. 
The  imminence  of  a  deadly  breach  between  the  Northern 
and  Southern  portions  of  the  United  States  was  not  so 
great,  however,  that  one  of  the  proudest  men  in  the  world, 
when  he  was  himself,  could  not  urge  Jackson  in  this  letter 
to  send  him  as  our  minister  either  to  London,  where  Van 
Buren  then  was,  or  to  Paris. 

"Van,"  he  said,  "is  the  best  of  the  set,  but  he  is  too  great  an 
intriguer,  and  besides  wants  personal  dignity  and  weight  of 
character.  He  is  an  adroit,  dapper,  little  managing  man, 
but  he  can't  inspire  respect,  much  less  veneration.  He  is  very 
well  in  his  place — not  where  he  now  is,  because  the  English 
are  the  most  fastidious  people  on  earth.  You  may  talk  as 
much  nonsense  as  you  please,  but  you  must  not  betray  a 
want  of  education.     Now,  Van  Buren  cannot  speak  or  write 

1  Roanoke,  Mar.  18,  1832,  Id. 


14  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  English  language  correctly,  and  I  can  see  the  eyebrows  of 
the  fashionable  raised  at  his  false  pronunciation.  He  always 
says  'considerable'  for  considerable,  etc.,  etc.  A  single 
substitution  of  will  for  shall,  or  a  single  false  quantity  would 
blow  him  up.  (a)  For  either  of  these  embassies  I  offer  you  my 
services.  For  that  of  England  I  am  more  fit  than  any  man  I 
know,  unless  perhaps  Mr.  Gallatin.  For  that  and  a  popular 
assembly  or  a  public  meeting  I  am  particularly  well  qualified. 
You  must  not  send  needy  people  abroad  but  especially  to 
England.  Your  minister  there  must  give  as  well  as  receive  din- 
ners. I  ask  no  outfit — let  the  one  I  have  serve,  and  I  will  go, 
stay  out  my  two,  three  or  four  years.  Don't  mistake  me,  I 
am  not  asking  for  office — I  scorn  it  and  spurn  the  idea." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  from  Roanoke,  Randolph's  mind, 
or  what  was  left  of  it,  was  still  running  on  the  same  subject, 
and  he  said  that,  if  Jackson  would  send  him  to  England  as 
an  unpaid,  secret,  confidential  agent,  he  would  discharge 
the  duties  of  the  mission  gratuitously;  that  his  character 
stood  high  with  all  parties  in  England ;  that  Lords  Harrow- 
by,  Calthorpe,  and  Wynford,  late  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Bench  of  Common  Pleas,  looked  upon  him  as  a  high  aristo- 
crat, and  that  even  old  Eldon  was  in  the  habit  of  giving 
him  a  nod  of  recognition.  "I  stand  well  with  every 
interest  in  England,"  he  said.  "There  I  am  Alcibiades; 
here  Diogenes."  In  the  same  letter,  Randolph  further 
said :  "Ina  word  I  can  do,  and,  if  you  shall  permit  me,  I 
will  do,  our  country  and  your  administration  more  service 
for  nothing  than  you  can  procure  from  all  your  diplomatic 
troops  abroad,  and  I  serve  volunteer  and  find  myself.  I 
do  not  ask  even  a  ration." * 

Granting  that  Alcibiades  and  Diogenes  were  not  beyond 
the  range  of  Andrew  Jackson's  early  classical  education, 
he  must  have  felt  somewhat  perplexed  when  he  received 
these  words  in  an  earlier  letter  from  Randolph : 

1  Roanoke,  Mar.  28,  1828  (sic),  really  1832,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  80,  Libr. 
Cong. 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  15 

"But,  my  dear  Sir,  your  letter  has  lifted  a  load  from  my 
mind  and  put  me  where  I  hope  ever  to  stand  in  my  own  court 
towards  you — on  a  footing  of  unreserved  confidence  and 
esteem,  and,  so  long  as  I  have  this  feeling  in  my  own  breast,  I 
shall  feel  assured  of  your  reciprocal  friendship  for  me.  If 
Alexander  be  satisfied  of  the  friendship  of  Hephaestus,  he  will 
care  little  about  his  estimation  of  his  lieutenants.  Now,  al- 
though you  are  not  Alexander  (that  would  be  fulsome  flattery), 
and  I  trust  that  I  am  something  better  than  his  minion  (the 
nature  of  their  connection,  if  I  forget  not,  was  Greek  love), 
yet,  if  I  could  discern  in  your  lieutenants  an  Eumenes,  or  even 
an  Antigonus,  Lysimachus,  Perdiccas  or  Antipater  he  should 
have  my  voice."1 

These  various  letters  were  attended  by  an  accom- 
paniment of  violent  abuse  aimed  at  various  public 
characters : 

Ritchie  was  holding  with  the  hare  and  running  with  the 
hounds,  and,  if  the  bug  were  worth  his  resentment,  he 
could  crush  him. 2 

Clay  had  cut  his  throat  with  his  own  tongue. 3 

Calhoun,  who  had  always  had  a  knack  of  turning  young 
men's  heads,  when  he  was  young  himself  and  with  a  great 
character  for  talents,  and  yet  greater  for  stern  uncom- 
promising public  virtue,  had  turned  out  to  be  an  old 
battered  "He-Bawd";  another  Sir  Pandarus  of  Troy, 
quoad  procurement  of  offices  for  his  adherents,  in  order  to 
obtain  the  highest  for  himself. 4  (a) 

We  have  dwelt  upon  these  babblings  of  a  deranged 
intellect  largely  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  out  the  gross 
injustice  of  the  hostile  or  unreflecting  writers,  notably 
Powhatan  Bouldin,  who  have  garnished  their  pages  with 
extravagant   incidents   culled   from   the   later   years   of 

1  Roanoke,  Mar.  1,  1832,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  80,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Id.,  Feb.  26,  1832. 

*  Id.,  Mar.  18,  1832. 

*  Id.,  March  27,  1832. 


16  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Randolph's  life  as  if  they  were  fair  illustrations  of  what  he 
was  even  when  sane. 

In  May,  1832,  as  we  have  said,  Randolph's  mind  became 

lucid.     On  the  first  occasion,  when  the  change  became 

truly  obvious  to  John  Marshall,  he  was  alone  with  him. 

During  the  interview,  Randolph  burst  into  tears  and  said: 

"Bear  with  me,  my  friend;  this  is  unmanly,  but  I  am  hard 

pressed."      Apparently   he   was    suffering    great    pain. 

"It  is  impossible — I  speak  it  reverently— ,"  he  further 

said,  "that  the  Almighty  himself,  consistent  with  his  holy 

counsel,  can  withhold  this  bitter  cup.     It  is  necessary  to 

afflict  me  thus  to  subdue  my  stubborn  will. ' '   He  then  shut 

his  eyes,  uttered  a  few  words  of  prayer  audibly,  and  then 

seemed  to  be  praying  in  a  low  whisper. x     Subsequently, 

there  was  a  marked  improvement  in  his  appetite,  his 

spirits,  and  his  disposition.     He  even  gained  flesh,  or, 

rather  perhaps,  as  he  put  it  on  a  previous  occasion  in  his 

life,  skin.     His  temper  became  cheerful  and  his  judgments 

of  men,  including  his  political  enemies,  kinder. 2   But,  even 

after  the  lapse  of  three  or  four  months,  the  reaction  in  his 

condition  had  not  been  so  decided  that  he  could  not 

describe  it  as  wretched  in  the  extreme. 3 

In  one  respect,  insanity  did  not  work  any  change  in 
Randolph  at  all.  The  political  convictions,  which  he 
expressed  to  Andrew  Jackson,  when  he  was  insane,  were 
but  his  convictions  both  before  he  lost,  and  after  he 
recovered,  his  reason.  With  his  return  to  sanity,  he  did 
not  abate  one  jot  of  his  stern  enmity  to  the  United  States 
Bank,  or  the  protective  tariff.  While  his  mind  was  still 
in  eclipse,  he  had  said  in  a  letter : 

"I  know  Jackson  to  be  firm  on  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  and  I  believe  the  tariff  too.  In  United  States  Bank 
stock  there  will  be  a  fall,  for  everything  is  settled  by  the  Lon- 
don prices,  and  there  will  be  a  panic;  but  the  bank  will  bribe 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  349.  2  Ibid.  3  JUd. 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  17 

through.  I  detest  it  and  shall  do  all  I  can  to  defeat  it,  even  by 
coming  into  Congress  next  election  si  le  Roy  (peuple)  le  veut. 
When  the  Union  shall  crumble  to  pieces,  the  bank  will  stand; 
the  courts  and  its  debtors  will  sustain  it  in  each  grain  of  our 
rope  of  sand."1 

If  this  prophecy  proved  false,  and  the  bank  did  crumble 
before  the  Union,  it  was  only  because  neither  bank  nor 
anything  else  could  well  withstand  the  Bersekir  rage  of 
Andrew  Jackson  at  its  worst.  Afterwards,  when  the 
bright  disk  of  Randolph's  mind  was  no  longer  darkened, 
he  came  to  the  aid  of  Jackson  in  a  vigorous  letter  to  Mark 
Alexander,  of  Virginia,  one  of  his  former  Congressional 
colleagues : 

"I  have  just  received,"  he  said,  "your  blank  envelope 
covering  the  Telegraph  of  the  2 1  st.  I  write  to  entreat  you  to 
tell  Warren  R.  Davis  and  his  colleagues  (alas !  for  poor  John- 
ston) that,  if  by  their  votes  the  United  States  Bank  bill  shall 
pass  the  House  of  Representatives,  they  will  receive  the  curses 
loud  and  deep  of  every  old-school  Republican  of  the  South. 
To  embarrass  Jackson  is  a  small  gain  compared  with  saddling 
the  country  with  that  worst  and  most  flagrant  of  the  usurpa- 
tions of  the  Federal  Government  and  the  most  dangerous 
engine  against  the  rights  and  very  existence  of  the  States.  I 
am  warm  and  abrupt,  but  I  am  dying,  and  have  not  time  to  be 
more  courtly  and  circumlocutory.  The  tariff,  the  internal 
improvement  jobs,  and  the  Supreme  Court  combined  are  not  to 
be  put  into  the  scale  against  this  accursed  thing.  The  man 
who  supports  the  bank,  and  denounces  the  tariff  as  uncon- 
stitutional, may  take  his  choice  between  knave  or  fool,  unless 
he  admits  that  he  is  both.  In  one  case,  the  power  to  lay  duties, 
excises,  etc.,  is  granted;  in  the  other  no  such  power  is  given. 
The  true  key  is  that  the  abuse  under  pretence  of  exercise  of  any 
power  (midnight  judiciary,  etc.)  is  unconstitutional.  This 
unlocks  every  difficulty.  Killing  a  man  may  be  justifiable 
homicide,  chance  medley,  manslaughter  or  murder  according 

1  Garland,  352,  Jan.  10,  1832. 

VOL.  II — 2 


1 8  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

to  the  motives  and  circumstances  of  the  case;  an  unwise  but 
honest  exercise  of  a  power  may  be  blamed,  but  it  is  not  uncon- 
stitutional ;  but  every  usurped  power  (as  the  bank)  is  so." * 

The  bank  bill  passed  both  houses  of  Congress,  but  was 
vetoed  by  Jackson,  who  never  rested  until  " Leviathan" 
was  floating  lifeless  on  its  side  with  its  white  upturned 
belly  exposed  to  scorn.  But,  before  Jackson  vetoed  the 
bank  bill,  events  had  been  in  train  to  produce  a  lasting 
rupture  between  Jackson  and  Randolph.  The  latter 
hated,  with  an  inappeasable  hatred,  the  protective  tariff, 
which,  beginning  in  1824,  throve  so  rapidly  on  the  suc- 
cessive triumphs  of  its  own  greedy  rapacity  that  Randolph 
could  say  of  it  even  more  truly  in  1832  than  he  had  said 
of  it  in  1824: 

"I  cannot  believe  that  we  are  at  any  time  hereafter  long 
to  be  exempt  from  the  demands  of  those  sturdy  beggars  who 
will  take  no  denial.  Every  concession  does  but  render  every 
fresh  demand  and  new  concession  more  easy.  It  is  like  those 
dastard  nations  who  vainly  think  to  buy  peace."2 

Subsequently,  when  the  truth  was  brought  home  to  him 
that  South  Carolina  was  inflexibly  resolved  to  nullify 
the  tariff  of  1832,  that  Jackson  was  inflexibly  resolved  to 
enforce  the  laws  of  the  Union  at  any  cost  of  treasure  or 
blood,  and  that  the  principle  of  State  Sovereignty,  to 
which  he  had  been  so  long  attached,  was  about  to  be 
sacrificed  between  the  very  horns  of  its  own  altar,  he  felt 
that  the  time  had  come,  much  as  he  admired  the  man  of 
whom  he  had  so  often  spoken  as  the  "old  hero,"  and 
deeply  grateful  as  he  was  to  him  for  his  unfailing  loyalty, 
gentleness,  and  compassion,  to  live  up  to  the  assurance 
that  he  had  given  to  Edward  Everett  in  his  speech  on 
Retrenchment  and  Reform,  when  he  turned  upon  Everett 
with  these  words : 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  353.  *A.  of  C,  1823-24;  v.  2,  2372. 


"Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled"  19 

"The  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  warned  us  that,  if  the 
individual  we  seek  to  elevate  shall  succeed,  he  will  in  his  turn 
become  the  object  of  public  pursuit,  and  that  the  same  pack 
will  be  unkennelled  at  his  heels  that  have  run  his  rival  down. 
It  may  be  so.  I  have  no  hesitation  to  say  that,  if  his  conduct 
shall  deserve  it,  and  I  live,  I  shall  be  one  of  that  pack;  because 
I  maintain  the  interest  of  stockholders,  against  presidents, 
directors,  and  cashiers."1 

Randolph  had  already,  with  the  first  flashes  of  the  coming 
storm,  declared  that  he  would  have  himself  buckled  on  his 
horse,  Radical,  and  would  fight  for  the  South  to  the  last 
breath. 2  And  now,  feeble  as  he  was,  he  passed  from  county 
to  county  in  his  former  district,  summoning  all  who  had  ever 
felt  the  spell  of  his  eye  or  voice  to  the  shock  of  the  direful 
and  bloody  contest  which  seemed  to  be  actually  at  hand. 
As  soon  as  he  had  heard  of  the  Proclamation  issued 
against  South  Carolina  by  Jackson,  of  which  it  may  be 
said  in  the  words  of  John  Adams  about  an  earlier  event 
in  our  history  slightly  paraphrased,  "Then  was  the  child 
Nationality  born,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough : 

"Your  letter  of  the  12th  was  received  late  last  night,  whilst 
I  was  under  the  influence  of  morphine  and  blue-pill;  but,  such 
was  the  interest  I  took  in  it  and  in  the  Jesuitical  comments 
of  Mr.  'Enquirer'  Ritchie  on  the  ferocious  and  bloodthirsty 
proclamation  of  our  Djezzar  Pacha,  (a)  that  I  did  not  close  an 
eye  until  daybreak.  I  am  now  just  out  of  bed  (1  o'clock  p.m.) 
and  not  more  than  half  alive;  indeed  not  so  much.  The 
apathy  of  our  people  is  most  alarming.  If  they  do  not  rouse 
themselves  to  a  sense  of  our  condition,  and  put  down  this 
wretched  old  man,  the  country  is  irretrievably  ruined.  The 
mercenary  troops,  who  have  embarked  for  Charleston,  have 
not  disappointed  me ;  they  are  working  in  their  vocation,  poor 
devils.     I  trust  that  no  quarter  will  be  given  to  them. ' ' 3 

1  Bouldin,30i. 

2 Garland,  v.  2,  358. 

3  Dec.  16,  1832,  Garland,  v.  2,  359. 


20  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

A  week  or  so  later,  Randolph  wrote  to  Jacob  Harvey : 

"  My  life  is  ebbing  fast.  What  will  the  New  York  Evening 
Post  say  to  Ritchie's  apology  for  the  proclamation  in  his  Enquirer 
of  the  ist  inst?  Never  was  there  so  impudent  a  thing.  It 
seems  then  that  the  President  did  not  know,  good  easy  man, 
what  his  proclamation  contained.  Verily,  I  believe  it.  He  is 
now  all  for  law  and  the  civil  power  and  shudders  at  blood. 
'Save  me  from  my  friends,'  is  a  good  old  Spanish  proverb,  but 
his  sot  disant  friends  are  his  bitterest  enemies,  and  use  him  as  a 
tool  for  their  own  unhallowed  purposes  of  guilty  ambition. 
They  have  first  brought  him  into  odium  and  then  sunk  him 
into  contempt !    Alas !    Alas ! ' '  ■ 

Later,  during  the  same  month,  Randolph  wrote  to 
Harvey : 

"I  am  now  much  worse  than  when  I  wrote  you  last  and  see 
no  probability  of  my  ever  recovering  sufficiently  to  leave  this 
place.  The  springs  of  life  are  worn  out.  Indeed,  in  the 
abject  state  of  the  public  mind,  there  is  nothing  worth  living 
for.  It  is  a  merciful  dispensation  of  Providence  that  death 
can  release  the  captive  from  the  clutches  of  the  tyrant.  I  was 
not  born  to  endure  a  master;  I  could  not  brook  military 
despotism  in  Europe,  but  at  home  it  is  not  to  he  endured.  I 
could  not  have  believed  that  the  people  would  so  soon  have 
shown  themselves  unfit  for  free  government.  I  leave  to 
General  Jackson,  and  the  Hartford  men,  and  the  ultra  Feder- 
alists and  tories,  and  the  office-holders  and  office-seekers, 
their  triumph  over  the  liberties  of  the  country.  They  will  stand 
damned  to  everlasting  fame."2 

In  his  speeches  to  the  People  of  his  former  District, 
though  so  frail  that  he  had  to  speak  for  the  most  part  from 
his  chair,  he  spoke  at  least  once,  as  we  shall  see  further 
on,  with  commanding  power.  Nor  did  he  ever  exhibit 
more  address,   perseverance,  or  masterful  force  of  will 

1  Roanoke,  Jan.  4,  1833,  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  102. 

2  Jan.  31,  1833,  Ibid. 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  21 

than  he  did  in  obtaining  from  his  old  constituents  reso- 
lutions denunciatory  of  the  political  doctrines  promul- 
gated in  the  Proclamation.  Andrew  Jackson  did  not  lack 
friends  in  Randolph's  home  district ;  nor  were  patriotic  and 
clear-sighted  men  wanting  in  it  who  had  no  sympathy 
whatever  with  the  nullification  movement  inaugurated 
by  Calhoun  and  the  other  South  Carolina  leaders  of  his 
faction;  but  Randolph's  former  constituents,  as  a  rule, 
were  infatuated  with  his  extreme  ideas  about  State  Sover- 
eignty and,  wherever  he  went,  with  but  little  dissent,  they 
adopted  his  resolutions  condemning  the  Proclamation. 

With  the  nullification  dogma  of  Calhoun  Randolph  had 
no  patience  whatever.  Subtle  abstractions  were  always 
abhorrent  to  his  practical  mind;  but  the  right  of 
Revolution,  that  is  the  right  of  renouncing  the  Federal 
Union  altogether  in  a  proper  cause,  was  one  that  nothing 
could  have  induced  him  to  surrender.  As  far  back  as  the 
tariff  discussion  in  1824,  he  had  said: 

"And  I  say  again,  if  we  are  to  submit  to  such  usurpations, 
give  me  George  Grenville,  give  me  Lord  North  for  a  master. 
It  is  in  this  point  of  view  that  I  most  deprecate  the  bill.  If 
from  the  language  I  have  used,  any  gentleman  shall  believe  I 
am  not  as  much  attached  to  this  Union  as  anyone  on  this 
floor,  he  will  labor  under  a  great  mistake.  But  there  is  no 
magic  in  this  word  Union ;  I  value  it  as  the  means  of  preserving 
the  liberty  and  happiness  of  the  people.  Marriage  itself  is  a 
good  thing;  but  the  marriages  of  Mezentius  were  not  so 
esteemed.  The  marriage  of  Sinbad  the  Sailor  with  the  corse 
of  his  deceased  wife  was  an  union ;  and  just  such  an  union  will 
this  be  if  by  a  bare  majority  in  both  Houses  this  bill  shall 
become  a  law."1  (a) 

Even  through  the  distorting  haze  of  madness,  with  the 
prescience  which  was  one  of  his  remarkable  gifts,  he  had 
seen  the  real  significance  of  the  conflict  between  South 

1  A.  of  C,  1823-24;  2368. 


22  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Carolina  and  the  Federal  Government  over  the  protective 
tariff.  He  had  predicted  that  civil  war  was  at  hand ;  that 
South  Carolina  would  fight,  and  that  Jackson  would  then 
indeed  hang  as  high  as  Haman  Calhoun,  Hayne,  Mc- 
Dufhe,  and  Hamilton,  the  chiefs  of  the  Nullification  Party 
in  South  Carolina,  if  he  could  lay  his  hands  on  them.  In 
one  of  his  distraught  moments  he  wrote  to  Jackson  that 
Calhoun  had  fallen  into  the  very  trap  that  had  caught 
and  destroyed  Clay :  ' '  He  is  self -mutilated, '  •  he  declared ; 
"like  the  fanatic  that  emasculated  himself." * 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1832,  after  he  had  recovered 
his  reason,  Randolph  wrote  to  Jackson:  "I  wish  most 
intensely  that  I  could  have  even  half  an  hour's  interview 
with  you." 2  Two  days  later,  he  wrote  to  him  that  he  was 
then  in  a  situation  to  recede  with  dignity,  and  that  he 
spoke  the  language  of  many  of  Jackson's  staunchest 
friends  when  he  expressed  the  hope  that  Jackson  would 
give  to  their  sister,  South  Carolina,  ample  time  for  con- 
sideration. 3  And  now,  knowing  as  few  knew,  how  unbend- 
ing Jackson's  will  was,  he  was  more  than  willing  even  to 
call  in  his  arch  foe,  Henry  Clay,  as  a  buffer  between  it 
and  the  Commonwealth  upon  which  it  was  about  to 
descend  with  inexorable  force. 

In  his  speech  at  Buckingham  Court  House,  Randolph  is 
reported  as  saying  to  his  audience : 

"I  cannot  express  to  you  how  deeply  I  am  penetrated 
with  a  sense  of  the  danger  which  at  this  moment  threatens  its 
existence  [the  existence  of  the  Union].  If  Madison  filled  the 
Executive  Chair,  he  might  be  bullied  into  some  compromise; 
if  Monroe  was  in  power,  he  might  be  coaxed  into  some  adjust- 
ment of  this  difficulty;  but  Jackson  is  obstinate,  headstrong, 
and  fond  of  fight.     I  fear  matters  must  come  to  an  open  rup- 

1  Roanoke,  Mar.  28,  1828  (sic),  really  1832,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  80,  Libr. 
Cong. 

2  Charlotte  C.  H.,  Dec.  4,  1832,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  81,  Libr.  Cong. 

3  Id.,  Dec.  6,  1832,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  81,  Libr.  Cong. 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  23 

ture;  if  so,  this  Union  is  gone.  There  is  one  man,  and  one  man 
only,  who  can  save  this  Union;  that  man  is  Henry  Clay.  I 
know  he  has  the  power;  I  believe  he  will  be  found  to  have 
the  patriotism  and  firmness  equal  to  the  occasion."1 

But  it  was  at  Charlotte  Court  House,  on  Feb.  4,  1833, 
that  Randolph  shone  at  this  time  as  few  men  have  ever 
done  when  they  could  say  of  themselves  truthfully  as  he 
said  of  himself  on  this  occasion  that  the  prostration  of 
their  mental  powers  had  kept  so  closely  abreast  with  that 
of  their  bodily  that  it  was  hard  for  them  to  decide  which 
rode  the  foremost  horse.  His  object  at  this  meeting,  to 
use  a  modern  political  term,  was  to  "jam  through,"  by 
his  eloquence  and  over-bearing  will,  a  series  of  resolutions 
condemning  the  Proclamation. 

Happily  for  us,  Winslow  Robinson  was  the  Secretary  of 
the  meeting,  and  drew  up  a  report  of  its  proceedings  which 
was  long,  if  it  is  not  still,  preserved.  The  report  says  that 
Randolph  was  in  a  state  of  extreme  feebleness ;  that  he  had 
traversed  the  distance  between  Roanoke  and  Charlotte 
Court  House  [some  12  or  13  miles]  the  day  before;  that 
he  was  lifted  to  his  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  County  Court ; 
and  that  he  rose  and  spoke  a  few  minutes;  but  soon  sat 
down  exhausted  and  continued  to  speak  sitting;  though 
sometimes  for  a  moment  the  excitement  of  his  feelings 
brought  him  to  his  feet ;  and  that  he  ended  his  speech  by 
moving  a  set  of  resolutions  of  which  a  copy  was  annexed  to 
the  report. 2 

It  was  at  Randolph's  request  that  the  use  of  the  Court 
House  for  the  occasion  had  been  permitted,  and  at  his 
request,  too,  the  County  magistrates  who  held  their 
sessions  in  it  adjourned  as  soon  as  he  appeared  in  the  build- 
ing. He  made  the  requests  because  in  his  debilitated 
condition  at  that  time  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  measure 
out  his  strength  drop  by  drop. 3 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  361.  2  Bouldin,  192.  3  Jd.,  175. 


24  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

By  Bouldin  we  are  told  that  he  began  with  three  dress 
coats  on,  but  that  before  he  concluded  he  had  on  only  one, 
and  that  he  spoke  with  a  glass  of  toddy  beside  him  from 
which  he  drank  freely  from  time  to  time. * 

The  resolutions  submitted  by  Randolph  on  this  occa- 
sion are  worth  reading,  if  for  no  other  reason  because  of 
the  lucidity  and  point  which  characterize  everything  of 
this  kind  that  ever  left  his  hands.  The  last  resolution 
of  the  series  relates  to  the  mission  upon  which  Benjamin 
Watkins  Leigh  had  been  recently  sent  by  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia to  South  Carolina  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  a 
reconciliation  between  that  State  and  the  Federal 
Government. 

"  i.  Resolved,  that,  while  we  retain  a  grateful  sense  of  the 
many  services  rendered  by  Andrew  Jackson,  Esq.,  to  the 
United  States,  we  owe  it  to  our  country  and  to  our  posterity 
to  make  our  solemn  protest  against  many  of  the  doctrines  of 
his  late  proclamation. 

"2.  Resolved,  that  Virginia  'is,  and  of  right  ought  to  be, 
a  free,  sovereign,  and  independent  State;'  that  she  became  so 
by  her  own  separate  act,  which  has  been  since  recognized  by 
all  the  civilized  world,  and  has  never  been  disavowed,  retracted, 
or  in  any  wise  impaired  or  weakened  by  any  subsequent  act  of 
hers. 

"3.  Resolved,  that  when,  for  purposes  of  common  defence 
and  common  welfare,  Virginia  entered  into  a  strict  league  of 
amity  and  alliance  with  the  other  twelve  colonies  of  British 
North  America,  she  parted  with  no  portion  of  her  sovereignty, 
although,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  the  authority  to  en- 
force obedience  thereto  was,  in  certain  cases  and  for  certain, 
purposes,  delegated  to  the  common  agents  of  the  whole 
Confederacy. 

"4.  Resolved,  that  Virginia  has  never  parted  with  the 
right  to  recall  the  authority  so  delegated  for  good  and  sufficient 
cause,  and  to  secede  from  the  Confederacy,  whenever  she  shall 

1  Bouldin,  175. 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  25 

find  the  benefits  of  union  exceeded  by  its  evils;  union  being 
the  means  of  securing  liberty  and  happiness,  and  not  the  end 
to  which  these  should  be  sacrificed. 

"5.  Resolved,  that  the  ALLEGIANCE  of  the  people  of 
Virginia  is  due  to  HER;  that  to  her  their  obedience  is  due, 
while  to  them  she  owes  protection  against  all  the  consequences 
of  such  obedience. 

"6.  Resolved,  that  we  have  seen  with  deep  regret  that 
Andrew  Jackson,  Esq.,  President  of  the  United  States,  has 
been  influenced  by  designing  counsellers  to  subserve  the 
purposes  of  their  own  guilty  ambition,  to  disavow  the  prin- 
ciples to  which  he  owed  his  election  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  transfer  his  real 
friends  and  supporters,  bound  hand  and  foot,  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  his  and  their  bitterest  enemies — the  tt&ra-Federal- 
ists,  ultra-bank,  wZ/ra-internal  improvement,  and  Hartford 
Convention,  men — the  habitual  scoffers  at  States  Rights — and 
to  their  instrument — the  venal  and  prostituted  press — by 
which  they  have  endeavored,  and  but  too  successfully,  to 
influence  and  mislead  public  opinion. 

"7.  Resolved,  that  Virginia  will  be  found  her  own  worst 
enemy,  whenever  she  consents  to  number  among  her  friends 
those  who  are  never  true  to  themselves  but  when  they  are 
false  to  their  country. 

"8.  Resolved,  that  we  owe  it  to  justice,  while  denouncing 
the  portentous  combination  between  General  Jackson  and 
the  late  unhallowed  coalition  of  his  and  our  enemies,  to  acquit 
Them  of  any  dereliction  of  principle,  and  to  acknowledge  that 
they  have  but  acted  in  their  vocation. 

"9.  Resolved,  that  we  cannot  consent  to  adopt  principles 
which  we  have  always  disavowed,  merely  because  they  have 
been  adopted  by  the  President ;  and,  although  we  believe  that 
we  shall  be  in  a  lean  and  proscribed  minority,  we  are  prepared 
again  to  take  up  our  cross,  confident  of  success  under  that 
banner,  so  long  as  we  keep  the  faith,  and  can  have  access  to  the 
public  ear. 

"10.  Resolved,  that,  while  we  utterly  reprobate  the  doc- 
trine of  Nullification,  as  equally  weak  and  mischievous,  we  can- 
not for  that  reason  give  our  countenance  to  principles  equally 


26  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

unfounded,  and  in  the  highest  degree  dangerous  to  the  liberties 
of  the  People. 

"11  Resolved,  that  we  highly  approve  of  the  mission  of 
Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh,  not  only  as  in  itself  expedient  and 
judicious,  but  as  uniting  upon  the  man  the  best  qualified, 
whether  for  abilities,  integrity,  and  principles,  moral  and 
political,  beyond  all  others  in  the  Commonwealth  or  in  the 
United  States,  for  the  high,  arduous,  and  delicate  task  which 
has  been  devolved  upon  him  by  the  unanimous  suffrage  of  the 
Assembly,  and  as  we  believe  of  the  people.  s  (a) 

"Signed 
"John  Randolph  of  Roanoke, 
"Chairman." 

The  submission  of  the  resolutions  was  followed  by  a 
powerful  speech  of  Randolph's  which  was  heard  by  two 
auditors  whose  impressions  we  shall  bring  forward  in  a 
later  chapter  of  this  book.  On  motion  they  were  referred 
to  a  committee,  consisting  of  the  following  gentlemen, 
whose  family  names,  so  strange  to  the  eyes  of  many  of  our 
readers,  and  yet  so  familiar  to  every  resident  of  Charlotte 
County,  we  recall,  if  for  no  other  reason,  because  nothing 
could  more  convincingly  establish  than  a  little  inquiry 
into  the  standing  of  these  gentlemen  would  do  how  happy 
in  many  respects,  most  vital  to  the  well-being  of  a 
Commonwealth,  was  any  community  in  which  the  suffrage 
was  limited  to  such  a  class  of  individuals  as  they  repre- 
sented: Col.  Clement  Carrington,  Captain  Thomas  Pet- 
tus,  Henry  A.  Watkins,  William  M.  Watkins,  Robert 
Morton,  Samuel  D.  Morton,  John  Coleman,  B.  W.  Lester, 
George  Hannah,  John  Marshall,  John  Thomas,  John  H. 
Thomas,  Henry  Madison,  Dr.  Isaac  Read,  William  B. 
Green,  Joseph  Friend,  Edward  B.  Fowlkes,  Matthew  J. 
Williams,  Samuel  Venable,  William  Bacon,  John  Booth, 
Francis  Barnes,  William  H.  Dennis,  Richard  Venable,  Jr., 
Joseph  M.  Daniel,  Thomas  F.  Spencer,  Paul  Carrington, 

1  Bouldin,  190. 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  27 

John  Daniel,  Charles  Raine,  Benjamin  Marshall,  Colonel 
Marshall,  J.  H.  Marshall,  Cornelius  Barnes,  Dr.  Hoge, 
Dr.  Bouldin,  Elisha  Hundley,  Dr.  Patillo,  Dr.  Edwin 
Price,  Dr.  Garden,  Samuel  Daniel,  Winslow  Robinson, 
Nicholas  Edmunds,  Major  Gaines,  R.  I.  Gaines,  Henry 
Carrington,  Edward  W.  Henry,  Thomas  T.  Bouldin, 
James  W.  Bouldin,  William  B.  Watkins,  Anderson  Mor- 
ton, John  Morton,  Thomas  A.  Morton,  Martin  Hancock, 
D.  B.  Hancock,  Clement  Hancock,  Colonel  H.  Spencer, 
G.  C.  Friend,  Jacob  Morton,  Wyatt  Cardwell,  William 
Smith,  Colonel  Thomas  Read,  Thomas  Read,  Archibald 
A.  Davidson,  William  T.  Scott,  Major  Thomas  Nelson, 
Isham  Harvey,  Dr.  Joel  Watkins,  T.  E.  Watkins,  Major 
Samuel  Baldwin,  Robert  Carrington,  and  John  Randolph 
of  Roanoke. * 

When  Randolph,  who  was  practically  the  Dictator  of 
the  occasion,  was  making  up  the  committee,  he  exclaimed: 
"Call  Col.  Clem  Carrington,  the  man  who  shed  his  blood 
at  Eutaw — none  of  your  drunken  stagger-weeds  of  the 
court  yard ! "  Col.  Carrington  came  forward  with  his  hat 
in  his  hand;  but,  when  requested  to  endorse  the  resolu- 
tions, he  promptly  said:  "I  am  for  Jackson  and  the 
Union,  Sir,"  and  retired. 

"Mr.  Green,"  Randolph  said,  addressing  Wm.  B.  Green, 
"I  know  you  are  dead  shot  against  Jackson,  and  I  appoint 
you  one  of  the  Committee."  Mr.  Green  replied:  "I 
am  also  dead  shot  against  Nullification";  but,  after  some 
explanations  by  Randolph,  Green,  to  his  lasting  regret 
consented  to  serve  upon  the  committee,  as  did  several 
other  dissidents  who  were  brought  over  by  Randolph 
in  the  same  way. 2 

When  appointed,  the  members  of  the  committee  organ- 
ized with  Capt.  Henry  A.  Watkins  in  the  chair,  and  with 
Winslow    Robinson    as    Secretary.     Capt.    William    M. 

1  Bouldin,  192. 

2  Id.,  195- 


28    John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Watkins  then  moved  that  the  meeting  adjourn  to  some 
future  day,  but  the  motion  was  lost ;  whereupon  he  with- 
drew from  the  committee;  and  the  resolutions  were 
adopted  seriatim,  with  only  a  Scattering  Opposition  ncTe 
and  there  to  any  of  them. ■  (a) 

Before  they  were  adopted,  however,  a  painful  colloquy 
had  taken  place  between  Randolph  and  Captain  William 
M.  Watkins.  Addressing  himself  to  the  Captain,  Ran- 
dolph declared  that  he  did  not  "expect  an  old  Yazoo 
speculator  to  approve  of  them."  In  reply,  Watkins  rose 
and  denied  that  he  was  any  such  speculator ;  but  Randolph, 
looking  him  steadily  in  the  face  pointed  his  long  fore- 
fiiu-er  at  him  and  raid:  "Vou  are  a.  Yazoo  man,  Mr. 
Watkins."  Again,  Capt.  Watkins  rose,  agitated  and 
embarrassed,  and  entered  into  some  explanations;  and 
again,  with  the  same  deliberation,  Randolph  simply 
repeated:  "You  are  a  Yazoo  man,  Mr.  Watkins."  A 
third  time,  Capt.  Watkins  rose,  this  time  overwhelmed 
with  chagrin  and  mortification ;  but,  as  he  rose,  it  was  only 
to  face  the  same  accusing  finger  and  the  same  unrelenting 
indictment:  "You  are  a  Yazoo  man";  and  there  was 
nothing  for  him  to  do  except  to  retire  from  the  meeting. 2 

Of  the  general  impression  created  by  Randolph  on  this 
occasion  upon  his  audience,  it  is  enough  at  this  time  to 
mention  that,  in  concluding  his  report,  Winslow  Robinson 
says  that,  in  responding  to  a  final  resolution  of  the  meet- 
ing, thanking  him  for  his  open  and  decided  support  of  the 
rights  of  the  States  and  his  strenuous  and  efficient  opposi- 
tion to  the  odious  consolidating  doctrine  of  the  President's 
late  proclamation,  Mr.  Randolph  expressed  his  thanks 
in  a  speech  of  considerable  length,  in  the  course  of  which 
all  the  warmest  sympathies  which  had  so  long  united 
him  to  his  old  constituents  seemed  to  be  awakened;  and 
that  on  the  breaking  up  of  the  meeting  they  parted  with 

» Bouldin,  193. 
'Id.,  197- 


"  Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled  "  29 

feelings  such  as  no  man  besides  had  ever  excited.1  (a) 
Until  recently,  the  fact  seems  to  have  been  lost  sight  of 
that  Randolph  did  go  with  his  brother  Beverley  to  Wash- 
ington in  the  winter  of  1832-33.  They  had  an  interview 
with  Jackson,  and,  afterwards,  were  among  the  guests  to 
whom  he  gave  a  dinner  at  the  White  House.  So  provoked , 
however,  was  Jackson  by  a  certain  article  which  appeared 
in  the  Telegraph  at 'this  time,  and  which  he  attributed 
to  Randolph,  that,  when  Beverley  Tucker  subsequently 
called  at  the  White  House,  Jackson,  supposing  that  Ran- 
dolph was  with  him,  sent  word  that  he  was  too  busy  to  see 
them. 

1  Bouldin,  193. 


CHAPTER   II 
The  End 

In  the  succeeding  April,  Randolph  endeavored  to  make 
a  tour  of  the  counties  embraced  in  his  former  district.  He 
had  now  formed  the  idea  that  exercise  by  what  he  called 
"gestation"  was  indispensable  to  his  existence.1  His 
body,  however,  had  really  grown  too  weak  to  flush  his 
brain  properly  when  he  was  speaking.  Indeed,  he  had 
to  give  up  one  effort  to  reach  Buckingham  Court  House 
and  to  return  from  Buckingham  County  to  Charlotte 
Court  House  re  infecta  (as  he  said);  and  when  he  got 
to  Charlotte  Court  House  on  this  occasion,  he  was 
too  knocked  up  by  fatigue  to  keep  on  to  Roanoke.  He 
was  present,  however,  at  Cumberland  Court  House  on 
election  day  in  the  month  of  April;  and  thence  he  pro- 
ceeded directly  northwards  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the 
packet,  Montezuma,  at  Philadelphia  for  England.2 

The  first  night  of  his  journey,,  he  spent  at  Clay  Hill, 
the  residence  of  his  intimate  friend,  Barksdale,  in  Amelia 
County.  Later,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  from 
Geo.  W.  Johnson's,  near  Moody's,  in  Chesterfield  County: 

11 1  am  here  very  ill.  I  have  little  expectation  of  ever  leaving 
this  apartment  except  on  men's  shoulders;  an  act  of  impru- 
dence on  the  night  of  my  arrival  has  nearly  sealed  my  doom. 
Yet,  with  my  characteristic  reaction,  I  may  go  to  Petersburg 
tomorrow  and  on  Monday  to  Richmond.     Pray  secure  me,  if 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  364. 

2  Ibid. 

30 


The  End  31 

practicable,  a  parlor  and  bed-room  adjoining  on  a  lower  floor, 
and  speak  to  Ball  to  reserve  stalls  for  5  horses  and  3  servants."  * 

The  reaction  did  come,  and  enabled  him  to  get  to 
Petersburg  where  he  not  only  attended  the  races,  but  even 
made  a  speech.  Subsequently,  he  passed  through  Rich- 
mond (a) ,  and  from  The  Merry  Oaks,  beyond  Richmond, 
he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  in  these  words : 

"  Arrived  here  last  night,  through  torrents  of  rain  that 
deluged  the  roads,  and  made  them  run  like  rivers;  John  and 
Juba  as  wet  as  drowned  rats,  but  it  was  an  admirable  sedative 
(you  are  an  'Embro'  man,  and  possibly  a  disciple  of  Cullen) 
for  John's  over-stimulant.  Quant  a  moi,  I  came  every  foot 
of  the  way  in  torture,  having  been  so  lumbered  by  John  that 
I  might  as  well  have  been  in  the  pillory;  and  each  jolt  over 
stone,  stump,  or  pole,  or  old  fence  rails  left  in  the  road,  when 
the  new  one  was  made,  or  the  old  ones  'upset'  for  the  benefit 
of  travelling  carriages,  those  of  gentlemen  in  especial,  as  the 
Waverly  man  has  it. 

"At  Botts's  gate,  Half  Sink,  I  was  fain  to  call  and  ask  the 
price  of  his  land,  and  sponge  upon  him  for  the  night;  for 
I  was  in  agony,  but  he  was  gone  to  the  Baltimore  races.  So, 
after  making  some  better  arrangements,  and  watering  the  tits 
which  were  half  choked  with  thirst,  I  proceeded  on  over  the 
slashes  and  'cross  ways,'  with  peine  forte  et  dure,  to  the  Old 
Oaks,  ignorant  until  then  that  the  stage  road  had  been  changed; 
or  I  would  have  taken  the  other,  except  on  account  of  the 
house  If  Botts's  land  lay  in  any  other  county,  except  Hen- 
rico and  especially,  if  it  were  on  the  South  Side,  I  would  buy  it, 
and  take  my  chance  for  selling  Spring  Hill,  which,  except  in 
point  of  soil,  has  every  advantage  over  Half  Sink."2 

The  distance  between  Merry  Oaks  and  the  Potomac 
was  traversed  so  rapidly  that  Randolph  reached  the 
landing  at  Potomac  Creek  in  advance  of  the  other  trav- 
ellers who  were  transported  thither  by  stage  coaches  from 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  364. 

2  W.,365- 


32  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Fredericksburg.  For  his  movements  from  this  point  to 
Philadelphia,  where  he  died,  we  are  indebted  almost  ex- 
clusively to  information  gathered  by  Garland  in  the 
preparation  of  his  biography  from  sources  no  longer 
available  to  us  except  in  his  pages.  This  information, 
therefore,  we  shall  lay  before  the  reader  in  Garland's  very 
words : 

"When  the  approach  of  the  boat  was  announced,  he  was 
brought  out  of  the  room  by  his  servants,  on  a  chair,  and  seated 
in  the  porch,  where  most  of  the  stage  passengers  were 
assembled.  His  presence  seemed  to  produce  considerable 
restraint  on  the  company;  and,  though  he  appeared  to  solicit 
it,  none  were  willing  to  enter  into  conversation ;  one  gentleman 
only,  who  was  a  former  acquaintance,  passed  a  few  words  with 
him;  and,  so  soon  as  the  boat  reached  the  landing,  all  hurried 
off,  and  left  him  nearly  alone,  with  his  awkward  servants  as 
his  only  attendants.  An  Irish  porter,  who  seemed  to  be  very 
careless  and  awkward  in  his  movements,  slung  a  trunk  around 
and  struck  Mr.  Randolph  with  considerable  force  against  the 
knee.  He  uttered  an  exclamation  of  great  suffering.  The 
poor  Irishman  was  much  terrified,  and  made  the  most  humble 
apology,  but  Mr.  Randolph  stormed  at  him,  would  listen  to  no 
excuse,  and  drove  him  from  his  presence.  This  incident 
increased  the  speed  of  the  bystanders,  and,  in  a  few  minutes, 
not  one  was  left  to  assist  the  dying  man. 

"Dr.  Dunbar,  an  eminent  physician,  of  Baltimore,  witnessing 
what  happened,  and  feeling  his  sympathies  awakened  towards 
a  man  so  feeble,  and  apparently  so  near  his  end,  walked  up  to 
the  chair,  as  the  servants  were  about  to  remove  their  master, 
and  said:  'Mr.  Randolph,  I  have  not  the  pleasure  of  your 
acquaintance,  but  I  have  known  your  brother  from  my  child- 
hood ;  and  I  see  you  have  no  one  with  you  but  your  servants — 
you  appear  to  require  a  friend.  I  will  be  happy  to  render  you 
any  assistance  in  my  power,  while  we  are  together  on  the  boat. ' 
He  looked  up,  and  fixed  such  a  searching  gaze  on  the  doctor  as 
he  never  encountered  before.  But,  having  no  other  motive 
but  kindness  for  a  suffering  fellow-man,  he  returned  the  scru- 
tinizing look  with  steadiness.  As  Mr.  Randolph  read  the  coun- 


The  End  33 

tenance  of  the  stranger,  who  had  thus  unexpectedly  proffered 
his  friendship,  his  face  suddenly  cleared  up,  and,  with  a  most 
winning  smile  and  real  politeness,  and,  with  a  touching  tone 
of  voice,  grasping  the  Doctor's  hand,  he  said,  'I  am  most 
thankful  to  you,  Sir,  for  your  kindness;  for  I  do,  indeed,  want  a 
friend.' 

"He  was  now,  with  the  Doctor's  asistance,  carefully  carried 
on  board,  and  set  down  in  the  most  eligible  part  of  the  cabin. 
He  seemed  to  be  gasping  for  breath,  as  he  sat  up  in  the  chair ; 
having  recovered  a  little,  he  turned  to  the  Doctor,  and  said: 
'Be  so  good,  Sir,  if  you  please,  as  to  give  me  your  name.' 
The  Doctor  gave  him  his  name,  his  profession,  and  place  of 
residence. 

"'Ah!  Doctor,'  said  he,  'I  am  passed  surgery — passed 
surgery!'  'I  hope  not,  Sir,'  the  doctor  replied.  With  a 
deeper  and  more  pathetic  tone,  he  repeated,  '/  am  passed 
surgery.' 

"He  was  removed  to  a  side  berth,  and  laid  in  a  position  where 
he  could  get  air.  The  Doctor  also  commenced  fanning  him. 
His  face  was  wrinkled,  and  of  a  parched  yellow,  like  a  female 
of  advanced  age.  (a)  He  seemed  to  repose  for  a  moment,  but 
presently  he  roused  himself,  throwing  round  an  intense  and 
searching  gaze.     The  Doctor  was  reading  a  newspaper. 

"  'What  paper  is  that,  Doctor?' 

"'The— Gazette,  Sir.' 

"  'A  very  scurrilous  paper,  Sir — a  very  scurrilous  paper.' 

"After  a  short  pause,  he  continued,  'Be  so  good,  Sir,  as  to 
read  the  foreign  news  to  me — the  debates  in  Parliament,  if 
you  please.' 

"As  the  names  of  the  speakers  were  mentioned,  he  com- 
mented on  each.  'Yes,'  said  he,  'I  knew  him  when  I  was  in 
England';  then  went  on  to  make  characteristic  remarks  on 
each  person. 

"In  reading,  the  Doctor  fell  upon  the  word  budget ;  he  pro- 
nounced the  letter  u  short,  as  in  bud — budget.  Mr.  Randolph 
said  quickly,  but  with  great  mildness  and  courtesy,  'Permit 
me  to  interrupt  you  for  a  moment,  Doctor;  I  would  pronounce 
that  word  budget;  like  oo  in  book.'  'Very  well,  Sir,'  said  the 
Doctor  pleasantly,  and  continued  the  reading;  to  which  Mr. 

VOL.  II-  ■  I 


34  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Randolph  listened  with  great  attention.  Mr.  Randolph  now 
commenced  a  conversation  about  his  horses,  which  he  seemed  to 
enjoy  very  much;  Gracchus  particularly  he  spoke  of  with 
evident  delight.  As  he  lay  in  his  berth,  he  showed  his  extremi- 
ties to  the  Doctor  which  were  much  emaciated.  He  looked  at 
them  mournfully,  and  expressed  his  opinion  of  the  hopelessness 
of  his  condition.  The  Doctor  endeavored  to  cheer  him  with 
more  hopeful  views.  He  listened  politely,  but  evidently 
derived  no  consolation  from  the  remarks.  Supper  was  now 
announced ;  the  Captain  and  the  Steward  were  very  attentive 
in  carrying  such  dishes  to  Mr.  Randolph  as  they  thought  would 
be  pleasing  to  him.  He  was  plentifully  supplied  with  fried 
clams ;  which  he  ate  with  a  good  deal  of  relish.  The  Steward 
asked  him  if  he  would  have  some  more  clams.  'I  do  not  know,' 
he  replied,  'Doctor,  do  you  think  I  could  take  some  more 
clams?'  'No,  Mr.  Randolph,  had  you  asked  me  earlier,  I 
would  have  advised  you  against  taking  any ;  for  they  are  very 
injurious;  but  I  did  not  conceive  it  my  right  to  advise  you.' 
'Yes,  you  had,  Doctor;  and  I  would  have  been  much  obliged 
to  you  for  doing  so.  Steward,  I  can't  take  any  more;  the 
Doctor  thinks  they  are  not  good  for  me. ' 

" After  the  table  was  cleared  off,  one  of  the  gentlemen,  the 
one  referred  to  as  a  former  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Randolph's, 
observed  that  he  should  like  to  get  some  information  about 
the  boats  north  of  Baltimore.  'I  can  get  it  for  you,  Sir,' 
replied  Mr.  Randolph.  'Doctor  do  me  the  favor  to  hand  me  a 
little  wicker-basket,  among  my  things  in  the  berth  below.' 
The  basket  was  handed  to  him;  it  was  full  of  clippings  from 
newspapers.  He  could  not  find  the  advertisement  he  sought 
for.  The  gentleman,  with  great  politeness,  said,  'Don't 
trouble  yourself,  Mr.  Randolph.'  Several  times  he  repeated, 
'Don't  trouble  yourself,  Sir.'  At  length,  Randolph  became 
impatient,  and,  looking  up  at  him  with  an  angry  expression  of 
countenance,  said:  'I  do  hate  to  be  interrupted!'  The 
gentleman,  thus  rebuked,  immediately  left  him. 

"Mr. Randolph  then  showed  another  basket  of  the  same  kind, 
filled  with  similar  scraps  from  newspapers,  and  observed  that 
he  was  always  in  the  habit,  when  anything  struck  him 
in  his  reading  as  likely  to  be  useful  for  future  reference,  to 


The  End  35 

cut  it  out  and  preserve  it  in  books,  which  he  had  for  that 
purpose;  and  that  he  had  at  home  several  volumes  of  that 
kind. 

"He  showed  his  arrangements  for  travelling  in  Europe;  and, 
after  a  while,  seeing  the  Doctor  writing,  he  said,  'Doctor,  I 
see  you  are  writing ;  will  you  do  me  the  favor  to  write  a  letter 
for  me  to  a  friend  in  Richmond?'  'Certainly,  Sir.'  'The 
gentleman,'  he  continued,  'stands  A.  No.  I  among  men — 
Dr.  Brockenbrough,  of  Richmond.'  The  letter  gave  direc- 
tions about  business  matters,  principally,  but  it  contained  some 
characteristic  remarks  about  his  horses.  He  exulted  in  their 
having  beaten  the  stage;  and  concluded,  'So  much  for  blood.' 
'Now,'  said  he,  'sign  it,  Doctor.' 

"  'How  shall  I  sign  it,  Mr.  Randolph.  Sign  it  John  Randolph 
of  Roanoke?' 

"  'No,  Sir,  sign  it  Randolph  of  Roanoke.' 

"It  was  done  accordingly.  'Now,  Doctor,  said  he,  'do 
me   the  favor  to  add   a  postscript.'       The  postscript   was 

added:  T  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  meet  with  Dr. 

of ,  on  board  this  boat,  and  to  form  his  acquaintance,  and 

I  can  never  be  sufficiently  grateful  for  his  kind  attentions  to 
me.' 

"So  soon  as  the  letter  was  concluded,  Mr.  Randolph  drew 
together  the  curtains  of  his  berth.  The  Doctor  frequently 
heard  him  groaning  heavily  and  breathing  so  laboriously  that 
several  times  he  approached  the  side  of  the  berth  to  listen 
if  it  were  not  the  beginning  of  the  death-struggle.  He  often 
heard  him  also  exclaiming,  in  agonized  tones,  'Oh  God!  Oh 
Christ !' ;  while  he  was  engaged  in  ejaculatory  prayer. 

"He  now  became  very  restless,  was  impatient  and  irascible 
with  his  servants,  but  continued  to  manifest  the  utmost  kind- 
ness and  courtesy  towards  Dr.  Dunbar. 

"When  the  boat  reached  the  wharf  at  Alexandria,  where  the 
Doctor  was  to  leave,  he  approached  the  side  of  the  berth,  and 
said,  'Mr.  Randolph,  I  must  now  take  leave  of  you.'  He 
begged  the  Doctor  to  come  and  see  him  at  Gadsby's;  then, 
grasping  his  hand,  he  said,  'God  bless  you,  Doctor;  I  never  can 
forget  your  kind  attentions  to  me. '  "* 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  366-369. 


36  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

During  the  preceding  winter,  when  Randolph  had 
visited  Washington,  a  reconciliation  had  taken  place 
between  him  and  Henry  Clay;  from  whom  he  had  again 
become  estranged  after  the  duel.  In  a  letter  to  his  inti- 
mate friend,  Judge  Brooke,  Clay  told  him  just  how  this 
result  was  brought  about. 

"Observing  him  in  the  Senate  one  night,"  he  said,  "feeble, 
and  looking  as  if  he  were  not  long  for  this  world,  and  being 
myself  engaged  in  a  work  of  peace  (the  Compromise  Tariff), 
with  corresponding  feelings  I  shook  hands  with  him.  The 
salutation  was  cordial  on  both  sides.  I  afterwards  left  a 
card  at  his  lodgings,  where  I  understand  he  has  been  confined 
by  sickness."1 

The  next  day  after  his  arrival  in  Washington,  Randolph 
went  to  the  Senate  chamber,  and  secured  a  seat  just  behind 
Clay,  who  happened  at  that  time  to  be  addressing  the 
Senate.  ' '  Raise  me  up, "  said  Randolph,  ' '  I  want  to  hear 
that  voice  again."  At  the  conclusion  of  the  address, 
Randolph's  presence  was  brought  to  Clay's  attention, 
and  Clay  advanced  towards  him  to  speak  to  him;  Ran- 
dolph saying,  as  he  approached,  to  a  gentleman  near 
himself,  ' '  Raise  me  up. "  Clay  offered  his  hand,  exclaim- 
ing: "Mr.  Randolph,  I  hope  you  are  better,  Sir. "  "No, 
Sir,"  replied  Randolph,  "I  am  a  dying  man,  and  I  came 
here  expressly  to  have  this  interview  with  you.  "2  They 
shook  hands,  and  neither  in  enmity,  nor  in  good  will,  were 
they  ever  to  see  each  other  again. 

Randolph  went  on  to  Philadelphia,  but,  when  he  reached 
that  city,  a  storm  was  raging,  and  the  only  carriage  that 
John  could  obtain  for  him  was  a  miserable  hack  with  all 
its  glasses  broken.  In  this,  he  was  driven  through  the 
storm  from  hotel  to  hotel  in  search  of  lodgings.  At 
length,  he  was  taken  to  the  City  Hotel,  No.  41  N.  Third 

1  Life,  etc.,  of  Henry  Clay,  by  Calvin  Colton,  v.  2,  262. 
3  Garland,  v.  2,  369. 


The  End  37 

St.,  kept  by  Edmund  Badger.  When  Badger  came  out 
to  meet  him,  he  asked  if  he  could  be  accommodated. 
Badger  replied  that  his  hotel  was  crowded  but  that  he 
would  do  the  best  that  he  could  for  him.  On  hearing 
this,  Randolph  lifted  up  his  hands  and  exclaimed :  "  Great 
God !  I  thank  thee ;  I  shall  be  among  friends,  and  be  taken 
care  of."1 

What  happened  from  this  time  until  his  death  four  days 
later,  we  have  been  told  in  a  series  of  highly  interesting 
statements  made  by  Dr.  Josiah  Parrish,  a  Quaker  physi- 
cian, of  very  high  repute;  his  son,  Dr.  Isaac  Parrish, 
his  friend  and  former  pupil,  Dr.  Francis  West,  a  brother 
of  Captain  West,  Randolph's  sea-captain  friend,  and 
Condy  Raguet,  the  editor  of  a  State-Rights  and  Free 
Trade  publication  of  the  time. 

Randolph  arrived  at  Philadelphia  on  Monday,  May 
20,  1833.  He  was  so  ill  that  Badger  suggested  that  he 
should  send  for  a  physician,  and  he  was  induced  reluctantly 
to  assent.  After  running  over  the  names  of  seven  or  eight 
Philadelphia  physicians,  including  Drs.  Chapman  and 
Physick,  he  said  to  Badger:  "Well  you  have  a  Quaker 
doctor  here  of  a  good  deal  of  celebrity — Dr.  Parrish;  go 
for  him. "  He  had  heard  of  the  Doctor  through  William 
B.  Giles,  who  had  been  under  his  care  at  one  time. 

Dr.  Parrish  found  Randolph  much  disturbed  over  the 
difficulty  which  he  had  experienced  in  obtaining  lodgings, 
and  so  weak  that  he  could  scarcely  expectorate;  a  fact 
which  interfered  distressingly  with  his  respiration.  He 
appeared  fully  conscious  of  his  danger;  informed  the 
Doctor  that  he  had  attended  several  courses  of  lectures 
on  anatomy;  described  his  symptoms  with  professional 
accuracy,  and  declared  that  he  must  die  unless  he  could 
expel  the  purulent  matter  which  was  oppressing  him.  Dr. 
Parrish  asked  him  how  long  he  had  been  sick.  He  re- 
plied:  "Don't  ask  me  that  question;  I  have  been  sick  all 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  370. 


38  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

my  life";  and,  when  the  Doctor  felt  his  pulse,  he  said: 
"You  can  form  no  judgment  by  my  pulse;  it  is  so  pecu- 
liar." Realizing  the  sensitive  nature  of  his  patient,  the 
Doctor  cautiously  remarked  that  Randolph  had  been 
an  invalid  so  long  that  he  must  have  acquired  a  correct 
knowledge  of  the  general  course  of  practice  suited  to  his 
case;  to  which  he  answered:  "Certainly,  at  40  a  fool  or 
physician,  you  know."  And  when  the  Doctor  observed 
that  there  were  idiosyncracies  in  many  constitutions,  and 
proceeded  to  ascertain  what  was  peculiar  about  his,  he 
said:  "I  have  been  an  idiosyncracy  all  my  life."  "All 
preparations  of  camphor  invariably  injure  me,"  he 
asserted.  As  to  ether,  it  would  blow  him  up ;  but  that  he 
was  accustomed  to  the  free  use  of  opium  in  some  form  or 
other  the  Doctor  soon  learned.  Indeed,  on  one  occasion 
Randolph  told  Dr.  Parrish  either  that  he  did  or  could 
take  opium  like  a  Turk. 

In  the  course  of  the  interview,  Randolph  introduced  the 
subject  of  the  Quakers,  praising  them  in  his  characteristic 
way  for  their  "neatness,  economy,  order,  and  comfort  in 
everything."  "Right  in  everything  except  politics,"  he 
affirmed,  "There  always  twistical";  and,  before  the 
Doctor  departed,  Randolph  repeated  a  part  of  the  Epis- 
copal Litany  with  apparent  fervor.  He  felt  so  wretched 
that  he  requested  Badger  to  remain  with  him  all  night ; 
which  Badger  readily  consented  to  do;  but,  in  a  few 
minutes,  he  asked  him  whether  he  had  a  wife,  and,  when 
Badger  replied  that  he  had,  he  said:  "I'll  not  keep  you 
from  your  wife;  go  home;  go  to  your  wife";  and  Badger 
had  to  go. 

The  next  morning,  Dr.  Parrish  was  aroused  by  a 
summons  from  his  patient,  and,  when  he  called  on  him, 
Randolph  apologized  in  handsome  terms  for  sending  for 
him,  and,  from  that  time  on  until  he  died,  the  Doctor 
attended  him  regularly.  Ill  as  he  was,  the  same  day, 
with  Badger  as  a  companion,  he  was  driven  up  Arch  Street 


The  End  39 

as  far  as  Broad  and  then  down  Chestnut  Street  as  far  as 
the  United  States  Bank,  where  Nicholas  Biddle,  its  presi- 
dent, came  outside  at  his  request,  and  conversed  with 
him.  As  he  went  along  with  Badger,  he  pointed  out 
various  houses  to  him,  and  told  him  who  occupied  them 
when  he  was  in  Philadelphia  as  a  member  of  Congress. 

He  was  a  trying  patient.  Several  times,  Dr.  Parrish 
found  it  necessary  to  say  to  him  that,  while  he  felt  every 
disposition  to  treat  him  with  kindness  and  respect,  he  was 
not  insensible  to  what  was  due  to  himself.  Once  when 
the  Doctor  proposed  a  medical  consultation,  leaving  to 
Randolph  the  choice  of  the  consulting  physician,  the 
latter  assured  the  Doctor  that  he  had  entire  confidence 
in  him,  but  objected  to  the  proposal  with  the  remark: 
"Ina  multitude  of  counsel  there  is  confusion;  it  leads  to 
weakness  and  indecision;  the  patient  may  die  while  the 
doctors  are  staring  at  each  other." 

Dr.  Parrish  tells  us  that  he  found  that,  beneath  Ran- 
dolph's irritability,  petulance,  and  impatience,  there  were 
some  noble  traits  of  character  and  a  keen  sense  of  pro- 
priety which  awaited  only  the  right  sort  of  appeal  to 
manifest  itself.  Once,  when  the  Doctor  suggested  some- 
thing for  his  relief,  he  pettishly  but  positively  rejected 
the  suggestion;  but,  when  the  Doctor  renewed  it,  his  good 
sense  asserted  its  control;  he  apologized,  and  was  as 
submissive  as  an  infant.  Whenever  the  Doctor  parted 
with  him,  especially  at  night,  he  would  receive  the  most 
affectionate  acknowledgments  from  him;  generally  with 
the  addition :  "God  bless  you,  He  does  bless  you,  and  He 
will  bless  you!"  One  day  he  told  Dr.  Parrish  that  his 
poor  John  was  worn  down  by  fatigue  and  had  been  com- 
pelled to  go  to  bed.  Another  person  then  took  John's 
place,  but  he  complained  that,  while  this  man  was  most 
attentive  to  him,  neither  he  nor  the  Doctor  were  like  John, 
who  knew  where  to  place  his  hand  on  anything  in  a  large 
quantity  of  baggage  prepared  for  an  European  voyage. 


40  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Randolph's  breathing  became  so  bad  in  consequence  of 
obstructed  expectoration  that  he  requested  the  Doctor  to 
perform  the  operation  of  tracheotomy  on  him ;  for  he  could 
not  live,  he  said,  unless  relieved.  So  eager,  however,  as 
always,  was  his  interest  in  all  the  concerns  of  life,  that,  at 
this  same  interview,  he  had  a  newspaper  brought  to  him, 
looked  it  over,  and,  after  pointing  out  to  the  Doctor  a 
part  of  it,  headed  "Cherokee, "  asked  the  Doctor  to  read 
it.  In  reading,  the  Doctor  pronounced  the  word  ' '  omnipo- 
tence" as  if  it  were  pronounced  "  omnipotence." 
Randoph  checked  him  instantly,  and  pronounced  the 
word  as  Walker  pronounced  it;  and,  when  the  Doctor 
attempted  to  defend  himself,  Randolph,  without  contra- 
dicting him,  simply  said  quickly:  "Pass  on."  Continuing 
his  reading,  the  Doctor  pronounced  the  word  "impe- 
tus" as  if  its  e  were  long.  Again  he  was  promptly  cor- 
rected, and,  when  he  hesitated  about  accepting  the 
correction,  he  was  told  quickly  as  before:  "There  can  be 
no  doubt  about  it."  When  the  Doctor  ended  and  re- 
marked that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  sublimity  in  the 
composition,  Randolph  referred  to  the  Mosaic  account 
of  creation  and  reciting,  "Let  there  be  light  and  there 
was  light, ' '  observed :   ' '  There  is  sublimity ! ' ' 

Even  now  the  hope  of  getting  off  for  Europe  still  lin- 
gered with  him,  and,  when  he  found  that  he  could  not  take 
the  packet  at  Philadelphia,  he  formed  the  resolution  of 
taking  the  packet  at  New  York;  and,  when  he  found  that 
his  condition  made  even  this  impracticable,  he  decided 
that  he  would  go  on  to  New  England  to  see  Andrew 
Jackson,  who  was  then  in  that  portion  of  the  United 
States. 

The  morning  of  the  day  that  Randolph  died,  Dr. 
Parrish  received  an  early  and  urgent  message  from  him, 
begging  him  to  call  to  see  him.  When  the  Doctor  reached 
the  sick  room,  there  were  several  persons  about  Randolph ; 
but  they  all  soon  left  except  John.     Dr.  Parrish  remarked 


The  End  41 

to  John  that  the  latter  had  seen  his  master  very  low  several 
times  before,  and  yet  he  had  revived,  and  that,  perhaps,  he 
would  do  so  again;  but  Randolph  interjected:  "John 
knows  better  than  that. "  The  Doctor  had  not  been  long 
in  the  room  when  Randolph  looked  at  him  fixedly  and 
announced.  "I  confirm  every  disposition  in  my  will, 
especially  that  respecting  my  slaves,  whom  I  have  manu- 
mitted, and  for  whom  I  have  made  provision."  Dr. 
Parrish  assured  him  that  he  was  rejoiced  to  hear  him 
make  such  a  statement,  and  soon  afterwards,  when  he  was 
about  to  leave  the  apartment  for  the  purpose  of  calling 
on  another  patient,  Randolph  said  in  positive  terms: 
"You  must  not  go;  you  cannot;  you  shall  not  leave  me"; 
calling  to  John  as  he  uttered  these  words  to  take  care  that 
the  Doctor  did  not  leave  the  room.  John  obeyed  by 
locking  the  door  and  reporting  to  his  master :  ' '  Master, 
I  have  locked  the  door  and  got  the  key  in  my  pocket. 
The  Doctor  cannot  go  now. "  So  agitated  was  Randolph 
by  this  incident  that  he  even  said  to  the  Doctor :  "If  you 
do  go,  you  need  not  return. "  When  the  Doctor,  however, 
appealed  to  his  better  feelings,  reminding  him  of  the  duty 
that  as  a  doctor  he  owed  to  another  human  being  who 
might  need  his  assistance,  Randolph's  manner  instantly 
changed,  and  he  said:  "I  retract  that  expression,"  and, 
perhaps,  a  quarter  of  an  hour  afterwards,  giving  the 
Doctor  an  expressive  look,  he  again  said :  "I  retract  that 
expression. "  When  the  Doctor  told  him  that  he  thought 
that  he  understood  clearly  his  purpose  in  regard  to  his 
slaves,  and  took  it  for  granted  that  the  will  would  explain 
the  matter  fully,  he  replied  under  the  influence  of  an 
hallucination : 

"No,  you  do  not  understand  it — I  know  you  don't.  Our 
laws  are  extremely  particular  on  the  subject  of  slaves.  A  will 
may  manumit  them,  but  provision  for  their  subsequent  sup- 
port requires  that  a  declaration  be  made  in  the  presence  of  a 


42  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

white  witness,  and  it  is  requisite  that  the  witness,  after  hearing 
the  declaration,  should  continue  with  the  party,  and  never  lose 
sight  of  him  until  he  is  gone  or  dead.  You  are  a  good  witness 
for  John!  You  see  the  propriety  and  importance  of  your 
remaining  with  me !  Your  patients  must  make  allowances  for 
your  situation. " 

Dr.  Parrish,  of  course,  knowing  nothing  of  the  laws  of 
Virginia,  felt  the  force  of  such  reasoning.  Randolph 
then  said:  "John  told  me  this  morning,  'Master,  you  are 
dying' ;"  and  the  Doctor  made  no  attempt  to  keep  the 
truth  from  him.  On  the  contrary,  he  assured  Randolph 
that  he  would  be  entirely  candid  with  him,  and  informed 
him  that  he  had  been  rather  surprised  that  he  had 
lasted  so  long.  Thereupon,  Randolph  made  his  prepa- 
rations to  die;  John,  obeying  his  directions  as  if  every- 
thing had  been  thoroughly  preconcerted  between  them. 
The  gold  stud,  which  had  belonged  to  his  father,  was,  agree- 
ably with  his  command,  placed  in  his  shirt  bosom  by  John, 
as  we  have  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter.  At  his  re- 
quest, a  napkin  was  also  placed  upon  his  breast  by  John. 
For  a  short  time,  he  lay  perfectly  quiet  with  his  eyes  closed, 
and  Dr.  Parrish  thought  that  he  was  inclined  to  sleep; 
but  suddenly  he  roused  himself  and  exclaimed :  "Remorse ! 
Remorse!",  uttering  the  word  the  second  time  at  the  top 
of  his  voice  in  a  state  of  great  excitement,  and  then  crying 
out:  "Let  me  see  the  word."  Dr.  Parrish  thought  it 
prudent  to  remain  wholly  silent.  Randolph  continued: 
"Get  a  dictionary — let  me  see  the  word."  The  Doctor 
looked  about  him  and  told  Randolph  that  he  believed 
that  there  was  none  in  the  room.  ' '  Write  it  down  then, ' ' 
commanded  Randolph.  "Let  me  see  the  word."  The 
Doctor  picked  up  one  of  Randolph's  cards  from  the  table 
with  the  words  "Randolph  of  Roanoke"  on  it,  and  asked 
whether  he  should  write  the  word  "Remorse"  on  that. 
"Yes,  nothing  more  proper, "  replied  Randolph.     At  this, 


The  End  43 

with  his  pencil,  the  Doctor  wrote  the  word  "Remorse"  on 
the  card,  and  Randolph  took  it  into  his  hands  hurriedly, 
and  fastened  his  eyes  on  it  with  great  intensity.  ' '  Remorse, 
you  have  no  idea  what  it  is — you  can  form  no  idea  of  it 
whatever;  it  has  contributed  to  bring  me  to  my  present 
situation ;  but  I  have  looked  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
hope  I  have  obtained  pardon. ' '  He  then  said :  ' '  Now  let 
John  take  the  pencil  and  draw  a  line  under  the  word"; 
which  was  accordingly  done.  The  Doctor  asked  what 
disposition  was  to  be  made  of  the  card,  and  he  replied : 
1 '  Put  it  in  your  pocket  and  take  care  of  it ;  when  I  am 
dead,  look  at  it." 

Realizing  that  testimony,  originating  in  circumstances 
so  extraordinary  as  those  which  surrounded  him,  might 
well  be  questioned,  if  Randolph's  intentions  in  regard  to 
his  slaves  were  ever  brought  into  dispute,  Doctor  Parrish 
suggested  that  some  additional  persons  should  be  called 
in  to  hear  the  same  declaration  that  Randolph  had  made 
to  him,  and  to  remain  with  Randolph  until  his  death;  and, 
when  the  Doctor  proposed  his  son,  Dr.  Isaac  Parrish,  and 
his  young  friend  and  late  pupil,  Dr.  Francis  West,  as  the 
proper  persons  for  the  purpose,  Randolph,  as  soon  as  he 
found  that  West  was  a  brother  of  his  sea-captain  friend, 
exclaimed :  ' '  Send  for  him,  he  is  the  man ;  I  will  have  him. ' ' 

Before  the  door  was  unlocked,  so  as  to  allow  of  the  exit 
of  Dr.  Parrish,  Randolph  pointed  to  a  bureau,  and  asked 
the  Doctor  to  take  his  remuneration  for  his  services  from 
it;  but  the  Doctor  objected,  saying  that  he  would  feel  as 
though  he  were  acting  indelicately,  were  he  to  comply. 
Without  pressing  the  subject  further,  Randolph  merely 
remarked:   "In  England,  it  is  always  customary. " 

Dr.  Isaac  Parrish  and  Dr.  Francis  West  were  sent  for 
and  soon  arrived.  When  they  entered  the  room,  Ran- 
dolph was  sitting  in  bed,  propped  up  with  pillows,  and,  as 
he  was  very  susceptible  to  cold,  in  his  emaciated  condition, 
his  head  had  been  covered  with  a  blanket  in  the  form  of  a 


44  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

hood,  crowned  with  an  old  hat.  After  the  witnesses  had 
been  admitted,  and  he  had  shaken  hands  very  cordially 
with  Dr.  West,  and  inquired  after  his  brother,  Randolph 
requested  that  Edmund  Badger  be  sent  for;  and,  as  soon 
as  Badger  had  come,  he  asked  the  three  doctors — Dr. 
Joseph  Parrish,  Dr.  Isaac  Parrish,  and  Dr.  Francis  West — 
to  gather  around  his  bed ;  which  they  did  in  a  semi-circle. 
Then  he  made  the  declaration  that  they  were  desired  to 
attest. 

"His  whole  soul,"  says  Dr.  Joseph  Parrish,  "seemed  con- 
centrated in  the  act.  His  eyes  flashed  feeling  and  intelligence. 
Pointing  towards  us  with  his  long  index  finger,  he  addressed 
us:  'I  confirm  all  the  directions  in  my  will  respecting  my 
slaves,  and  direct  them  to  be  enforced;  particularly  in  regard 
to  a  provision  for  their  support.'  " 

And  at  this  point,  raising  his  arm  as  high  as  he  could,  he 
brought  his  open  hand  down  on  the  shoulder  of  John,  who 
stood  near  him  weeping ;  saying  as  he  did  so :  • '  Especially 
for  this  man. "  He  then  asked  each  of  the  doctors  in  turn 
whether  they  understood  him,  shooting  out  his  long, 
historic  forefinger  at  each  as  he  made  the  inquiry,  and 
obtained  from  each  an  affirmative  reply. 

After  the  declaration  had  been  made,  Dr.  Parrish 
explained  to  Dr.  Isaac  Parrish  and  Dr.  West  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  ceremony  as  it  had  been  explained  to  him  by 
Randolph,  and  appealed  to  Randolph  to  know  whether 
he  had  made  a  correct  statement.  "Yes,"  replied  Ran- 
dolph, gracefully  dismissing  the  group  with  a  wave  of  his 
hand,  and  adding:  "The  young  gentlemen  will  remain 
with  me." 

"I  took  leave,"  Dr.  Joseph  Parrish  tells  us,  "with  the 
assurance  that  I  would  return  as  speedily  as  possible  and  re- 
main with  him.  After  an  absence  of  perhaps  an  hour  or  more, 
and  about  50  minutes  before  his  death,  I  returned  to  his  sick- 
room.    But  now  the  scene  was  changed;  his  keen,  penetrating 


The  End  .     45 

eye  had  lost  its  expression ;  his  powerful  mind  had  given  way, 
and  he  appeared  totally  incapable  of  giving  any  correct  direc- 
tions relative  to  his  worldly  concerns." 

Other  information  about  the  last  moments  of  Ran- 
dolph's life  has  been  given  to  us  by  Dr.  Francis  West  and 
Condy  Raguet.  In  the  course  of  the  morning,  his  friends 
William  J.  Barksdale,  Henry  A.  Watkins,  and  John  S. 
Barbour  called  to  see  him.  "They  can  do  no  harm  or 
good, "  he  said,  "let  them  come  up. " 

For  some  time,  after  the  witnesses  had  been  called  in, 
his  mind  continued  wholly  clear;  but  then  began  to  give 
way  quite  rapidly.  He  was  very  restless,  and  exhibited 
considerable  impatience  when  his  wishes  were  not  speedily 
gratified.  One  moment,  he  would  ask  that  the  fire  be  re- 
plenished, and,  another,  that  fresh  air  be  let  into  the  apart- 
ment. Once  or  twice,  his  eyes  were  cheated  by  illusions. 
He  attempted  to  scribble  a  letter  to  Judge  Coalter,  who, 
he  said,  was  living  just  over  the  way.  The  old  sensual 
visions,  which  he  had  seen  the  year  before  at  Roanoke, 
came  back,  and  yet  his  innate  sense  of  modesty  once 
manifested  itself  so  strongly  as  to  excite  the  attention  of 
Dr.  Francis  West.  At  times,  he  was  so  fearful  of  suffoca- 
tion that  he  begged  Dr.  Francis  West,  as  he  had  begged 
Dr.  Joseph  Parrish,  to  perform  the  operation  of  trache- 
otomy on  him,  and,  when  Dr.  West  declined  to  perform  it, 
even  called  for  a  knife  with  which  to  perform  it  himself. 
"The  old  Doctor,"  he  said,  "was  too  timid  to  do  it,  and 
so  were  the  young  ones."  Finally,  his  desires  could 
hardly  be  apprehended,  so  indistinctly  were  they  now 
expressed  either  by  word  or  gesture.  His  breathing 
gradually  became  shorter;  his  knees,  which  had  been 
slightly  elevated,  as  he  sat  in  bed,  fell  to  one  side;  there 
was  a  slight  facial  contortion,  his  spirit  forsook  its  wasted 
habitation,  and  its  flight  was  so  natural  that  it  was  difficult 
to  say  just  when  it  departed.     Fifteen  minutes  to  twelve 


46  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

o'clock,  midday,  on  Friday,  May  24,  1833,  is  the  moment 
to  which  the  event  was  referred  by  Dr.  Joseph  Parrish.  (a) . 
Shortly  after  Randolph  attempted  to  write  his  letter 
to  Judge  Coalter,  he  fumbled  away  at  another  note,  and 
handed  it  to  Condy  Raguet,  who  was  also  present  when  he 
died,  and  asked  him  to  send  it  to  Chatham,  Virginia.  It 
was  addressed  to  his  beloved  niece,  Mrs.  John  Randolph 
Bryan,  and  her  husband,  and,  so  far  as  its  wandering 
thoughts  are  decipherable,  it  reads  as  follows : 

"Dying.  Home.  .  .  .  Randolph  and  Betty,  my  children, 
adieu !  Get  me  to  bed  at  Chatham  or  elsewhere,  say  Hugh 
Mercer's  or  Minor's.     To  bed  I  conjure  you  all. " 

Even  with  Azrael  darkening  his  doorway,  he  was  still 
travelling  the  long  and  arduous  road  between  Washington 
and  Roanoke. ■ 

After  Randolph's  death,  his  body  was  exposed  to  public 
view  at  the  City  Hotel;  and  was  inspected  by  a  great 
concourse  of  people;  (b)  and,  on  May  25,  a  public  meeting 
of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  was  convoked  in  the  Court 
Room  of  the  United  States  District  Court  in  that  City  for 
the  purpose  of  paying  a  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory. 
The  gathering  was  addressed  by  the  celebrated  lawyers, 
Horace  Binney  and  John  Sergeant.2  Appropriately 
enough,  the  body,  after  being  brought  by  water  to  Balti- 
more, was  conveyed  to  Norfolk  in  the  steamboat,  Poco- 
hontas,  and  from  Norfolk  to  Richmond  in  the  steamboat, 

1  Deposition  of  Dr.  Jos.  Parrish,  Littell's  Living  Age,  No.  180,  153,  Oct. 
23,  1847;  Depositions  of  Drs.  Isaac  Parrish  and  Francis  West  and  Edmund 
Badger  in  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Cl'k's  Office,  Cir.  Ct., 
Petersburg,  Va.;  Last  Moments  cf  Mr.  Randolph,  by  Condy  Raguet  in 
Examiner  and  Journal  of  Political  Economy,  Phila.,  1834,  v.  1,  45-47; 
Reminiscences  of  the  Last  Moments  of  Hon.  J.  R.  of  Roanoke,  by  Dr.  Francis 
West,  copied  by  D.  Grinnan,  on  Sept.  27,  1887,  from  original  MS.  in  pos- 
session of  Dr.  Philip  Slaughter,  of  Culpeper  Co.,  Va.  (J.  C.  Grinnan  MSS.) ; 
Bryan  MSS. 

2  U.  S.  Gazette,  May  27,  1833;  Poulson's  Am.  Daily  Advertiser,  May 
29,  i833- 


The  End  47 

Patrick  Henry.  It  arrived  in  Richmond  on  May  28,  and 
the  next  day,  after  a  funeral  service,  it  was  taken  to  Roa- 
noke. Thirteen  minute  guns  were  fired  when  the  funeral 
cortege  commenced  the  journey  from  Richmond,  and  a 
great  multitude  of  people  followed  it  as  far  as  the  toll-gate 
on  Mayo's  Bridge. '  When  the  body  arrived  at  Roanoke, 
it  was  buried  under  a  tall  pine  in  a  spot  not  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the  front  door  of  one  of  the 
two  dwellings  which  constituted  Randolph's  home,  and,  in 
accordance  with  his  directions,  his  grave  was  marked  only 
by  a  rude  stone  from  his  plantation  which  he  had  selected 
for  the  purpose. 

In  December,  1879,  all  the  vestiges  of  him  that  time 
had  spared  were  gathered  up  by  John  Randolph  Bryan 
and  his  son,  Joseph  Bryan,  and  interred  in  Hollywood 
Cemetery  in  Richmond. 2  Two  persons,  who  were  present 
at  the  disinterment,  Dennis  E.  Morgan  and  Henry  E. 
Edmunds,  had  been  present  at  the  interment.  So  deep 
was  the  grave,  in  which  Randolph  was  buried,  that,  for  a 
time,  after  the  work  of  exhumation  had  been  diligently 
prosecuted,  it  looked  as  if  the  search  for  the  body  might 
be  a  wholly  disappointing  one ;  and,  when  it  was  discovered, 
true  to  the  local  tradition  which  had  always  prevailed  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Roanoke,  it  was  found  that  Ran- 
dolph had  been  interred,  not  with  his  face  to  the  East, 
as  was  customary,  but  to  the  West ;  so,  it  was  said,  that  he 
might  still  keep  an  eye,  even  after  death,  on  Henry  Clay. 
In  a  letter  to  the  author,3  Mr.  Briscoe  B.  Bouldin,  one  of 
the  persons  present  at  the  disinterment,  tells  him  that, 
when  the  interior  of  the  coffin  was  exposed,  the  out- 
lines of  the  figure  could  be  plainly  seen,  though  there 
was  only  black  dust  to  mark  them.  The  hair,  that  irre- 
pressible appendage  of  our  mortal  being,  seemed  natural, 

1  Id.,  May  28,  1833,  Richmond  Whig,  May  29,  1833. 

2  Richmond  Dispatch,  Dec.  12,  1879. 

3  Jan.  2,  1919. 


48  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Mr.  Bouldin  says.  Another  eye-witness  told  Mr.  J.  H. 
Whitty,  the  well-known  editor  of  Poe's  poems,  that  the 
root  of  a  tree  had  penetrated  the  skull. *  Death  had  not 
only  stricken  him  down  but  had  insultingly  trampled 
upon  him.     (a) 

1  Letter  from  J.  H.  Whitty  to  the  Author,  Sept.  17,  19 18. 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Randolph  Will  Litigation 

After  Randolph's  death  it  was  found  that  he  had  made 
various  dispositions  of  his  property  by  will  at  different 
times.  One  will  was  executed  in  1 8 1 9  and  placed  in  the  cus- 
tody of  Dr.  Brockenbrough ;  it  contained  this  declaration : 

"I  give  my  slaves  their  freedom  to  which  my  conscience 
tells  me  they  are  justly  entitled.  It  has  a  long  time  been  a 
matter  of  the  deepest  regret  to  me  that  the  circumstances 
under  which  I  inherited  them,  and  the  obstacles  thrown  in  the 
way  by  the  law  of  the  land  have  prevented  my  emancipating 
them  in  my  lifetime,  which  it  is  my  full  intention  to  do,  in  case 
I  can  accomplish  it." 

Then  ensued  provisions  settling  all  the  estate  of  the 
testator,  with  certain  exceptions,  upon  William  Leigh, 
William  Meade,  and  Francis  Scott  Key,  in  trust  to  use  it 
in  colonizing  the  slaves  of  the  testator  on  a  body  of  land, 
not  in  excess  of  four  thousand  acres,  to  be  purchased  by 
them  in  some  part  of  the  United  States;  defraying  the 
expense  of  removing  them ;  and  supplying  them  with  cabins, 
clothes,  and  utensils.  ■ 

Another  will,  without  date,  was  executed  in  1821,  and 
to  this  four  codicils  were  subsequently  added;  dated,  Dec.  5, 
1 82 1,  Jan.  31,  1826,  May  6, 1828,  and  Aug.  26, 1 831,  respec- 
tively.    Still  another  will  was  executed  in  January,  1832. 

By  the  will  of  1821,  Randolph  made  Wm.  Leigh  his 
executor,  and  devised  to  him  the  part  of  his  Roanoke 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  150. 

vol.  n— 4  49 


5°  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

estate  which  he  called  his  Middle  Quarter ;  bequeathing  to 
him  at  the  same  time  all  his  household  effects,  live-stock, 
tools,  and  the  like.  In  the  same  will,  he  bequeathed  free- 
dom to  all  his  slaves  in  the  following  terms :  ' '  I  give  and 
bequeath  all  my  slaves  their  freedom,  heartily  regretting 
that  I  have  ever  been  the  owner  of  one. "  Moreover,  he 
bequeathed  to  his  executor  a  sum  not  in  excess  of  $8,000, 
or  so  much  of  such  a  sum  as  might  be  necessary,  with 
which  "to  transport  and  settle  said  slaves  to  and  in  some 
other  State  or  Territory  of  the  United  States,  giving  to  all 
above  the  age  of  40  not  less  than  10  acres  of  land. "  Pro- 
vision was  also  made  by  the  will  for  the  sale  of  the  re- 
mainder of  his  Roanoke  estate,  and  of  his  Bushy  Forest 
estate,  in  Charlotte  County,  and  for  the  disposition  of  the 
proceeds  of  sale  by  Francis  Scott  Key  and  the  Rev.  Wm. 
Meade  towards  bettering  the  condition  of  the  manumitted 
slaves  of  the  testator  (to  use  his  words).  In  this  will, 
Randoph  also  expressed  the  hope  that  his  "old  and 
faithful  servants,"  Essex  and  Essex's  wife,  Hetty,  might 
be  suffered  to  remain  in  the  State;  and  to  each  of  them  he 
made  an  annual  bequest  of  3>£  barrels  of  corn,  two  hun- 
dred-weight of  pork,  a  pair  of  strong  shoes,  a  suit  of  clothes, 
and  a  blanket ;  and  to  Essex  besides  an  annual  bequest  of 
a  hat,  10  pounds  of  coffee,  and  20  pounds  of  brown  sugar; 
and  to  his  servants  Nancy,  the  daughter  of  Hetty,  Juba 
(alias  Jupiter),  Queen,  and  Johnny,  his  body  servant,  the 
same  annual  allowance  as  to  Hetty. 

By  the  codicil  executed  by  Randolph  in  1826,  these 
provisions  were  so  modified  as  to  place  John,  who  was  a 
son  of  Essex,  and  Juba  on  the  same  footing  as  Essex  and 
John's  wife,  Betsy,  and  Juba's  wife,  Celia,  and  Nancy,  on 
the  same  footing  as  Hetty;  and,  after  making  these 
change s.  Randolph  said : 

"And  I  humbly  request  the  General  Assembly  (the  only 
request  I  ever  preferred  to  them)  to  let  the  above  named,  and 


The  Randolph  Will  Litigation         51 

such  other  of  my  old  and  faithful  slaves  as  desire  it,  remain  in 
Virginia,  recommending  them  each  and  all  to  the  care  of  my 
said  executor,  who  I  know  is  too  wise,  just,  and  humane  to  send 
them  to  Liberia,  or  any  other  place  in  Africa,  or  the  West 
Indies." 

There  were  some  other  special  bequests  contained  in 
the  will  of  1 82 1,  but  they  were  all  revoked  by  the  codicil 
of  1826,  except  a  bequest  to  Theodore  Dudley,  which  had 
been  previously  revoked  by  the  codicil  of  1821.  In 
addition  to  revoking  the  bequest  to  Dr.  Dudley,  the 
codicil  of  1 82 1  atoned  for  the  lack  of  a  residuary  clause  in 
the  will  of  1 82 1  by  giving  to  the  executor  of  the  testator, 
Wm.  Leigh,  all  the  lots  and  houses  of  the  testator  in 
Farmville,  and  every  other  species  of  property  whatever, 
of  which  he  might  die  possessed,  save  such  property  as 
was  disposed  of  in  the  will  of  1821. 

By  the  codicil  of  1826,  Randolph  also  specifically 
devised  to  Wm.  Leigh  a  tract  of  land  in  Charlotte  County 
which  he  had  bought  from  the  estate  of  Pleasant  Lipscomb, 
and  a  53-acre  tract  of  land  in  Halifax  County,  "  lying  at 
the  deep  gut  on  Staunton  River,"  which  he  had  bought 
from  William  Sims  Daniel.  Both  tracts  had  been  pur- 
chased since  the  execution  of  the  will  in  1821 ;  and,  by  the 
codicil  of  1826,  Randolph  also  devised  to  Wm.  Leigh  an 
1 75 -acre  tract  of  land  in  Halifax  County,  which  he  had 
likewise  bought  from  William  Sims  Daniel,  to  be  held  by 
him  during  his  life,  and,  at  his  decease,  to  pass  to  such  one 
of  Leigh's  children  as  he  should  make  by  his  will  the 
devisee  of  the  53-acre  Daniel  tract.  By  the  same  codicil, 
Randolph  devised  to  Thomas  H.  Benton  all  that  part, 
consisting  of  about  600  acres,  of  the  Bushy  Forest  tract 
that  he  had  set  apart  for  the  benefit  of  his  slaves  in  the 
will  of  1 82 1,  which  lay  on  the  S.  E.  side  of  the  Little 
Roanoke ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  bequeathed  to  Benton 
his  large  pistols  made  by  Woydon  and  Burton.  In  the 
same  codicil,  the  subjects  of  such  bequests  in  the  will  of 


52    John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

1 82 1  as  were  revoked  by  it  he  bequeathed  to  his  executor 
as  a  fund  to  be  used  at  his  discretion  for  the  benefit  of  the 
testator's  slaves;  the  surplus,  if  any,  to  belong  to  him. 
The  codicil  of  1826  also  made  various  specific  bequests  to 
some  of  Randolph's  friends,  which  modified  to  a  limited 
extent  the  general  residuary  dispositions  which  he  had 
made  in  favor  of  Wm.  Leigh. 

By  the  codicil  of  1828,  Randolph  revoked  all  testamen- 
tary dispositions,  if  any,  made  by  him  after  the  execution 
of  the  will  of  182 1 ,  whether  made  by  will  or  codicil ;  but  an 
"N.  B."  to  the  instrument  contained  a  clause  of  specific 
devise  saving  to  Wm.  Leigh  the  Pleasant  Lipscomb  and 
the  two  Daniel  tracts,  and  all  the  property  of  every 
description  which  the  testator  had  acquired  since  the  date 
of  the  will  of  1 82 1 .  Curiously  enough,  another  addendum 
to  this  codicil  referred  to  his  Ferry  Quarter,  which  had  by 
the  will  of  1 82 1  been  directed  to  be  sold  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  condition  of  his  manumitted  slaves,  as  having 
been  made  subject  by  that  will  to  the  refusal  of  Wm. 
Leigh  at  a  price,  he  said,  which  he  then  thought  very 
moderate,  but  which  a  change  in  the  times  had  rendered 
too  high  to  answer  his  friendly  intentions  towards  his 
executor  in  giving  him  the  refusal ;  so  he  modified  the  will 
of  1 82 1,  he  declared,  so  far,  but  so  far  only,  as  to  reduce  to 
the  extent  of  50%  the  price  at  which  Leigh  might  take  all 
the  land  above  the  Ferry  Road  that  Randolph  had  in- 
herited from  his  father,  and  all  that  he  had  bought  from 
John  Daniel,  Tom.  Beasley,  Charles  Beasley,  and  others 
of  that  name  and  family.  Such  a  misapprehension  of  the 
terms  of  his  own  will  was,  of  course,  well  calculated  to 
give  color  to  the  idea  that  Randolph  was  in  an  irresponsible 
condition  of  mind  when  he  made  this  codicil. 

By  the  codicil  of  1831,  executed  in  London,  Randolph 
devised  to  his  niece  his  Lower  Quarter  and  some  additional 
land;  and  to  his  brother,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  his 
Bushy  Forest  estate,  on  both  sides  of  the  Little  Roanoke, 


The  Randolph  Will  Litigation         53 

and  all  his  interest  in  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Martha  Corran, 
the  widow  of  his  Uncle  Col.  Theodorick  Bland,  and  in  his 
lots  and  houses  in  Farmville.  By  this  codicil,  he  also 
bequeathed  his  plate  and  library  to  his  niece.  The 
codicil  likewise  stated  that  the  testator  had  upwards  of 
2,000  pounds  sterling  in  the  hands  of  Baring  Bros.  &  Co. 
of  London,  and  upwards  of  1,000  pounds  sterling  in  the 
hands  of  Gowan  &  Marx,  and  that  this  money  he  left  to 
his  executor,  Wm.  Leigh,  as  a  fund  for  carrying  into 
execution  the  provisions  of  his  will  relating  to  his  slaves. 
It  also  contained  this  provision : 

"And,  in  addition  to  the  provision  which  I  have  made  for 
my  faithful  servant  John,  sometimes  called  John  White,  I 
charge  my  whole  estate  with  an  annuity  to  him  during  his  life 
of  $50.00,  and,  as  the  only  favor,  that  I  ever  asked  of  any 
Government,  I  do  entreat  the  Assembly  of  Virginia  to  permit 
the  said  John  and  his  family  to  remain  in  Virginia;  and  I  do 
earnestly  recommend  him  and  them  to  my  executor  aforesaid , 
and  to  my  dear  brother  and  niece  aforesaid." 

The  reader  cannot  fail  to  have  noted,  we  are  sure,  the 
persistency  with  which  Randolph's  wish  to  free  his  slaves 
and  to  provide  for  their  support  continued  from  the  date 
of  his  will  in  1819  to  the  date  of  his  last  codicil  in  1831 — a 
period  of  some  12  years. 

After  his  return  from  Russia,  however,  madness  worked 
a  complete  reversal  for  a  time  in  the  current  of  his  feel- 
ings in  this  respect.  In  January,  1832,  he  endeavored  to 
execute  another  will  revoking  all  former  testamentary 
dispositions  made  by  him,  appointing  Wm.  Leigh  and  his 
brother,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  his  executors,  and 
requiring  them  to  sell  all  of  his  slaves  and  other  personal 
or  perishable  property,  with  certain  exceptions,  including 
100  of  his  slaves,  to  be  selected  by  his  executors,  and  to 
invest  the  proceeds  in  stock  of  the  bank  of  the  United 
States;  and,  in  default  of  there  being  no  such  bank  (which 


54  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

might  God  grant  for  the  safety  of  their  liberties),  in  the 
English  3%  consols;  and,  in  case  of  there  being  no  such 
stocks  (which  also  might  God  grant  for  the  safety  of  old 
England),  then  in  the  United  States  3%  stock;  or,  in 
defect  of  such  stock,  in  mortgages  on  land  in  England. 
By  this  paper,  Randolph  further  bequeathed  to  Wm. 
Leigh  and  Henry  St.  George  Tucker  so  much  of  the  sum 
of  $20,000,  which  he  then  had  in  the  bank  of  Virginia,  as 
might  remain  after  payment  had  been  made  for  certain 
land  just  purchased  by  him  from  Elisha  E.    Hundley; 
and  upon  his  Bushy  Forest  estate,  which  he  directed  in 
the    will   to   be    sold   and   made   chargeable   with   such 
debts  and  legacies  as   thereafter   he    might    see   fit  to 
give  when  he  should  have  more  leisure  to  make  his  will, 
he  charged  a  legacy  of  $5,000  in  favor  of  John  Randolph 
Leigh,  the  youngest  son  of  Wm.  Leigh.     By  this  will,  he 
likewise  bequeathed  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  John  Wick- 
ham,  Nathaniel  Macon,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  and 
Wm.  Leigh  certain  specific  articles  even  more  valuable 
from  the  pretium  afectionis  that  attached  to  them  than 
because  of  their  intrinsic  worth.     And  the  residue  of  his 
estate  of  every  kind  he  gave  to  John  C.  Bryan,  the  only 
son  of  his  niece,  during  his  life,  with  remainder  to  his 
eldest  son  in  fee  simple ;  and,  in  defect  of  such  issue,  then 
to  the  son  of  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  called  John  Ran- 
dolph after  the  testator,  during  his  life,  with  remainder 
to  his  eldest  son;  and,  in  defect  of  such  issue,  then  to 
Tudor  Tucker,  the  brother  of  John  Randolph  Tucker, 
during  his  natural  life,  with  remainder  to  his  eldest  son. 
At  the  July  term  of  the  General  Court  of  Virginia,  in 
the  year  1834,  John  Coalter,  as  the  next  friend  of  John 
Coalter  Bryan,  the  residuary  legatee  under  the  will  of  1832, 
presented  that  will  to  the  court  for  probate.  The  applica- 
tion was  opposed  by  Rev.  Wm.  Meade,  as  trustee  for  the 
slaves  under  the  will  of  1821,  and  by  Frederick  Hobson, 
as  the  Committee  of  John  St.  George  Randolph,  John 


The  Randolph  Will  Litigation         55 

Randolph's  insane  nephew;  on  the  ground  that  John 
Randolph  was  insane  at  the  time  of  the  execution  of  the 
paper.  During  the  progress  of  the  trial,  Wm.  Leigh, 
having,  with  a  degree  of  unselfishness  such  as  has  rarely 
ennobled  human  conduct,  released  all  his  interest  under 
the  will  of  1 82 1  and  the  codicils  thereto,  so  as  to  qualify 
himself  as  a  witness  for  the  purpose  of  upholding  the  still 
richer  gift  of  liberty  that  Randolph  had  bequeathed  to  his 
slaves,  was  examined  as  a  witness  by  Meade;  and,  his 
testimony  being  reduced  to  writing,  was  made  a  part  of 
the  record  of  the  court.  The  General  Court  admitted  the 
will  to  probate,  but,  on  appeal  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
Virginia,  this  judgment  was  reversed,  and  the  will  of  1832 
was  declared  to  be  null  and  void. 

After  this  decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Virginia, 
Wm.  Meade  presented  to  the  General  Court  at  its  July 
term  in  1836  for  probate  the  will  of  1821  and  its  four 
codicils.  The  application  was  opposed  by  Hobson,  as  the 
Committee  of  John  St.  George  Randolph,  who  claimed 
that  all  four  of  these  testamentary  papers  were  invalid; 
and  by  Henry  St.  George  Tucker  and  John  Randolph 
Bryan  and  his  wife,  so  far  as  the  will  of  1821  and  its  first 
three  codicils  were  concerned ;  but  by  these  last  defendants, 
it  was  claimed  that  its  fourth  codicil  (that  of  1831)  was 
maintainable  as  an  independent  testamentary  paper. 
The  grounds  on  which  Hobson,  as  Committee,  impugned 
the  validity  of  the  will  of  1821  and  all  of  its  four  codicils, 
and  on  which  the  other  defendants  impugned  the  validity 
of  the  will  of  1 82 1  and  its  first  three  codicils,  were  that  the 
testator  was  insane  at  the  time  of  the  execution  of  the 
several  papers,  and  that,  besides,  the  will  of  182 1  had  been 
cancelled.  On  this  trial,  by  consent  of  the  parties,  the 
testimony  taken  on  the  application  to  admit  to  probate 
the  will  of  1832,  including  that  of  Wm.  Leigh,  was  used, 
and  the  General  Court  reached  the  conclusion  that  John 
Randolph  was  sane  when  he  executed  the  testamentary 


56  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

papers  offered  for  probate,  and  that  he  was  insane  when  he 
cancelled  the  will  of  1821.  The  Court,  accordingly,  en- 
tered up  a  judgment  admitting  the  will  of  1821  and  its 
four  codicils  to  probate,  and,  upon  appeal  to  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  this  judgment  was  affirmed. 

Thereupon,  Wm.  Leigh,  the  executor,  named  in  the  will 
of  1 82 1,  qualified  as  such  in  the  General  Court  in  Decem- 
ber, 1837,  and  settled  two  administration  accounts  before 
a  Commissioner  of  the  Court,  by  which  a  large  amount  of 
assets  was  shown  to  be  in  his  hands  ready  for  distribution. 
Immediately  after  the  qualification  of  Wm.  Leigh  as 
executor,  Nathaniel  Beverley  Tucker,  Randolph's  brother, 
and  St.  George  T.  Coalter,  his  nephew,  filed  a  Bill  in  Chan- 
cery in  the  Circuit  Superior  Court  for  the  County  of  James 
City,  in  the  City  of  Williamsburg,  against  Wm.  Leigh,  as 
executor,  and  Francis  Scott  Key  and  Wm.  Meade,  as 
trustees  for  the  emancipated  slaves  and  the  plaintiff's 
coheirs  and  co-distributees,  John  St.  George  Randolph, 
Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  and  John  Randolph  Bryan  and 
wife,  praying,  among  other  things,  that  Wm.  Leigh,  as 
executor,  might  be  enjoined  from  carrying  into  effect  any 
of  the  provisions  of  the  will  of  1821  and  its  four  codicils; 
(all  of  which,  the  bill  alleged,  were  invalid  because  of  the 
lack  of  mental  capacity  in  the  testator)  in  relation  to  the 
slaves,  and  from  removing  them  out  of  the  Commonwealth. 
This  case  went  off  on  technical  grounds. 

In  1840,  St.  George  Tucker  Coalter  having  died,  leaving 
a  widow  and  five  infant  children,  Corbin  Braxton,  as  his 
executor  and  the  next  friend  of  his  infant  children,  and  the 
widow  filed  their  Bill  in  the  same  court  in  the  City  of 
Williamsburg,  asking  that  the  validity  of  the  will  of  182 1 
and  its  four  codicils  might  be  passed  upon  by  a  jury.  An 
answer  to  the  Bill  was  filed  by  Wm.  Leigh,  as  executor, 
and  later  the  case  was  removed  to  the  Circuit  Superior 
Court  of  Law  and  Chancery  of  the  Town  of  Petersburg. 
Subsequently,  Nathaniel  Beverley  Tucker,  by  agreement 


The  Randolph  Will  Litigation         57 

of  the  parties,  became  a  plaintiff  in  the  case,  and,  with  the 
original  plaintiffs,  filed  an  amended  Bill  in  it,  renewing 
substantially  the  same  objections  to  the  papers  that  had 
been  made  to  them  in  the  beginning  of  the  controversy. 
After  some  preliminary  sparring  on  a  formal  point,  which 
did  not  stop  short  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Virginia,  the 
case  was  submitted  to  a  jury,  which,  on  Feb.  II,  1845, 
found  that  the  will  of  1821  and  its  codicil  of  Dec.  5,  1821, 
were  "the  only  true  last  will  and  testament  of  John  Ran- 
dolph."  It  would  seem,  however,  from  a  petition  for  a 
fee  for  his  services  in  the  case,  which  was  filed  by  H.  L. 
Brooke,  one  of  the  counsel  for  Hobson,  the  Committee  of 
St.  George  Randolph  in  the  case,  in  another  case,  that  this 
verdict  was  entered  up  as  the  result  of  a  compromise 
between  the  parties,  which  the  petition  says:  "while  it 
gave  the  slaves  their  freedom  and  $30,000,  secured  to  St. 
George  Randolph's  estate  a  property  valued  at  more  than 
$50,000."  Thus  ended  the  celebrated  Randolph  will 
litigation  in  which  Walter  Jones  and  Chapman  Johnson, 
two  of  the  most  famous  lawyers  in  the  history  of  Virginia, 
and  other  eminent  lawyers  were  at  one  time  or  another 
engaged. * 

For  some  reason,  the  decisions  of  the  Court  of  Appeals 
in  the  two  probate  proceedings,  which  were  instituted 
before  the  General  Court,  were  not  reported  along  with  the 
reports  of  other  cases  decided  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
Virginia;  and  all  the  records  of  the  General  Court  itself 
were  unfortunately  destroyed  by  the  great  fire  which 
befell  Richmond  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  It  would 
seem,  too,  that,  in  some  unaccountable  manner,  all  the 
papers  in  the  case  in  the  Superior  Court  of  Law  and 
Chancery  for  the  Town  of  Petersburg,  in  which  Wm. 

1  Randolph's  Exor.  vs.  Tucker,  37  Va.  (10  Leigh)  655;  Coalter's  Exor. 
vs.  Bryan,  42  Va.  (1  Grattan)  18;  Randolph's  Admr.  vs.  Hobson,  Va.  State 
Libr.,  p.  138;  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clerk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct., 
Petersburg,  Va. 


58  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Leigh,  as  executor  of  John  Randolph,  settled  up  and  dis- 
tributed his  estate,  have  become  mislaid  or  lost. 

Even  if  the  jury  did  nothing  more  than  register  the 
result  of  the  compromise  arrived  at  by  the  parties  in  the 
case,  the  fact  remains  that  the  members  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals  of  Virginia  not  only  declared  the  will  of  1832,  by 
which  Randolph  directed  his  slaves  to  be  sold,  to  be 
invalid,  but  declared  the  will  of  1821,  by  which  he  gave 
freedom  to  them  all,  to  be  valid.  We  are  also  told  by 
Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  that,  while  the  will  litigation 
was  pending,  everybody  in  Charlotte  County  considered 
it  highly  inequitable  that  Randolph's  slaves  should  be 
kept  from  the  benefits  intended  by  their  master. J  More- 
over, the  human  sense  of  duty  has  rarely  found  finer 
expression  than  it  did  in  the  utterances  of  the  Rev.  Wm. 
Meade  and  Judge  Wm.  Leigh  in  regard  to  the  moral 
obligations  imposed  upon  them  by  the  testamentary  dis- 
positions of  John  Randolph.  Writing  to  John  Randolph 
Clay  a  few  months  after  the  death  of  Randolph,  Judge 
Leigh  said : 

"I  am  named  an  executor  in  all  his  testamentary  papers, 
and  in  all  a  legatee;  but  in  the  last  not  to  any  great  amount. 
He  left  his  affairs  in  such  a  situation  that  I  had  the  temptation 
of  a  great  estate  to  draw  me  into  litigation  with  his  relations ; 
but,  thank  God,  I  have  been  able  to  resist  it. 2 

"This  defendant,"  Judge  Leigh  averred  in  his  separate  an- 
swer to  the  bill  in  the  Petersburg  case,  "is  defending  the  right 
to  freedom  of  between  300  and  400  human  beings  and  their 
descendants  forever,  who  he  most  conscientiously  believes  are 
justly  and  legally  entitled  to  their  freedom."3 

Not  less  resonant  are  the  words  used  by  the  Rev.  Wm. 
Meade,  who  by  the  way  was  the  author  of  one  of  the 

1  Charlotte  C.  H.,  Va.,  Oct.  19,  1838,  40  Yrs.  Familiar  Letters,  p.  270. 

2  Halifax,  Nov.  22,  1833,  J.  R.  Clay  Papers,  Libr.  Cong. 

3  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Cl'k's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 


The  Randolph  Will  Litigation         59 

fairest  summaries  of  the  weakness  and  strength  of  slave 
institutions,  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge, *  in  his 
separate  answer,  as  one  of  the  trustees  for  Randolph's 
slaves,  to  the  same  bill : 

''This  respondent  .  .  .  being  himself  clear  of  all  interest 
in  this  case  but  the  sacred  trust  which  has  devolved  on  him  in 
a  capacity  purely  fiduciary  of  asserting  the  liberty  and  rights  of 
very  many  and  very  helpless  fellow  creatures  committed  to  his 
guardianship  and  protection  by  what  he  verily  in  his  con- 
science believes  to  be  the  true  and  genuine  last  will  and  testa- 
ment, the  judicially  established  last  will  and  testament,  of  a 
deceased  friend;  who,  in  that  instrument,  in  so  far  as  it  con- 
cerns those  fellow  creatures,  expressed  intents  which,  equally 
in  his  dying  hour  as  for  many  of  the  latter  and  most  rational 
years  of  his  life,  interested  his  heart  and  his  conscience  far 
above  all  other  of  his  earthly  concerns;  a  solemn  duty  calls 
this  respondent,  under  these  circumstances,  to  protest,  as  he 
does  now  protest,  as  well  for  himself  as  for  and  in  behalf  of  his 
co-defendant  and  co-trustee,  F.  S.  Key,  and  of  the  said  emanci- 
pated negroes,  against  further  procedure  in  this  cause  before 
this  court  and  the. now  judge  thereof."2 

In  the  light  of  such  facts  as  these,  what  language  can 
we  find  strong  enough  to  fitly  condemn  the  shallow 
bigotry,  the  benighted  ignorance  that  did  not,  or  would 
not,  or  could  not,  know  the  whole  truth  about  human 
slavery  in  Virginia,  and  impelled  Henry  Adams  in  his 
John  Randolph  to  say  sneeringly  that  it  was  difficult  to 
understand  how  the  jury  could  possibly  have  held  the  will 
of  1 82 1 /which  emancipated  Randolph's  slaves,  to  be  a 
saner  document  than  that  of  1832  which  did  not?3 

In  1833,  the  people  of  Virginia  were  not  entirely  ripe, 
though  ripening  fast,  as  the  great  debate  over  slavery  in 

1  Old  Families  and  Churches  of  Va.,  v.  i,  90  (note)  (Phila.,  1910). 

2  Coalter's  Exor.  VS.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Cl'k's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

3  P.  305. 


60  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  Virginia  Assembly  of  1832  showed,  for  the  voluntary 
adoption  of  the  system  of  gradual  but  universal  emanci- 
pation, which,  at  this  day,  at  any  rate,  it  is  reasonable  to 
believe,  would,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  human  events, 
after  the  usual  stages  of  agitation  and  reaction  through 
which  every  great  political  issue  passes  in  a  democratic 
community,  have  been  adopted  by  them,  without  the  loss  of 
a  life  on  the  battlefield,  if  only  the  question  of  freedom  for 
the  negro  could  have  been  kept  entirely  exempt  from 
external  complications;  which,  of  course,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances was  impossible ;  but,  in  1833,  public  sentiment 
in  Virginia  against  the  institution  of  slavery  was  suffi- 
ciently pronounced  to  allow  neither  judge  nor  jury  any 
pretext  for  thwarting  the  desire  of  a  testator  to  confer  the 
boon  of  liberty  upon  his  slaves.  Be  this  as  it  may,  there 
was  little  disposition  at  that  time  on  the  part  of  some  of 
the  very  free  States,  which  were  busily  assailing  the 
character  and  motives  of  Virginia,  and  kindling  the  spark 
of  servile  insurrection  in  her  bosom,  to  second  her  in  her 
efforts  to  rid  herself  of  the  cancer  that  Randolph  told 
her  sharply  stood  out  from  her  very  face. 

Speaking  of  the  efforts  of  Judge  Leigh  in  1846  to  find 
a  home  for  Randolph's  emancipated  slaves  on  3200  acres 
of  land,  which  he  had  purchased  for  them  in  Mercer 
County,  Ohio,  Henry  Howe  says: 

"These  arrived  in  the  summer  of  1846  to  the  number  of 
about  400,  but  were  forcibly  prevented  from  making  a  settle- 
ment by  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  County.  Since 
then,  acts  of  hostility  have  been  commenced  against  the  people 
of  this  settlement ;  and  threats  of  greater  held  out  if  they  do  not 
abandon  their  lands  and  homes."1 

1  Hist.  Collections  of  Ohio,  v.  2,  p.  505. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator 

In  his  John  Randolph,  Henry  Adams  says  of  Randolph: 
"Neither  his  oratory  nor  his  wit  would  have  been  tolerated 
in  a  Northern  State."1  This  conception  had  its  origin 
simply  in  the  womb  of  prejudice.  Indeed,  we  doubt 
whether  any  real  assent  accompanied  it  in  the  mind  of 
Henry  Adams,  superficial  as  his  knowledge  of  Randolph 
was  at  the  time  at  which  it  was  expressed.  There  was  too 
much  general  education  and  literary  culture  in  the  North- 
ern States,  especially  the  New  England  States,  for  such 
gifts  as  those  of  Randolph  not  to  be  highly  appreciated 
by  their  inhabitants.  In  point  of  fact,  some  of  the  most 
impressive  testimony  to  his  intellectual  powers  that  has 
come  down  to  us  is  that  of  Northern  men.  Speaking  in 
his  journal,  under  date  of  May  16,  1826,  of  a  stage  journey 
from  Richmond  to  the  Potomac  which  he  had  just  taken 
in  company  with  Randolph,  Jared  Sparks,  of  Massachu- 
setts, certainly  no  mean  authority,  says : 

' 'That  strange,  eccentric  being,  John  Randolph  was  in  com- 
pany. He  talked  all  day;  his  memory  is  prodigious,  he 
touched  upon  all  subjects — literature,  politics,  theology, 
history  with  quotations  innumerable  from  the  Latin  and 
English  classics.  His  mind  is  a  storehouse  filled  to  overflow- 
ing. He  was  in  good  humor  and  high  spirits  nearly  all  day, 
and,  as  there  was  but  one  gentleman  besides  myself  in  the 
stage,  his  conversation  was  carried  on  almost  entirely  with  me. 

61 


62  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

My  task  was  not  a  hard  one,  however,  as  he  talked  incessantly; 
and,  indeed,  if  his  conversation  were  printed,  it  would  be  quite 
as  entertaining,  profound,  and  versatile  as  his  speeches  during 
the  present  session  in  the  Senate."1 

S.  G.  Goodrich,  of  Connecticut,  better  known  under  his 
nom  de  plume  of  Peter  Parley,  pronounces  Randolph  in  his 
widely  read  Memoirs  to  have  been  undoubtedly  a  man  of 
genius. 2  He  also  says  that  Randolph  ' '  sometimes  seemed 
almost  inspired.  "3  The  unfailingly  readable  James  Par- 
ton,  of  Massachusetts,  also  pronounces  Randolph  to  have 
been  a  man  of  genius.4  And  so  does  George  Ticknor 
Curtis,  of  Massachusetts,  the  biographer  of  Daniel 
Webster,    (a) s 

"I  had  two  opportunities  of  listening  to  Mr.  Randolph  in 
the  Senate,"  Josiah  Quincy  the  younger,  of  Massachusetts, 
informs  us  in  his  delightful  Figures  of  the  Past,  "and  was  com- 
pletely fascinated  by  his  extraordinary  gifts  as  a  talker;  for  it 
Was  not  oratory  (though  at  times  he  would  produce  great 
oratorical  effects)  so  much  as  elevated  conversation  that  he 
poured  forth. " 6 

On  Jan.  8,  1820,  Edward  Dowse,  a  member  of  Congress 
from  Masachusetts,  wrote  to  his  wife :  "I  wish  you  could 
be  present  sometimes  and  hear  John  Randolph's  wit.  It 
is  the  most  delicate  and  at  the  same  time  keenest. " 7  And, 
if  it  is  not  too  much  like  seething  a  kid  in  its  mother's  or 
its  great-grandmother's  milk,  we  might  also  record  what 
Henry  Adams'  great-grandfather,  John  Adams,  we  need 
not  add  "of  Massachusetts, "  had  to  say  about  Randolph's 
wit  and  eloquence  in  his  review  of  a  pamphlet  published 

1  Life  &  Writings  of  Jared  Sparks,  by  Herbert  B.  Adams,  v.  I,  459. 

2  Recollections  of  a  Lifetime,  774  (note). 

3  Ibid. 

4  Famous  Americans  of  Recent  Times,  181. 

s  Life  of  Daniel  Webster,  by  Geo.  T.  Curtis,  v.  1,  146. 

6P.  219. 

i  Life  of  Quincy,  387. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    63 

in  1808  by  James  Hillhouse,  a  member  of  the  United 
States  Senate  from  Connecticut : 

11  Mr.  John  Randolph  inherited  his  name,  family  connections, 
his  fine  plantations  and  thousand  negroes,  which  have  given 
him  more  power  in  this  country  than  the  Duke  of  Bedford  has 
in  England,  and  more  than  he  would  have,  if  he  possessed  all 
the  brilliant  wit,  fine  imagination  and  flowing  eloquence  of  that 
celebrated  Virginian."1 

Among  Randolph's  warmest  admirers,  was  no  less  an 
arbiter  of  wit  and  eloquence  than  our  American  Addison, 
Washington  Irving,  of  New  York.  A  copy,  which  he  had 
taken  of  the  portrait  of  Randolph,  painted  by  J.  W.  Jarvis, 
hangs  upon  the  walls  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society 
today.  Another  admirer  of  Randolph  was  Harmanus 
Bleecker,  of  Albany,  who  served  in  Congress  with  him ;  and 
to  his  generosity  the  State  of  Virginia  is  indebted 
for  a  portrait  of  Randolph  which  is  now  in  its 
Library  at  Richmond.  Whoever  saw  a  school  reader 
or  an  anthology  of  American  eloquence,  compiled 
by  a  Northern  hand,  and  published  by  a  Northern  pub- 
lishing house  that  did  not  contain  selections  from  Ran- 
dolph's most  famous  speeches,  along  with  selections  from 
the  most  renowned  orations  of  Webster  or  Edward 
Everett?  (a)  And  who  was  it  but  the  "good  gray  post" 
of  New  England,  John  Greenleaf  Whittier,  who  wrote  the 
stirring  lines  on  Randolph  so  full  of  tender  reverence  for 
his  genius,  including  his  mirth,  "sparkling  like  a  diamond 
shower,"  which  Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot,  one  of  the  living 
exemplars  of  all  that  is  best  in  the  New  England  intellect 
and  character,  has  inserted  in  the  Harvard  Classics?  The 
truth  of  the  case  is  well  summarized  by  Thos.  H.  Benton,2 
"Wit  and  genius  all  allowed  him."  But  why  waste  ink  in 
refutation  of  malice  so  alien  to  the  truth  that  it  might  be 

1  The  Life,  &c,  of  John  Adams,  Ed.  by  Chas.  F.  Adams,  v.  6,  529. 

2  30  Yts.  View,  v.  1,  473. 


64  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

dismissed  as  puerility,  if  hatred  of  Randolph  were  not 
one  of  the  heirlooms  of  the  Adams  family,  as  well  as  other 
much  nobler  things,  i If  we  except  some  intervals  during 
his  term  of  service  in  the  United  States  Senate,  when  his 
mind  was  unquestionably  unhinged,  it  may  well  be 
doubted  whether  any  American  orator  ever  commanded 
the  undivided  attention  of  his  listeners  more  completely 
than  Randolph ;  and,  when  we  assert  this,  we  do  not  forget 
that  once,  when  describing  the  transport  excited  by  the 
eloquence  of  Henry,  he,  himself,  said  that,  when  Henry 
was  speaking,  one  felt  like  whispering  to  his  neighbor, 
1 '  Hush !  don't  stir,  don't  speak,  don't  breathe  " ; x  nor  do  we 
forget  Webster  "whose  look, "  if  we  may  follow  in  the  foot- 
steps of  Milton  and  Rufus  Choate, 

"Drew  audience  still  as  night 
Or  summer's  noon-tide  air." 

Mixed  with  the  intentness  with  which  Randolph  was 
heard  was  of  course  the  curiosity  which  was  concerned 
rather  with  his  plantation  background  and  the  singular- 
ities of  his  physical  appearance,  dress,  and  manner  than 
with  his  rhetorical  talents;  but  curiosity  of  this  sort,  after 
all,  can  account  for  but  a  few  minutes  of  arrested  attention ; 
not  for  the  hours  during  which  Randolph's  auditors  not 
infrequently  surrendered  themselves  completely  to  the 
enchanting  flow  of  his  fresh  and  sparkling  elocution.  "He 
was  listened  to  with  undivided  attention,  "  we  are  told  by 
Sawyer,  who  was  one  of  his  Congressional  associates  for 
many  years. 2 

"It  is  unquestionably  his  praise,"  declares  Hugh  Blair 
Grigsby,  who  sat  with  him  in  the  Virginia  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1829-30,  "that  above  all  his  contemporaries,  he 
was  successful  in  fixing  the  attention  of  his  audience  of  every 
class  and  degree  throughout  his  longest  speeches."3 

1  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.  2  P.  123. 

3  The  Va.  Convention  of  1829-jo,  by  Grigsby,  45. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator  65 

"There  is  no  speaker  in  either  House  that  excites  such 
universal  attention  as  Jack  Randolph,  "  Washington  Irving 
wrote  to  William  Irving  on  one  occasion. '  ' '  He  drew  an 
attentive  audience  together  in  Congress  more  certainly 
than  any  other  speaker, ' '  was  the  statement  of  the  National 
Portrait  Gallery.2 

"His  genius  and  oratorical  powers,  language,  voice  and 
gesture  cause  him  to  be  listened  to  as  perhaps  no  other 
man  was  ever  listened  to  in  Congress,  "  is  the  testimony  of 
George  R.  Gilmer,  a  member  of  Congress,  in  a  letter  to  his 
wife  written  in  1 822 . 3  "He  attracted  a  crowded  gallery, ' ' 
says  James  Buchanan,  who  was  in  the  House  for  a  time  with 
him,  "when  it  was  known  he  would  address  the  House,  and 
always  commanded  the  undivided  attention  of  his  whole 
audience.  "4 

"When  he  began  to  speak,"  wrote  Phoebe  Morris  from 
Washington  to  her  father,  Anthony  Morris,  of  Philadelphia, 
in  1812,  "what,  a  silence  reigned  throughout  the  House!' 
Everyone  appeared  to  wait  in  anxious,  almost  breathless, 
expectation  as  if  to  catch  the  first  sound  of  his  voice,  and  what 
a  voice!     Clear,  melodious,  and  penetrating,  it  fascinates."5 

Most  striking  of  all  perhaps  is  what  Horace  Binney,  the 
celebrated  advocate,  had  to  say  on  the  subject  at  the 
memorial  meeting  in  honor  of  Randolph  held  in  Philadel- 
phia immediately  after  his  death : 

"He  has  probably  spoken  to  more  listeners  than  any  other 
man  of  his  day ;  having  been  unrivalled  in  the  power  of  riveting 
the  attention  by  the  force  and  pungency  of  his  language,  the 
facility  and  beauty  of  his  enunciation,  and  the  point  and 
emphasis  of  his  most  striking  manner."6  (a) 

1  Feb.  20,  181 1,  Life,  &c,  of  W.  I.,  by  P.  M.  Irving,  v.  1,  273. 

2V.4,9- 

3  Wm.  &  Mary  College  Quarterly,  v.  17,  142  (note). 

ALife  of  Jas.  Buchanan,  by  Geo.  T.  Curtis,  v.  1,  29. 

s  Social  Life  in  the  Early  Republic,  by  Anne  H.  Wharton,  152. 

6  Poulson's  Amer.  Daily  Advertiser,  May  29,  1833. 


66  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Some  of  these  statements  are  blended  with  a  certain 
amount  of  disparagement  of  Randolph  in  one  respect  or 
another.  But,  whatever  may  be  the  justice  of  this  dis- 
paragement, they  certainly  substantiate  what  we  have 
said  about  the  extent  to  which  he  held  the  ear  of  his 
auditors,  whether  Northern,  or  Southern,  in  bondage. 

The  physical  characteristics  of  no  American  orator  of 
Randolph's  day  are  better  known  to  us  than  his.  At 
least  five  different  original  portraits  of  him  are  in  existence. 
One  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Cor- 
coran Art  Gallery  at  Washington,  was  taken  in  March, 
1804,  when  Randolph  was  in  his  31st  year.1  It  is  the 
portrait  of  a  boy,  rather  than  of  a  man,  but  in  this  respect 
it  is  true  to  the  original  at  that  age,  and  the  poetic,  sculp- 
tured face  which  stands  out  from  it  is  as  handsome  and  as 
unmistakably  indicative  of  genius  as  the  face  of  Byron 
or  Burns.  After  scanning  it,  we  can  readily  believe  the 
statement  of  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell  that,  when  Ran- 
dolph was  his  schoolmate  at  Williamsburg,  he  was  the 
most  beautiful  boy  he  had  ever  beheld. 2  Another  portrait 
of  Randolph  was  taken  by  J.  W.  Jarvis  in  181 1,  and,  in  a 
letter  to  Henry  Brevoort,  written  from  Philadelphia, 
Washington  Irving  says  that  Randolph  had  consented 
that  he  should  have  a  copy  of  it.3  About  two  weeks  later, 
Irving  wrote  from  Washington  to  Brevoort  a  letter  in 
which  he  made  these  lively  comments  on  Jarvis : 

"I  have  seen  nobody  on  my  route  but  the  elegant  Jarvis, 
whom  I  found  sleeping  on  a  sopha-bed  in  his  painting  room  like 
a  sleeping  Venus,  and  his  beautiful  dog  couched  at  his  feet.  I 
aroused  the  varlet,  and  bid  him  on  pain  of  death  to  have  the 
likeness  of  Randolph  done  on  my  return ;  he  breakfasted  with 
us  and  entertained  us  with  several  jokes  which  had  passed  the 
ordeal  of  Baltimore  dinner  tables."4 

1  /.  R.'s  Diary.  2  Discourse  on  Tazewell,  by  Grigsby,  131. 

3  March  16,  181 1,  Life,  &c.,of  W.  I.,  by  P.  M.  Irving,  v.  1,  275. 

4  Apr.  2,  181 1,  Id.,  v.  1,  276. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    67 

Jarvis'  portrait,  or  a  copy  of  Jarvis'  portrait,  of  Ran- 
dolph has  descended  to  Mrs.  Admiral  Edward  Simpson, 
of  Washington,  from  Randolph's  friend,  Charles  Sterett 
Ridgely,  her  ancestor,  and  a  portrait  is  owned  by  Harold 
Randolph,  of  Baltimore,  a  son  of  the  poet  Innes  Randolph, 
which  closely  resembles  that  portrait,  or  copy.  Another 
portrait  of  Randolph  was  taken  by  J.  Wood  in  1816,  and 
was  given  by  Randolph  to  Francis  Scott  Key.  In  a  letter 
to  Key,  written  from  Semmes'  hotel  at  Georgetown, 
whither  he  had  gone  partly  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  Key, 
and  partly  for  the  purpose  of  giving  Wood  his  last  sitting, 
Randolph  said : 

1 '  I  wished  to  give  Wood  an  opportunity  to  finish  the  picture. 
I  called  last  evening,  but  he  was  gone  to  Mt.  Vernon.  I  shall 
drive  by  his  apartment  and  give  him  the  last  sitting  this 
morning.  It  is  a  soothing  reflection  to  me  that  your  children, 
long  after  I  am  dead  and  gone,  may  look  upon  their  sometime 
father's  friend,  of  whose  features  they  will  have  perhaps 
retained  some  faint  recollection.  Let  me  remind  you  that, 
although  I  am  childless,  I  cannot  forego  my  claim  to  the 
return  picture  on  which  I  set  a  very  high  value."1 

Randolph  did  receive  the  return  picture ;  for,  some  two 
years  later,  he  wrote  to  Key, ' '  Wood  has  again  failed  but 
not  so  entirely  as  at  first.  It  is  you  in  some  of  your 
humors,  but  neither  your  serious  nor  more  cheerful  face. 
It  shall  hang,  however,  near  my  bed  and  I  hope  will  prove 
a  be  nefit  as  well  as  a  pleasure  to  me. ' ' 2  That  is,  he  hoped, 
that  the  image  of  such  a  heavenly-minded  man  as  Key  by 
his  bedside  would  help  him  in  the  struggle  which  once 
caused  him,  in  familiar  converse  with  a  friend,  to  strike  his 
own  breast  and  to  exclaim:  "This  rebel  is  in  constant 
revolt."3     The  Wood  portrait  of  Randolph,  it  is  said,  is 

1  May  7,  1816,  Garland,  v.  2,  86. 

2  April  29,  18 1 8,  Garland,  v.  2,  96 

3  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 


68  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

now,  or  was  recently,  in  the  possession  of  some  resident 
of  Philadelphia,  but  we  have  been  unable  to  trace  it  to  its 
owner.  Another  portrait  of  Randolph  is  the  one  donated 
by  Harmanus  Bleecker  to  the  State  of  Virginia.  By 
whom  this  portrait  was  executed  does  not  seem  to  be 
known.  It  was  apparently  from  it  that  the  charming 
likeness  of  Randolph  which  appears  in  Powhatan  Bouldin's 
Home  Reminiscences  was  engraved.  There  is  still  another 
portrait  of  Randolph  by  Chester  Harding — which  now 
hangs  in  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery  at  Washington.  "He 
sat  to  me  for  three  different  pictures,"  Harding  says  in 
his  My  Egotistigraphy. ■  In  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Rev. 
John  Hall,  the  Rev.  James  Waddell  Alexander  states  that 
"the  lithograph  of  Childs  from  a  painting  by  Harding  is 
said  to  give  the  best  idea  of  Randolph.  "2  A  portrait  of 
Randolph  owned  by  the  late  Judge  William  Leigh,  of 
Danville,  Va.,  closely  resembles  the  Harding  portrait  in 
the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery.  Numerous  other  pictorial 
representations  of  Randolph  are  extant,  including  several 
highly  artistic  silhouettes;  and  quite  an  assortment  of 
crude  caricatures.  A  curious  engraving  of  what  would 
appear  to  have  been  another  portrait  of  Randolph  taken 
when  he  was  quite  young  is  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  John 
Stewart  Bryan,  of  Richmond.  A  letter  from  Randolph  to 
Theodore  Dudley  discloses  the  fact  that  he  had  at  the  date 
of  the  letter  some  sort  of  a  picture  of  himself  taken  for  his 
friend,  Joseph  Clay,  of  Philadelphia. 3  There  is,  also,  a  fine, 
full  length  silhouette  inscribed :  '  *  Original  by  Brown  from 
Life,  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  on  his  embarkation  for 
Russia  on  board  ship  Concord."  This  silhouette  also 
belongs  to  Mr.  Bryan.  Still  another  fine,  full  length  sil- 
houette projects  Randolph's  tall,  lank  figure  appropriately 
enough  on  a  background  consisting  of  a  worm-fence  pas- 

1 P- 145- 

2  40  Yrs.  Familiar  Letters ,  v.  1,270. 
s  Oct.  13,  181 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  109. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator   69 

ture  and  high-bred  horses.  This  has  been  published  in  the 
brochure  entitled,  Wax  Models  and  Silhouettes,  published 
by  the  Society  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  Massachusetts. 
Harpers  Magazine  states  that  the  sketch  of  Randolph 
with  cap  and  cape,  which  was  reproduced  in  the  second 
volume  of  Garland's  Life  of  Randolph,  was  copied  from  a 
portrait  taken  during  Randolph's  last  visit  to  England  and 
was  said  to  present  a  by  no  means  overdrawn  repre- 
sentation of  his  appearance  when  on  the  street. *  This  we 
can  readily  believe  after  reading  what  F.  W.  Thomas 
has  to  say  about  Randolph  in  his  John  Randolph  of 
Roanoke  and  Other  Sketches  of  Character.2 

"One  day  as  I  was  standing  in  Market  (now  Baltimore) 
Street,  I  remarked  a  tall,  thin,  unique-looking  being  hurrying 
towards  me  with  a  quick,  impatient  step,  evidently  much 
annoyed  by  a  crowd  of  boys  who  were  following  close  at  his 
heels.  Not  in  the  obstreperous  mirth  with  which  they  would 
have  followed  a  crazy  or  drunken  man  or  an  organ-grinder 
and  his  monkey,  but  in  the  silent,  curious  wonder  with  which 
they  would  have  haunted  a  Chinese  bedecked  in  full  costume. 
I  instantly  knew  the  individual  to  be  Randolph  from  the 
descriptions.  I,  therefore,  advanced  towards  him  that  I  might 
take  a  full  observation  of  his  person  without  violating  the  rules 
of  courtesy  in  stopping  to  gaze  at  him.  As  he  approached, 
he  occasionally  turned  towards  the  boys  with  an  angry  glance 
but  without  saying  anything,  and  then  hurried  on  as  if  to 
outstrip  them;  but  it  would  not  do.  They  followed  close 
behind  the  orator,  each  one  observing  him  so  intently  that  he 
said  nothing  to  his  companions." 

The  different  caricatures  of  Randolph,  which  have  been 
brought  to  our  attention,  are  too  rudimentary  in  point  of 
conception  and  execution  to  merit  attention  in  detail. 
The  American  cartoonists  of  Randolph's  day  knew  little 
more  about  drawing  than  the  ruder  cavemen.     In  a  letter 

1  V.  2,  80  (note). 

2  P.  13. 


7°  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

to  Timothy  Pickering,  Randolph  refers  to  a  miniature  of 
himself  taken  by  Wood  in  1809. T  Perhaps,  this  was  the 
miniature  which  Theodore  Dudley,  when  a  medical  stu- 
dent in  Philadelphia  in  1812,  lent,  at  the  request  of  Dr. 
Chapman  of  that  City,  to  the  Portfolio,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  engraved  for  the  pages  of  that  publication.  The 
engraving  was  to  be  followed  in  a  succeeding  number  by  a 
biographical  sketch  of  Randolph,  but  this  expectation  was 
defeated  by  Randolph's  disinclination  to  supply  the 
requisite  materials.  And  even  as  to  the  miniature  he 
wrote  to  Dudley :  "I  really  regret  that  you  lent  the  min- 
iature for  the  purpose  of  having  it  so  wretchedly  en- 
graved. "2  A  miniature  of  Randolph  is  owned  by  Harold 
Randolph,  of  Baltimore;  whether  it  is  the  Wood  miniature 
or  not  we  cannot  say ;  nor  do  we  know  what  has  become  of 
the  model  of  Randolph's  face  which  was  taken  the  day 
after  his  decease  by  Gerelot. 3 

The  celebrity  of  Randolph  may  be  roughly  measured  by 
the  extraordinary  degree  to  which  he  has  been  pictured  in 
one  form  or  another.  In  the  A.  L.  A.  Portrait  Index  of  the 
Library  of  Congress  will  be  found  a  long  list  of  references 
to  portraits  and  engravings  of  him. 4  And  what  the  brush 
of  the  limner  has  omitted  the  pen  of  the  contem- 
porary writer  has  abundantly  supplied;  for  Randolph's 
countenance  and  figure  have  been  described  in  the  mi- 
nutest detail — and  in  some  instances  most  graphically — 
by  many  persons  who  had  eagerly  scrutinized  them.  One 
of  these  descriptions  was  composed  only  a  year  or  so  after 
Jefferson  had  written  to  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Eppes,  that  John 
Randolph  had  in  the  debate,  in  which  he  stigmatized  our 
regular  soldiery  as  ' '  rag-a-muffins,  "  ■ '  entered  into  debate 

1  Mrs.  Norman  James  MSS. 

2  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  121,  126,  130. 

3  Dr.  Francis  West,  Jr.'s,  Reminiscences,  dated  May  24,  1833,  copied  by 
D.  Grinnan,  Sept.  27,  1887,  from  original  in  possession  of  Dr.  Philip  Slaugh- 
ter, of  Culpeper  Co.,  Va. 

4  P.  1203 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator   71 

with  great  splendor  and  approbation."1  While  this  de- 
scription was  penned  in  1803,  it  was  not  published  until 
after  Randolph's  death  in  1833.  It  first  appeared  in  the 
New  York  Courier,  by  which  it  is  stated  to  have  been  written 
by  a  gentleman  who  had  been  in  habits  of  intimacy  with 
Randolph  ever  since  it  had  been  written,  and  it  was 
afterwards  copied  into  the  National  Intelligencer.2 


Mr.  Randolph,"  says  this  writer,  "is  beyond  comparison 
the  most  singular  and  striking  person  that  I  ever  met  with. 
As  an  orator,  he  is  unquestionably  the  first  in  the  country, 
and  yet  there  are  few  men  who  labor  under  so  many  physical 
disadvantages?,  He  seeems  made  up  of  contradictions. 
Though  his  person  is  exceedingly  tall,  thin  and  disproportion- 
ate, he  is  the  most  graceful  man  in  the  world;  and,  with  an 
almost  feminine  voice,  he  is  more  distinctly  heard  in  the  house 
than  either  Mr.  D.  or  Roger — ;  though  the  former  is  more  noisy 
than  a  field  preacher,  and  the  latter  more  vociferous  than  a 
crier  of  oysters.  When  seated  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Halls 
of  Congress,  Mr.  Randolph  looks  like  a  youth  of  16,  but,  when 
he  rises  to  speak,  there  is  an  almost  sublimity  in  the  effect, 
proceeding  from  the  contrast  in  his  height  when  seated  or 
standing.  In  the  former,  his  shoulders  are  raised,  his  head 
depressed,  his  body  bent;  in  the  latter,  he  is  seen  with  his 
figure  dilated  in  the  attitude  of  inspiration,  his  head  raised, 
his  long,  thin  finger  pointing,  and  his  dark,  clear  chestnut  eye 
flashing  lightning  at  the  object  of  his  overwhelming  sarcasm." 
f~Mr.  Randolph,"  the  paper  continues,  "looks,  acts  and  speaks 
like  no  other  man  I  have  ever  seen.  He  is  original,  unique  in 
everything.  His  style  of  oratory  is  emphatically  his  own. 
Often  diffusive  and  discursive  in  his  subjects,  his  language  is 
simple,  brief  and  direct,  and,  however  he  may  seem  to  wander 
from  the  point  occasionally,  he  never  fails  to  return  to  it 
with  a  bound,  illuminating  it  with  flashes  of  wit,  or  the  happiest 
illustrations,  drawn  from  a  retentive  memory  and  a  rich 
imagination.  Though  eccentric  in  his  conduct  in  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  life  and  his  intercourse  with  the  world,  there  will  be 

1  Jan.  17,  1800,  Life,  by  Randall,  v.  2,  534. 

2  June  4,  1833. 


72  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

found  more  of  what  is  called  common  sense  in  his  speeches 
than  in  those  of  any  other  man  in  Congress.     His  illustrations 
are  almost  always  drawn  from  familiar  scenes,  and  no  man  is  so 
happy  in  allusions  to  fables,  proverbs  and  the  ordinary  inci- 
dents of  human  life,  of  which  he  has  been  a  keen  observer. 
His  is  not  that  fungus  species  of  eloquence  which  expands  itself 
into  empty  declamation,  sacrificing  strength,  clearness  and 
perspicuity  to  the  more  popular  charm  of  redundant  meta- 
phors and  periods  rounded  with  all  the  precision  of  the  com- 
pass.    Mr.    Randolph  is  a  man  of  wit,   and  wit   deals  in 
comparisons;  yet  his  language  is  perfectly  simple  and  less 
figurative  than  that  of  any  of  our  distinguished  speakers.  .  .  . 
Though  continually  worried  by  the  little  terriers  of  the  House 
who  seem  to  be  sent  there  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  bark  at 
him,  Mr.  Randolph  never  becomes  loud  or  boisterous,  but 
utters  the  most  biting  sarcasm  with  a  manner  the  most  ir- 
ritatingly  courteous  and  a  voice  that  resembles  the  music  of 
the  spheres.     Such  indeed  is  the  wonderful  clearness  of  his 
voice  and  the  perfection  of  his  enunciation  that  his  lowest 
tones  circulate  like  echoes  through  the  hall  of  Congress!  and 
are  more  distinctly  understood  than  the  roarings  of  M.  L. 
[Matthew  Lyon],  the  bellowings  of  R.  N.,  or  the  bleatings  of 
the  rosy  and  stentorian  Robert  Ross.     In  all  the  requisites  of  a 
great  orator,  he  has  no  superior,  and,  in  the  greatest  of  all, 
that  of  attracting,  charming,  riveting  the  attention  of  his 
hearers,  no  equal  in  this  country,  or  perhaps  in  the  world. 
...     It  is  with  regret,  I  add,  that  this  brilliant  man,  who  has 
already  attracted  the  attention  not  only  of  his  countrymen  but 
of  the  world,  will  in  all  probability  survive  but  a  few  years. 
His  health  appears  irretrievably  lost,  and  his  constitution 
irreparably   injured.     A   premature   decay   seems   gradually 
creeping  upon  all  his  vital  powers,  and  an  inevitable,  unseen 
influence  appears  to  be  dragging  him  to  the  grave.     At  the  age 
of  30,  with  all  the  world  in  his  grasp,  wealth  in  his  possession, 
and  glory  and  power  in  perspective,  he  is  in  constitution  an 
infirm  old  man,  with  light,  glossy  hair  parted  over  his  forehead, 
and  tied  loosely  behind  with  a  black  ribbon;  teeth  white  as 
ivory;  an  eye  sparkling  with  intellect  and  a  countenance 
seamed  with  a  thousand  small  wrinkles.     At  a  distance  of  a 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    73 

hundred  yards,  he  will  be  mistaken  for  an  overgrown  boy 
of  premature  growth;  approach  him  and,  at  every  step,  his 
appearance  changes,  and  he  becomes  gradually  metamor- 
phosed into  an  old  man.  You  will  then  see  a  face  such  as  you 
never  saw  before,  never  will  see  again;  if  he  likes  you,  a  smile, 
such  as  you  never  beheld  on  the  face  of  any  other  man,  and, 
when  that  smile  passes  away,  a  countenance  bearing  an 
expression  of  long  continued  anxiety  and  suffering  that  will 
make  your  heart  ache."1 

This  well-written  paper  ends  with  these  glowing  words: 

"When  he  [Randolph]  departs  this  scene,  in  which  he  has 
suffered  the  martyrdom  of  sickness  and  detraction  combined, 
if  living,  I  will  bear  this  testimony  that  he  will  not  leave 
behind  any  man  that  can  claim  superiority  over  him  as  a 
glorious  orator,  a  sagacious,  high-minded,  independent  patriot 
and  inflexibly  honest  man."2 

Lemuel  Sawyer  became  a  member  of  the  House  in  1807, 
and  his  long  association  with  Randolph  in  that  body  gives 
what  he  has  to  say  about  Randolph's  appearance  and  ora- 
torical characteristics  a  peculiar  value. 

"His  color,"  Sawyer  says,  "was  somewhat  tawny;  he  was 
straight,  and  he  walked  like  the  Indian  with  one  foot  placed 
on  a  straight  line  before  the  other.  When  he  was  seated  at  his 
desk,  he  appeared  rather  below  the  middle  size,  but,  when  he 
arose,  he  seemed  to  un joint  or  unfold  himself,  and  stood  erect, 
near  six  feet  high ;  his  lower  limbs  being  disproportionately  long 
for  his  body.  His  head  was  small,  his  hair  light,  and  worn 
long,  and  tied  behind;  his  eyes  were  black  and  piercing,  his 
mouth  handsome  but  with  the  arrangement  of  his  teeth  gave 
him  a  puerile  look;  his  chin  rather  pointed  and  smooth  or 
beardless;  his  hands  small,  and  his  fingers  long  and  tapering. 
His  dress  was  that  of  the  old  Virginia  gentleman.  He  wore 
white  top  boots  with  drab  or  buckskin  shortclothes,  and 
sometimes  gaiters,  and,  though  neat,  he  was  generally  plain 

1  Bouldin,  170.  2Id„  174. 


74  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

in  his  appearance,  and  had  no  ambition  to  conform  to  any 
prevalent  fashion. ' ' * 

It  would  seem  that  the  color  of  Randolph's  eyes  was 
hazel  as  the  writer  in  the  New  York  Courier  states,  and  not 
black  as  Sawyer  states,  but,  as  we  go  on,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  testimony  on  this  point  is  conflicting.  As  to 
Sawyer's  statement  that  Randolph,  when  erect,  stood 
near  six  feet  high,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  his  exact  height 
was  six  feet  and  two  inches  and  his  width  across  the  shoul- 
ders thirteen  inches. 2  /The  observations  of  Sawyer  on  Ran- 
dolph's eloquence  are  equally  interesting : 

"In  his  latter  years,  he  could  not  confine  himself  to  the 
point,  but  touched  upon  things  in  general  as  if  in  a  tone  of 
conversational  improvisation.     He  spoke  so  slow  and  deliber- 
ately that  I  have  thought  in  listening  to  him  that  he  had  not 
considered  the  subject  before  he  arose;  but,  as  he  proceeded, 
his  mind  was  put  into  motion,  or  rather  commotion,  and  he 
threw  off  the  new  coinage  of  his  active  brain  as  fast  as  it  was 
struck.     He  was  greatly  assisted  and  encouraged,  and  gen- 
erally arrayed  his  countenance  in  a  bland  smile,  if  he  could 
discover  among  his  audience  anyone  paying  particular  atten- 
tion to  his  address.     He  would  rivet  his  eye  upon  him,  and 
seem  to  address  him  alone;  and  I  have  seen  members  in  that 
case  nod  assent  to  his  assertions  as  he  proceeded,  which  he 
appeared  to  take  as  a  marked  favor.     During  his  speech  on  the 
Judiciary  bill,  I  believe  in  April,  1826,  I  happened  to  be  a 
listener  and  standing  near  the  President  of  the  Senate  when 
Mr.  Randolph  was  denouncing  the  Executive  for  buying  up  the 
leading  prints  in  the  different   States.     Among  others,   he 
enumerated  the  Petersburg  Intelligencer,  and  added  one  or 
two  others,  and,  looking  steadily  at  me,  asked  was  there  not 
the  whole  three  that  had  given  in  their  adhesion  ?     I  was  igno- 
rant of  the  circumstance,  and  did  not  return  the  nod  of  assent, 
which  seemed  to  confuse  Mr.  Randolph,  and,  remarking  that 
he  knew  who  he  was  talking  to,  dropped  that  part  of  his 

JP-44. 

2  Dr.  Francis  West,  Jr.'s,  Reminiscenses,  supra. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator  75 

subject.  In  his  earlier  years,  he  was  as  remarkable  for  adher- 
ing to  the  question  before  the  House  as  other  members,  and, 
when  roused  by  opposition,  seldom  left  it  till  it  was  com- 
pletely exhausted.  He  was  then  animated,  clear  and  distinct ; 
his  delivery  was  forcible  and  his  language  pure,  his  words 
select  and  strictly  grammatical,  and  his  order  and  arrange- 
ment lucid  and  harmonious.  His  voice  was  clear,  loud  and 
sonorous,  and  almost  as  fine  as  a  female's,  and,  in  his  extem- 
poraneous efforts,  in  which  he  excelled,  his  action  was  perfectly 
suited  to  his  expression.  If  he  was  treated  with  courtesy 
and  deference  by  his  antagonists,  he  always  returned  it  with 
interest ;  but,  if  they  provoked  him  by  the  use  of  any  person- 
ality or  unfairness  in  stating  his  arguments,  he  retaliated  with 
terrible  retribution. ' ' l 

In  a  later  chapter  of  his  book,  Sawyer  returns  to  the  same 
subject  in  these  terms : 


He  was  possessed  of  a  fine  taste  for  literature,  a  general 
reader,  a  'ripe  scholar,'  particularly  in  the  Department  of  Belles 
Lettres ;  by  which  acquirements  he  was  well  supplied  with  apt 
illustrations  to  embellish  and  enrich  his  oratory.  He  levied 
his  contributions  from  the  wide  dominions  of  ancient  and 
modern  literature  with  the  undisputed  authority  of  a  con- 
queror, which  he  stored  away  in  his  capacious  memory  as  an 
inexhaustible  magazine  to  distribute  with  judicious  discrimi- 
nation upon  every  subject  that  arose  in  debate.  '-Although  in 
the  course  of  his  long  political  career  of  more  than  30  years,  he 
spoke  volumes,  and  some  of  his  speeches,  towards  the  close  of 
it,  were  rather  verbose  and  irrelevant,  yet  he  never  failed, 
during  some  part  of  them,  to  arouse  and  astonish  his  audience 
by  some  classical  allusions,  happy  similes,  'some  thoughts  that 
breathed  and  words  that  burned,'  some  beautiful  and  striking 
metaphors  and  most  mellifluous  and  harmonious  periods.; 
Even  now  in  reading  those  speeches  (although  so  much  is  lost 
in  their  delivery),  while  we  may  have  to  penetrate  through  a 
heap  of  chaff  (if  anything  of  his  may  be  so  abused  in  terms)  in 
reaching  the  kernel  or  grain,  we  are  abundantly  rewarded  in 

1  P.  43- 


76  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  richness,  if  not  in  the  abundance,  of  the  product.  .  .  . 
Although  the  mind  might  not  be  chained  and  carried  captive 
in  the  triumphant  march  of  a  gigantic  intellect  by  the  depth  of 
research  and  the  force  of  reasoning,  yet  was  it  fascinated,  won 
and  unresistingly  carried  along,  as  by  a  spell,  by  the  ease,  the 
grace,  the  fluency  and  the  pleasing,  emphatic  delivery  of  the 
speaker.  His  sallies  of  wit,  his  biting  sarcasm,  his  happy 
retorts  and  home  thrusts ;  his  satiric  turn,  or  his  playful  humor 
rendered  him  a  more  agreeable  and  popular  speaker  than 
others  who  were  more  severe  and  elaborate.  If  Ridicule  be 
the  test  of  Truth,  he  had  a  most  effective  way  of  drawing  her 
into  the  light  of  all  the  orators  of  his  day;  he  possessed  the 
rare  art  of  trying  the  measures  and  the  opinions  of  the  promi- 
nent men,  to  whom  it  was  his  destiny  to  be  regularly  opposed, 
by  that  touchstone ;  and  by  it  to  hold  them  up  to  the  derision 
or  censure  of  the  People.  With  this  powerful  lever,  he  could 
shake,  if  not  move  from  its  foundations,  any  administration. 
That  it  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  subvert  that  of  the 
second  Adams,  no  man  can  doubt  who  witnessed  his  repeated 
and  dexterous  attacks,  and  observed  the  effects  of  his  peculiar 
mode  of  warfare."1 

Sawyer  also  tells  us  that  Randolph  never  entered  into  a 
contest  to  catch  the  eye  of  the  Speaker :  "If  he  saw  an 
eagerness  in  members  to  give  their  views, "he  says,  "he 
generally  waited  till  the  last  one  had  concluded  and  the 
question  was  ordered  to  be  put.  "2  In  another  place,  the 
same  writer  expresses  the  opinion  that,  as  an  orator,  Ran- 
dolph was  more  splendid  than  solid3;  yet  there  could  be  no 
better  proof  of  the  admiration  excited  by  Randolph's 
eloquence  in  the  House  than  the  language  which  Sawyer, 
who  was  a  thick  and  thin  administration  Democrat,  and  far 
from  partial  to  Randolph  personally,  sometimes  employs  in 
regard  to  him.  Randolph,  he  thought,  was  still  a  powerful 
extemporaneous  speaker  as  late  as  the  debates  over  the 
admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union  in  1821.4     There 

rP.  123.  2P.  58.  JR  123.  4  p.  82. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator     77 

had  been  no  biographers  of  Randolph  before  himself,  he 
says,  to  mark  "the  bright  track  of  his  resplendent  car."1 
In  using  such  a  figure  of  speech,  Sawyer  was  but  doing 
what  almost  all  commentators  on  Randolph  as  an  orator 
do,  when  endeavoring  to  describe  the  general  effect  of  his 
speeches  on  their  minds.  Corruscation,  brilliancy,  high 
candle-power  is  the  dominant  idea  that  the  hearer  seems 
to  have  brought  away  from  them.  For  instance,  when 
Thomas  H.  Benton  comes  to  speak  of  Randolph,  he  finds 
his  illustration  in  the  same  field  of  imagery  as  Sawyer. 

"For  more  than  thirty  years,"  he  says,  "he  [Randolph]  was 
the  political  meteor  of  Congress,  blazing  with  undiminished 
splendor,  during  the  whole  time,  and  often  appearing  as  the 
'planetary  plague'  which  shed  not  war  and  pestilence  on 
nations  but  agony  and  fear  on  members."2 

In  1808,  the  year  succeeding  that  in  which  Sawyer  took 
his  seat  in  the  House,  Francis  Walker  Gilmer  heard  Ran- 
dolph in  the  House  for  the  first  time,  and,  later,  recorded 
the  impression  left  on  him  in  his  Sketches,  which  it  is 
impossible  for  any  Virginian  to  read  without  remembering 
that  they  were  written  by  a  brilliant  young  man  who  was 
prematurely  cut  off  like  a  blossoming  spray  from  a  fruit 
tree  when  he  had  hardly  passed  that  ■ '  delightful  season  of 
life"  which  Randolph,  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829- 
30,  feelingly  reminded  its  presiding  officer,  the  aged  James 
Monroe,  that  neither  of  them  could  ever  recall3;  but  not 
until  Jefferson  had  pronounced  him  "the  best  educated 
subject  we  have  raised  since  the  Revolution,  "4  and  Ran- 
dolph had  conferred  upon  him  the  full  measure  of  his 
admiring  and  affectionate  friendship. 

"The  first  time  that  I  ever  felt  the  spell  of  eloquence," 
declares  Gilmer,  "was  when  a  boy  standing  in  the  gallery  of 

'P.  5- 

2 30  Yrs.'  View,  v.  i.,  473.  3  Debates,  313. 

4 Life,  by  Randall,  v.  3,  497. 


78  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  Capitol  in  the  year  1808.  It  was  on  the  floor  of  that 
House  I  saw  rise  a  gentleman  who  in  every  quality  of  his  per- 
son, his  voice,  his  mind,  his  character,  is  a  phenomenon 
amongst  men.  His  figure  is  tall,  spare  and  somewhat  emaci- 
ated; his  limbs  long,  delicate,  slow  and  graceful  in  all  their 
motions;  his  countenance  with  the  lineaments  of  boyhood,  but 
the  wrinkles,  the  faded  complexion,  the  occasional  sadness  of 
old  age,  and  even  of  decrepitude;  possessing  however  vast 
compass  and  force  of  expression.  His  voice  is  small  but  of  the 
clearest  tone  and  most  flexible  modulation  I  ever  heard.  In 
his  speech,  not  a  breath  of  air  is  lost ;  it  is  all  compressed  into 
round,  smooth  liquid  sound;  and  its  inflections  are  so  sweet,  its 
emphasis  so  appropriate  and  varied,  that  there  is  a  positive 
pleasure  in  hearing  him  speak  any  words  whatever.  His 
manner  of  thinking  is  as  peculiar  as  his  person  and  voice. 
He  has  so  long  spoken  parables  that  he  now  thinks  in  them. 
Antitheses,  jests,  beautiful  conceits,  with  a  striking  turn  and 
point  of  expression,  flow  from  his  lips  with  the  same  natural 
ease,  and  often  with  singular  felicity  of  application,  as  regular 
series  of  arguments  follow  each  other  in  the  deductions  of 
logical  thinkers.  His  invective,  which  is  always  piquant,  is 
frequently  adorned  with  the  beautiful  metaphors  of  Burke 
and  animated  by  bursts  of  passion  worthy  of  Chatham. 
Popular  opinion  has  ordained  Mr.  Randolph  the  most  eloquent 
speaker  now  in  America."1 

But  Gilmer's  appreciation  is  not  without  its  limitations, 
though  they  are  somewhat  inconsistent  with  the  rest  of  his 
text.  The  epithets  applicable  to  Randolph's  style  of  speak- 
ing were  ' '  striking ' '  and ' '  brilliant, ' '  he  further  says.  Ran- 
dolph adapted  his  phrases  to  the  sense,  with  poetic  felicity, 
and  his  voice  to  the  sound,  with  musical  exactness ;  but  the 
nature  of  his  eloquence  was  not  favorable  to  the  excite- 
ment of  any  deep  or  permanent  passion.  His  deliberate, 
graceful,  and  commanding  delivery  could  not  be  too  much 
praised;  but  his  total  want  of  method  could  not  be  too 
much  condemned.  There  was  no  breach  in  the  train  of 
John  Marshall's  thoughts;  there  was  little  connection  be- 
rP.  18. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator  79 

tween  Mr.  Randolph's.  Each  had  his  separate  excellence, 
but  each  was  far  from  being  a  finished  orator,  (a)  Samuel 
C.  Jewett,  of  Maine,  an  ardent  administration  Republican, 
writing  to  General  H.  A.  S.  Dearborn,  of  Massachusetts, 
on  Feb.  5,  181 7,  has  this  glowing  praise  to  bestow  on 
Randolph  as  an  orator,  though  of  the  opinion  that  he  was 
a  very  useless  member  of  Congress : 

"I  was  highly  amused  on  Monday  in  hearing  John  Ran- 
dolph abuse  the  District  of  Columbia  in  consequence  of  a 
petition  of  one  of  the  incorporated  banks  to  be  corporated. 
He  talked  about  every  subject,  and  made  an  elegant  speech 
about  matters  and  things  in  general.  He  is  truly  a  man  of 
astonishing  powers  of  mind.  His  manner  of  speaking  is  the 
most  forcible  I  ever  witnessed,  and  his  language  elegant 
beyond  description. ' ' x 

W.  H.  Sparks,  in  his  Memories  of  Fifty  Years,  thus 
depicts  for  us  Randolph's  appearance  about  1821 : 

"  His  figure  was  outre;  his  voice  fine  as  the  treble  of  a  violin; 
his  face  wan,  wrinkled  and  without  beard;  his  limbs  long 
and  unsightly,  especially  his  arms  and  fingers.  The  skin 
seemed  to  grow  to  the  attenuated  bone,  and  the  large,  ill- 
formed  joints  were  extremely  ugly."2 

To  this  auditor,  too,  the  strongest  impression  conveyed 
by  the  eloquence  of  Randolph  was  that  of  lustre;  of  a 
radiant  figure  appareled  in  exceeding  brightness;  and,  in 
his  effort  to  communicate  his  impression  to  the  reader, 
he  uses  a  tawdry  simile  unworthy  of  his  general  literary 
merits.  Referring  to  the  debates  over  the  admission  of 
Missouri  into  the  Union,  he  says: 

"  Mr.  Randolph  was  the  leader  in  the  debates  of  the  House, 
and  occupied  the  floor  frequently  in  the  delivery  of  lengthy 
and  almost  always  very  interesting  speeches.     These  touched 

1  Wm.  &■  Mary  College  Quarterly,  v.  17,  140. 

2  P.  236. 


80  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

every  subject  connected  with  the  Government,  its  history  and 
its  powers.  They  were  brilliant  and  beautiful ;  full  of  classical 
learning  and  allusion,  and  sparkling  as  a  casket  of  diamonds 
thrown  upon  and  rolling  along  a  Wilton  carpet."1 

This  is  almost  as  bad  as  the  naive  allegation  in  The 
South  in  the  Building  of  the  Nation  that  Randolph  "was 
a  tall,  lean,  lank  man  with  long  fingers  which  he  used  to 
great  advantage  in  debate."2 — an  artless  announcement 
which,  by  the  way,  reminds  us  of  the  foreword  in  the 
ferocious  attack  which  Richard  Rush  made  upon  Ran- 
dolph in  1828,  under  the  name  of  Julius:  "The  fiend  is 
long  and  lean  and  lank. " 

Julius  Melbourn  informs  us  that  Randolph  "stood  and 
walked  exactly  perpendicular. "  "No  marble  pillar  could 
be  formed  more  so,  "  he  says.  Melbourn  also  says :  "He 
had  a  fine  eye  but  there  was  no  more  expression  or  varia- 
tion in  the  color  of  his  face  than  in  a  block  of  granite.  "3 

"His  peculiar  voice,  sweet  as  a  flute  and  an  octave  higher 
than  other  men's  voices,  his  long,  wand-like  fingers,  spare 
form,  pallid  face — the  skin  upon  it  not  wrinkled  but  corrugated 
into  compartments  like  a  bed-quilt — his  dark,  large  clear  eye, 
his  stately  but  quiet  carriage,  made  him  beyond  expression  the 
most  striking  person  I  have  ever  met."4 

These  words  are  extracted  from  the  Reminiscences  of 
David  Holmes  Conrad,  who  first  heard  Randolph  speak 
in  the  House  in  1 8 1 2 .  In  his  very  important  recollections 
of  John  Randolph,  Jacob  Harvey,  who  first  became  ac- 
quainted with  him  about  1823,  says: 

"More  than  20  years  have  elapsed  since  I  first  became 
acquainted  with  the  late  eccentric  John  Randolph.  But  time 
has  not  obliterated  the  deep  impressions  which  his  great  and 

1  P.  226. 

2V.  12  (So.  Biog.),  328. 

3  Life,  &c,  of  J.  M.,  by  Hammond,  91. 

4  Scrap  Book  of  Ellen  Bruce  Baylor. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    81 

varied  talents  made  upon  my  memory ;  nor  shall  I  ever  forget, 
while  life  remains,  the  delight  with  which  I  listened  to  his  most 
captivating  eloquence."  * 

In  a  letter  to  Caroline  Webster,  his  future  wife,  undated, 
but  written  from  Washington  in  1816,  Lewis  H.  Machen, 
an  accomplished  scholar,  who  held  a  position  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Senate  for  nearly 
fifty  years,  institutes  this  comparison  between  Randolph 
and  Pinkney  as  orators : 

"Mr.  Randolph  and  Mr.  Pinkney  possess  great  oratorical 
powers  but  differ  in  their  peculiar  excellence.  Randolph,  cool 
and  collected,  is  seldom  agitated,  or  even  warmed  by  his 
subject.  Desultory,  and  perhaps  superficial,  incapable  of  the 
higher  species  of  eloquence,  seldom  attempting  alone  logical 
deduction,  and  never  with  success,  he  yet  seizes  the  attention 
by  the  fascination  of  his  manner,  communicates  his  ideas  with 
great  clearness,  and  gives  to  the  subject  every  grace  which  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  classic  literature  seldom  fails  to 
impart.  Those  who  desire  profound  investigation  would 
return  from  Mr.  Randolph  disappointed;  but  for  cool,  yet 
cutting  sarcasm,  severity  of,  retort,  quickness  of  reply,  the  play 
of  fancy,  and  confiscations  of  wit,  he  has  scarcely  a  superior."2 

The  vigor  and  brilliancy  of  Randolph's  mind  remained 
unimpaired  down  to  the  time  when  he  became  a  member 
of  the  United  States  Senate,  and,  even  during  his  Senato- 
rial term,  and  afterwards,  he  spoke  occasionally  with  his 
former  inspiration ;  but  from  the  date  of  his  election  to  the 
Senate  began  the  extreme  irrelevancy  and  extravagance 
of  speech  which  would  compel  us  to  believe  that  at  times, 
during  his  Senatorial  term,  his  intellect  was  gravely  dis- 
ordered, even  if  positive  testimony  to  that  effect  had  not 
been  rendered  in  the  litigation  which  arose  over  his  wills 
after  his  death.     The  melodious  bells  of  his  eloquence 

1  The  New  Mirror,  Aug.  19,  1843,  v.  1,  312. 

2  Letters  of  A.  W.  Machen,  compiled  by  A.  W.  Machen,  Jr.,  44. 

vol.  11— 6 


82  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

were  still  sweet,  but  often  they  were  like  sweet  bells 
jangled — out  of  tune.  Niles,  the  proprietor  of  Niks' 
Register,  was  very  hostile  to  him.  Newspapers  generally 
were;  for  his  candid,  fearless  tongue  impugned  their  accu- 
racy and  fairness  too  often  for  their  editors  to  cherish  any 
friendly  feeling  for  him ;  and  besides  he  was  as  morbidly 
sensitive  to  the  tyranny  of  the  press  as  to  other  forms 
of  tyranny;  but  the  following  observations  on  Ran- 
dolph, which  appeared  in  Niles1  Register  in  1826,  when 
Randolph  was  a  Senator,  doubtless  have  at  least  the 
semblance  of  truth  which  belongs  even  to  the  grossest 
caricature : 

''Those  who  never  have  heard  this  far-famed,  highly  gifted 
and  extraordinary  man  deliver  one  of  his  free  speeches,  or  rather 
'long  talks,'  cannot  entertain  anything  like  a  tolerably  correct 
idea  either  of  his  manner  or  his  matter.  The  first  cannot  be 
placed  upon  paper,  and  no  other  than  a  master  in  the  histrionic 
art,  some  one  like  Matthews,  can  fairly  represent  it;  and  the 
second,  if  put  down  exactly  as  delivered,  word  for  word,  with  all 
the  pauses,  nods  and  motions,  would  seem  no  other  than  a 
broad  caricature  of  what  he  did  say  to  at  least  ninety-nine  such 
persons  out  of  a  hundred.  Many  of  his  speeches  are  written 
out  and  placed  into  his  hands  for  revision  (Note : — The  editors 
of  the  National  Intelligencer  are  pretty  freely  charged  with 
suppressing  his  late  speeches.  It  is  well  known  in  Washington 
that  they  are  not  censurable  for  the  suppression  or  delay  of 
them) ;  and,  when  not  so,  no  regular  reporter  would  risk  his  own 
reputation  for  fidelity  by  giving  the  thousand  expletives  and 
sharply-pointed  and  rough  words,  with  which  these  speeches,  or 
talks,  abound.  The  subjects  touched  by  him  are,  no  doubt, 
correctly  set  forth;  but  the  whole  that  he  says  never  is  pub- 
lished, and  for  the  reason  above  stated — not  that  Mr.  R. 
would  shrink  from  any  responsibility  on  account  of  words  used, 
but  because  of  the  repetition  and  redundancy  of  his  words, 
with  his  innumerable  'Yes,  Sirs,'  and  'No,  Sirs.'  Now  and 
then,  however,  he  delivers  a  sentence,  as  perhaps  no  other 
man  can,  direct  to  his  purpose,  beautiful  in  its  construction; 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    83 

and  with  something  that  is  pleasing  even  in  its  asperity ;  which 
interests  even  in  its  rudeness,  or  wanton  attack  upon  private 
or  defenceless  individuals;  and,  in  general,  it  is  in  severe 
invective  or  desultory  conversation  that  he  excels ;  and  in  these, 
indeed,  he  wonderfully  excells.  He  rarely  attempts  what 
would  be  called  a  regular  argument,  and  to  dwell  for  one  hour 
upon  any  subject  is  not  expected  of  him.  Nine-tenths  of  his 
long  speeches  just  as  well  apply  to  a  discussion  about  the 
constitutional  powers  of  congress  to  make  a  road  as  to  the  case 
of  John  Smith  or  the  long  disputed  claim  about  Amy  Darden's 
stud-horse;  and  hence  it  is  that,  on  one  occasion,  last  week, 
the  Senate  was  left  without  a  quorum  to  adjourn,  and  on 
another  that  there  were  hardly  a  dozen  senators  in  their  seats, 
at  least  one  of  whom  appeared  to  be  pretty  soundly  asleep,  and 
for  nearly  an  hour,  towards  the  close  of  the  sitting. 

"Though  frequent  opportunities  have  occurred,  it  is  several 
years  since  I  listened  to  Mr.  Randolph  even  for  half  an  hour 
at  a  time:  but,  on  the  2nd  inst.,  I  spent  thirty-five  minutes  in 
the  Senate  while  he  was  speaking.  What  he  said  during  that 
period,  if  fully  reported,  would  fill  from  two  to  three  pages  of 
this  work — I  mean,  if  all  the  words  that  he  used  were  printed. 
I  had  been  told  that  the  Bankrupt  Bill  was  before  the  Senate, 
but,  during  the  time  stated,  he  never,  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection,  mentioned,  or  even  remotely  alluded  to,  it,  or  any 
of  its  parts,  in  any  manner  whatsoever.  The  following  is  a 
faithful  account  of  the  chief  subjects  that  he  talked  about.  I 
do  not  pretend  to  give  his  words,  unless  here  and  there;  but  as 
to  the  substance  of  what  he  did  say  I  am  not  mistaken,  if  sub- 
stance there  was  in  his  remarks. 

"When  I  entered  the  chamber,  he  was  giving  out  a  plan  to 
make  a  bank  by  persons  resolved  to  become  'rag-earls.'  Well 
— Sir,  we  agree  to  make  a  bank.  You  subscribe  10,000  dol- 
lars, you  10,000,  and  you  10  or  20,000,  and  so  on;  looking 
toward  different  members.  Then  we  borrow  some  rags,  or 
make  up  the  capital  out  of  our  own  promissory  notes.  Next 
we  buy  an  iron  chest,  for  safety  against  fire  and  against  thieves, 
but  the  latter  is  wholly  unnecessary;  who  would  steal  our 
paper,  Sir  ?  All  being  ready,  we  issue  bills ;  I  wish  I  had  one  of 
them  (hunting  his  pockets  as  though  he  expected  to  find  one), 


84    John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

like  the  Owl  Creek  Bank  or  Washington  and  Warren,  black  or 
red;  I  think,  Sir,  they  begin  with  'I  promise  to  Pay';  yes, 
promise  to  pay,  Sir — promise  to  pay.  He  dwelt  upon  this 
making  of  a  bank  for  about  five  minutes,  and  then  said 
something  concerning  Unitarians  in  religion  and  politics; 
making  a  dash  at  the  President  and  the  administration; 
mentioning  also  Sir  Robert  Walpole  in  a  way  that  I  do 
not  recollect.  Then  he  spoke  of  the  Bible,  and  expressed 
his  disgust  at  what  are  called  'family  Bibles';  though  he 
thought  no  family  safe  or  would  flourish  without  a  Bible; 
but  not  of  an  American  edition!  These  published  by  the 
Stationers  Company  of  London  ought  only,  or  chiefly,  to 
have  authority,  except  those  from  the  presses  of  the  Universi- 
ties of  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  He  described  these  corpora- 
tions briefly.  They  would  be  fined  10,000  £  sterling,  if  they 
should  leave  the  word  not  out  of  the  Seventh  Commandment, 
however  convenient  it  might  be  to  some,  or  agreeable  to  others, 
(looking  directly  at  certain  members,  and  half -turning  himself 
round  to  the  ladies).  He  never  bought  an  American  edition 
of  any  book.  He  had  no  faith  in  their  accuracy.  He  wished 
all  his  books  to  have  Cadell's  imprint — Cadell,  of  the  Strand, 
London.  But  people  were  liable  to  be  cheated.  He  had 
bought  a  copy  of  Aristotle's  Ethics  to  present  to  a  lady,  to  a 
lady,  Sir,  who  could  understand  them,  yes,  Sir — and  he  found 
it  full  of  errors,  though  it  had  Cadell's  imprint;  which  he  gave 
us  to  understand  was  a  forgery.  From  the  Bible  he  passed 
to  Shakespeare,  or  rather  mingled  the  holy  writings  with  the 
productions  of  the  poet,  preferring  each  nearly  equally,  and 
drubbing  some  one  that  he  named  most  soundly  for  having  had 
the  impudence  to  publish  a  'family  Shakespeare,'  and  he  made 
a  quotation  from  his  favorite  author.  He  next  jumped  on  the 
American  'Protestant  Episcopal  church,'  and  vehemently  dis- 
avowed all  connection  with  it ;  declaring  that  he  belonged  to 
the  Church  of  Old  England.  He  told  us  that  he  was  baptized 
by  a  man  regularly  authorized  by  the  Bishop  of  London  who 
had  laid  his  hands  upon  him,  (laying  his  own  hands  on  the 
head  of  the  gentleman  next  to  him),  and  he  spoke  warmly  of 
the  character  of  the  Bishop  and  of  the  priest  who  had  baptised 
him;  wishing  that  the  latter  might  have  lived  to  perform  the 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    85 

last  office  for  him.  Then  as  in  reference  to  the  Episcopal 
church  he  gave  something  as  a  quotation  from  a  part  of  the 
service,  beginning  with  'them  that' — as  reprobating  its  gram- 
mar, and  implying  that  no  good  man  could  belong  to  a  church 
which  used  such  language!  Suddenly,  he  spoke  about  wine. 
It  was  often  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  and  he  approved  of  the 
drinking  of  it,  if  in  a  gentlemanly  way,  at  the  table;  not  in  the 
closet ;  not  in  the  closet ;  but,  as  to  whiskey,  he  demanded  that 
any  one  should  shew  him  the  word  in  the  Bible;  it  was  not 
there.  No,  Sir,  you  can't  find  it  in  the  whole  book.  Next, 
or  shortly  after  this,  he  spoke  of  his  land,  saying  that  he  held 
it  by  a  royal  grant,  with  which  he  seemed  greatly  pleased;  but, 
in  a  minute  or  two,  was  speaking  of  the  'men  of  Kent,'  in 
England,  saying  that  Kent  had  never  been  conquered  by 
William  the  Conqueror,  but  had  made  terms  with  him,  and,  in 
consequence,  when  the  militia  of  England  are  called  to  the 
field,  the  men  of  Kent  are  entitled  to  the  front  rank.  He  spoke 
of  a  song  which  had  been  made  on  the  'men  of  Kent,'  which,  I 
think,  he  said  he  would  give  a  thousand  pounds  to  have  been 
the  author  of.  He  was  apparently  about  to  rehearse  or  sing  it, 
when,  being  close  to  Mr.  Randolph,  and  within  three  or  four 
steps  of  the  door,  I  hastily  retreated,  and  left  the  chamber, 
wondering  what  the  'men  of  Kent'  and  William  the  Conqueror 
had  to  do  with  the  royal  grant  by  which  Mr.  Randolph  held  his 
land,  or  what  relation  that  tenure  had  to  the  bill  before  the 
senate  to  establish  an  uniform  system  of  bankruptcy;  and 
thinking  that  to  eat  my  dinner  was  an  affair  as  interesting,  at 
half  past  3  o'clock,  as  to  hear  a  song  about  the  'men  of  Kent.' 

"I  could  have  made  the  preceding  sketch  more  ample  than 
it  is,  but  would  avoid  the  suspicion  of  misrepresenting  the 
'Senator  from  Virginia.'  He  talks  with  so  much  ease  that, 
unless  for  want  of  'meat,  drink  or  sleep,'  one  would  suppose 
that  he  might  speak  twelve  months  without  stopping;  though 
he  freely  stops  to  rest  himself,  and  keeps  the  senate  waiting, 
when  he  pleases.  A  greater  part  of  the  time  that  I  heard  him, 
he  was  leaning,  or  lolling,  against  the  railing  which  is  fixed 
behind  the  outer  row  of  chairs,  to  protect  the  senators  from 
the  pressure  of  persons  passing  around  the  chamber;  and  the 
careless  ease,  with  which  he  delivered  himself,  brought  to  mind 


86  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  'Arabian  Nights  Entertainments,*  because  of  their  fluency. 
They,  however,  have  a  regular  design,  which  his  speeches  have 
not.  Mr.  Randolph  says  any  thing  which  happens  to  cross  his 
mind,  and  cares  not  a  tittle  whether  it  belongs  to  any  subject 
that  ever  was  discussed,  or  ever  shall  be  discussed,  or  not ;  and 
it  is  this  perfect  indifference  to  "everything  like  method,  with 
the  versatility  of  his  talents,  his  sometimes  beautiful  sentences, 
keen  wit  and  unsparing  invective  that  causes  'the  million'  to 
press  in  crowds  to  hear  him,  and  makes  the  chamber  of  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  a  place  of  deposit  for  empty  Sena- 
torial seats.  It  has  rarely,  if  ever,  happened,  before  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph's long  speeches  were  heard  in  the  Senate,  that  that  body 
adjourned  without  a  quorum,  or  that  a  quorum  was  not  pres- 
ent to  listen  to  what  a  member  had  to  say.  The  courtesy  of 
the  gentlemen  composing  it,  one  towards  another,  has  for- 
bidden occurrences  of  this  sort;  but  to  expect  that  persons  shall 
quietly  keep  their  places,  and  listen  five  or  six  hours  to  discourses 
not  at  all  interesting  to  them,  and  when,  perhaps,  they  may  not 
have  touched  food  for  nine  or  ten  hours,  is  out  of  all  reason, 
and  far  beyond  aught  that  courtesy  should  require.  The 
Vice  President,  however,  always  retains  his  seat,  'like  patience 
on  a  monument,'  and,  indeed,  very  seldom  even  changes  his 
position.  Such  is  a  faint,  but  faithful,  outline  of  proceedings 
had  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  Who  is  chiefly  to 
blame  for  such  transactions,  the  Senate,  as  a  body,  the  Vice- 
President,  or  Mr.  Randolph  alone,  is  not  for  me  to  say;  but  it 
is  generally  felt,  and  pretty  freely  acknowledged,  by  many  of 
the  Senators  themselves,  that  their  body  has  lost  a  large  por- 
tion of  their  own  respect  for  it,  and  of  the  respect  of  the  people, 
through  Mr.  Randolph's  incessant  talking.  If  every  other 
gentleman  spoke  as  long  as  he  does,  and  every  one  might  speak 
as  long  and  as  much  to  the  purpose  as  he  commonly  does,  a 
three  years'  perpetual  session  would  not  do  the  business  of  a 
week;  for  it  must  further  be  observed  that,  except  in  the  simple 
act  of  giving  his  vote,  Mr.  R.  attends  not  to  public  business, 
unless  speaking  is  to  be  regarded  as  doing  the  business  of  the 
nation.  This  may  be  agreeable  to  the  established  notion  of  the 
Attick  'School  of  Virginia,'  as  set  forth  by  Mr.  Ritchie  in  the 
Enquirer,  but  will  not  suit  the  'Boeotians'  of  Pennsylvania,  &c, 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    87 

as  the  people  of  that  great  and  prosperous  commonwealth 
have  been  called.  Persons  of  the  'Schools'  of  Mr.  Giles,  or  of 
Mr.  Randolph,  would  spend  more  time  in  discussing  the  powers 
and  duties  of  a  legislature  to  make  a  road  or  build  a  bridge 
than  Pennsylvania  would  require  to  pass  the  law  and  effect  all 
the  purposes  of  it.  Which  is  best,  may  be  seen  in  the  progress 
of  population  and  wealth  in  the  two  States.  Why  is  it  that 
the  statesmen  of  Virginia  do  not  attend  to  these  things  ?  Every 
feeling  of  my  heart  is  that  Virginia  should  be  a  strong  state. 
It  is  for  the  'general  welfare'  that  she  should  so  be.  But  her 
politicians,  by  talking  and  speaking,  have  made  her  a  compara- 
tively weak  one.  They  would,  however,  be  amply  punished 
by  being  compelled  to  sit  six  hours  every  day,  and  preserve  the 
appearance  of  listening  to  Mr.  Randolph.  They  would 
heartily  wish  that  gentleman  at  home,  'planting  corn'  in  his 
own  fields,  with  his  own  hands;  or  in  England,  or  anywhere 
else,  so  that  they  could  not  hear  him :  and  yet  his  speeches  are 
read  with  great  avidity,  as  matters  of  amusement,  when  seated 
at  our  leisure,  and  at  liberty  to  read  or  let  it  alone."1 

Commenting  on  this  article,  the  editor  of  the  Franklin 
Gazette  justly  said: 

"  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  turn  into  ridicule  a  man  of  eccentric 
manners.  We  publish  a  specimen  of  this  kind  of  wit  today 
from  N ties'  Register,  and  though  the  report  of  facts  may  be 
correct,  as  far  as  it  goes,  had  the  whole  speech  been  candidly 
reported,  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  producing  a  ludicrous 
effect ;  had  not  the  characteristic  peculiarities  been  presented  in 
a  glaring  light,  and  the  subject  matter  been  studiously  kept 
out  of  view,  we  are,  indeed,  much  mistaken  if  the  reader  would 
agree  with  Mr.  Niles  when  he  asserts  that  the  speech  had  no 
bearing  upon  the  bill  before  the  House."2 

To  these  comments  Niles  rejoined  with  considerable 
heat,  and  published  in  the  same  issue  from  the  columns  of 
the  National  Intelligencer  an  unrevised  report  of  a  speech 

*  Niles'  Register,  May  13,  1826,  v.  6,  186  (3rd  series). 
2  Niles'  Register,  Aug.  26,  1826,  v.  6  (3rd  series),  441. 


88  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

by  Randolph  on  a  Senate  bill  providing  for  an  addition  to 
the  number  of  Circuit  Judges,  which  he  contended  was  a 
fair  standard  by  which  to  test  the  justice  of  his  article. 
In  the  Senate,  Randolph,  doubtless,  often  spoke  much 
that  was  very  little  germane  to  the  subject  of  the  debate, 
but,  as  this  report  did  not  pretend  to  be  anything  but  an 
unfinished  sketch,  it  may  well  be  accepted  with  grave 
doubts.  After  reading  every  reported  speech  delivered 
by  Randolph  in  Congress,  we  can  at  least  say  that  no  such 
rambling  and  incoherent  speech  as  the  one  outlined  in 
this  sketch  was  ever  reported  in  the  record  of  the  House 
debates.  Moreover,  we  should  remember  that  it  was, 
perhaps,  of  this  speech  that  Randolph  wrote  from  The 
Hague  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  in  these  terms  on  Aug.  8, 
1826: 

"I  hope,  however,  that  no  report  of  my  speeches  will  be 
taken  as  evidence  of  what  I  have  uttered ;  for  I  have  never  seen 
anything  further  from  a  just  representation  than  the  report  of 
one  that  G.  and  S.  say  I  in  part  revised.  And  so  I  did,  and,  if 
they  had  printed  it  by  their  own  proof-sheet,  now  in  London,  I 
should  have  been  better  satisfied  with  that  part;  the  first,  that 
I  did  not  revise,  is  mangled,  and  hardly  intelligible  even  to 


me. 


More  important  than  the  satire  of  Niles  is  a  letter  from 
Daniel  Webster,  who,  however,  had  a  sore  spot  in  his 
memory  too,  to  Mr.  Denison : 

"Mr.  Randolph,"  Webster  said,  "was  elected  last  fall  a 
Senator  from  Virginia.  It  was  unexpected,  but  his  great 
devotion  to  certain  political  opinions  cherished  in  that  State 
gave  him  the  election.  He  is  a  violent  opposer  of  the  present 
government,  and  has  conducted  his  part  of  the  discussions 
in  the  Senate  in  a  way  hitherto  altogether  unknown.  The 
Vice  President  has  found  out  that  he  has  no  authority  to  call 
him  to  order  or  restrain  his  wanderings ;  so  he  talks  on  for  two, 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  272. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    89 

four  and  sometimes  six  hours  at  a  time,  saying  whatever 
occurs  to  him  on  all  subjects.  This  course  and  its  indulgence 
by  the  Presiding  Officer  of  the  Senate  (Calhoun)  has  produced 
a  very  strong  sensation  throughout  the  country."1 

But  there  was  an  individual  and  a  highly  intellectual 
and  discriminating  one,  too,  who  took  a  much  more  favor- 
able view  of  Randolph's  loquacity  and  excursiveness  when 
a  Senator ;  and  that  was  Josiah  Quincy ,  Jr.  In  his  Figures 
of  the  Past,  he  speaks  in  one  place  of  the  ''admiration" 
with  which  he  had  listened  to  the  ' ( wonderful  improvisa- 
tion in  the  Senate  "  of  Randolph. 2  And,  in  the  same  vol- 
ume, after  mentioning  that  he  had  twice  heard  him  in  the 
Senate,  he  says : 

1 '  His  speeches  were  charming  or  provoking,  according  to  the 
point  of  view  of  the  listener.  To  a  Senator  anxious  to  expedite 
the  public  business  or  to  hurry  through  the  bill  he  had  in 
charge,  Randolph's  harangues  upon  all  sorts  of  irrelevant 
subjects  must  have  been  very  annoying;  but  to  one  who  was 
not  troubled  by  such  responsibility  they  were  a  delightful 
entertainment.  There  was  no  effort  about  the  speeches ;  they 
were  given  with  absolute  ease ;  the  speaker  constantly  changing 
his  position,  turning  from  side  to  side,  and  at  times  leaning 
against  the  rail  which  enclosed  the  Senatorial  chairs.  His 
dress  was  a  blue  riding  coat  with  buckskin  breeches;  for  he 
always  rode  to  the  Senate,  followed  by  his  black  servant;  both 
master  and  man  being  finely  mounted.  His  voice  was  silvery 
in  its  tones ;  becoming  unpleasantly  shrill  only  when  conveying 
direct  invective.  Four-fifths  of  what  he  said  -had  the  slender- 
est possible  connection  with  the  subject  which  had  called  him 
up;  but,  so  far  as  the  chance  visitor  was  concerned,  this  variety 
only  added  a  charm  to  the  entertainment  "3 

A  few  pages  later,  when  describing  Randolph's  second 
speech  in  relation  to  the  Panama  mission,  Quincy  ob- 
serves : 

1  Life  of  Daniel  Webster,  by  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  2nd  Ed.,  N.  Y.  v.  I, 

270.  2P.  212.  3  P.  220. 


90  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"But  Mr.  Randolph's  great  effort  (if  I  may  so  call  a  per- 
formance which  to  him  was  evidently  no  effort  at  all)  was 
reserved  for  the  next  day.  He  announced  that  he  should  ask 
for  the  consideration  of  his  resolution  immediately  upon  the 
meeting  of  the  Senate,  and  that  meant  that  another  speech 
would  be  forthcoming.  I  was  early  upon  the  spot,  and  for  two 
hours  (he)  held  my  attention  fixed  by  his  various  and  fluent 
improvisations,  his  cutting  irony,  his  terribly  sincere,  although 
absolutely  undeserved,  denunciations.  His  memory  and 
imagination  seemed  inexhaustible.  He  would  take  a  subject 
(almost  any  which  happened  to  get  in  his  way) ,  turn  and  twist 
it  about,  display  it  in  some  fantastic  light,  and  then  with  scorn 
push  it  aside."1 

James  Buchanan  was  in  the  House  with  Randolph  at 
one  time,  and  he  also  has  something  to  say  about  Ran- 
dolph as  an  orator: 

"He  had  a  shrill  and  penetrating  voice,  and  could  be  heard 
distinctly  in  every  portion  of  the  House.  He  spoke  with  great 
deliberation,  and  often  paused  for  an  instant  as  if  to  select 
the  most  appropriate  word.  His  manner  was  confident,  proud 
and  imposing;  and  pointing,  as  he  always  did,  his  long  finger  at 
the  object  of  attack,  he  gave  peculiar  emphasis  to  the  severity 
of  his  language."2 

Because  of  the  enmity  excited  by  his  aggressive  peculi- 
arities, Randolph's  influence  in  the  House,  Buchanan 
thought,  "bore  no  proportion  to  the  brilliancy  of  his 
talents."3 

I  Randolph,  as  he  was  during  the  debates  of  the  Virginia 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1829-30,  has  also  been  de- 
picted in  a  highly  life-like  manner  by  more  than  one  hand. 

"We  have  often  heard  persons  attempt  to  imitate  his 
[Randolph's]  voice;  but  we  have  never  known  anyone  to 
succeed;  for  it  was  in  fact  inimitable,"  says  Hugh  R.  Pleasants. 

IP.  226. 

3  Life  of  Jas.  Buchanan,  by  Curtis,  v.  1 ,  29.  3  ibid. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    91 

"We  know  not  how  the  opera  people  would  class  it;  for  we 
doubt  whether  any  of  them  ever  heard  anything  like  it.  It 
was  higher  than  that  of  men  generally,  yet  it  did  not  in  the 
least  partake  of  that  harsh  quality  which  is  generally  found 
associated  with  a  higher  voice  in  persons  of  the  sterner  sex. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  as  soft,  as  rich  and  as  delicious  as  the 
most  mellifluous  tones  of  Jenny  Lind,  when  she  pours  her 
whole  soul  into  one  of  her  breathing  melodies.  Of  course,  we 
speak  of  him  only,  as  we  saw  him  in  the  Convention;  for  we 
never  saw  him  in  any  other  deliberative  body,  and  we  are 
disposed  to  think  that  he  was  more  himself,  while  here,  than 
he  had  been  elsewhere  for  years.  It  has  been  said  that  in  his 
unhappy  moments  in  Congress,  while  laboring  under  fits  of 
violent  exasperation,  his  voice  became  dry  and  harsh  in  the 
extreme.  .  .  .  Vrle  usually  spoke  with  the  greatest  delibera- 
tion; his  left  hand  resting  on  his  cane,  and  his  right  employed 
in  giving  emphasis  to  his  words.  Each  sentence,  nay  each 
word,  seemed  to  be  thoroughly  weighed  before  he  gave  utter- 
ance to  it;  and  it  was  pronounced  so  distinctly  that  it  was 
impossible  to  mistake  it.  We  once  saw  a  beautiful  handwrit- 
ing, so  distinct  that  it  could  be  read  as  easily  as  print,  which 
possessed  the  remarkable  peculiarity  of  having  a  full  stop  after 
every  word.  We  have  often  thought  there  was  some  analogy 
between  it  and  Mr.  Randolph's  style  of  speaking,  as  ijt  pre- 
sented itself  to  our  observation  in  the  Convention.  .  .  ■,  L  Mr. 
Randolph's  eyes  exceeded  in  brightness  and  penetration  any 
we  have  ever  seen  in  a  human  head.  They  absolutely  blazed 
when  kindled  by  the  excitement  of  debate.  It  was  his  custom 
to  employ  very  little  gesticulation,  his  forefinger  being  used 
almost  entirely  for  purposes  of  that  sort."1 

Another  spectator  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention 
was  Jeremiah  Bell  Jeter,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  Bap- 
tist divines  of  his  day. 

"The  most  notable  man  in  the  body,"  he  said,  "or  at  least 
the  member  who  made  the  deepest  impression  on  my  mind, 

1  "Sketches  of  Va.  Conv.,  1829-30,"  by  Hugh  R.  Pleasants,  So.  Lit. 
Mess.,  v.  17,  303,  304. 


92     John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  of  whom  I  retain  the  most  vivid  recollection,  was  John 
Randolph  of  Roanoke.  He  was  unquestionably  the  most 
perfect  orator  to  whom  in  the  course  of  half  a  century  it  has 
been  my  privilege  to  listen.  I  have  heard  many  of  the  most 
eminent  speakers  of  the  present  day  in  this  country,  and  some 
in  Europe,  in  legislative  halls,  and  in  pulpits,  and  I  have  not 
seen  one  who  seemed  so  thoroughly  to  understand  the  art  of 
public  speaking  as  he  did.  I  have  probably  heard  speakers 
more  profound  in  thought,  more  convincing  in  argument  and 
more  moving  in  appeal ;  but  none  so  faultless  in  speaking  as  was 
the  orator  of  Roanoke.  His  voice  was  sharp  and  quite  peculiar, 
but  not  unpleasing  to  the  ear.  His  gestures  were  few,  but  all 
graceful  and  expressive.  In  the  art  of  pausing,  he  was  unrival- 
led. He  would  throw  together  the  clauses  of  a  sentence,  excit- 
ing expectation,  and,  before  he  would  bring  out  its  meaning 
with  his  hand  gracefully  elevated,  he  would  pause  as  if  some 
thought  too  large  for  utterance  were  struggling  to  find  expres- 
sion. There  was  no  doubt  but  that  the  sentence  would  be 
gracefully  and  forcibly  finished.  The  delay  intensified  the 
desire  to  hear  the  conclusion.  Every  head  was  pressed  for- 
ward, and  every  eye  was  strained  to  mark  the  effect  of  the 
coming  bolt ;  nor  was  there  any  disappointment  when  it  came. 
It  went  to  the  mark  with  unerring  precision,  and  with  resistless 
force.  His  style  was  natural,  clear  and  strong,  adapted  simply 
to  convey  and  press  his  thoughts."1 

Another  description  of  Randolph  in  the  Convention  is 
from  the  pen  of  George  Wythe  Munford,  who  was  for  a 
time  its  secretary.     He  tells  us 

"that  Randolph's  head,  in  proportion  to  his  frame,  was  small; 
that  his  hair  grew  low  upon  his  brow,  and  that  he  parted  it  in 
the  middle ;  that  his  features  were  rather  delicate  and  feminine ; 
that  his  eyes  were  black  and  full  of  lustre;  that  his  voice  was 
peculiarly  feminine  and  shrill,  yet  clear  as  the  tones  of  a  silver 
bell,  and  of  a  compass  to  convey  its  lowest  whisper  to  a  dis- 
tance; that  his  neck  was  very  short,  and  deeply  seated  between 
his  shoulders,  which  were  somewhat  elevated,  and  that  his 

1  Recollections  of  a  Long  Life,  169,  170. 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    93 

frame,  for  one  so  thin,  was  massive;  his  arms  unusually  long 
and  his  fingers  attenuated."1  ' 

As  to  Randolph's  methods  of  speech  when  addressing 
the  Convention,  Munford,  who  had  heard  him  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  tells  us  that  they  were  wholly  differ- 
ent from  his  eccentric  and  discursive  mode  of  speaking  in 
that  body. 

"It  [Randolph's  first  speech]  was  calm,  collected,  dignified 
and  commanding,"  he  says,  "and  his  gesticulation  was  that  of 
a  master  actor.  He  would  begin  to  express  a  thought  in  lan- 
guage, and  then,  leaving  the  sentence  incomplete,  would  by  a 
wave  of  the  hand  or  a  change  of  the  muscles  of  the  face,  give  the 
idea  as  perfect  to  the  mind  as  if  conveyed  by  the  most  speaking 
words.  No  reporter  can  catch  these  peculiarities,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  convey  a  just  conception  of  the  effect."2 

Dwelling  further  on  the  dramatic  element  of  Ran- 
dolph's oratory,  Munford,  after  quoting  some  of  Ran- 
dolph's previous  utterances  in  his  first  speech,  adds: 

"And  then  he  said  'the  gentleman  from  Augusta,'  and  he 
seized  his  cravat  with  both  hands,  and  twisted  and  pulled  at  it, 
as  if  feeling  a  sense  of  extreme  suffocation,  and  the  contortions 
of  face,  united  with  the  efforts  of  the  hands  to  relax  the  throttle 
he  felt — the  whole  gesture — expressing  the  idea  so  forcibly  that 
you  saw  it  palpable  that  he  intended  to  say  that  Virginia  was 
suffering  strangulation  from  the  ruffians  who  were  assailing 
her."3 

Equally  speaking  are  the  words  of  Hugh  Blair  Grigsby, 
who  was  himself  a  member  of  the  Convention;  having 
succeeded  to  the  vacancy  created  by  the  resignation  of 
Robert  Barraud  Taylor : 

"Of  all  the  members  of  the  Convention,  Mr.  Randolph 
excited  the  greatest  curiosity.     Not  a  word  that  fell  from 

1  The  Two  Parsons,  etc.,  568. 
>Id.,  571.  i/d.,571. 


94  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

his  lips  escaped  the  public  ear;  not  a  movement  the  public 
eye.  When  he  rose  to  speak,  the  empty  galleries  began  to  fill, 
and,  when  he  ended  and  the  spell  was  dissolved,  the  throng 
passed  away.  It  was  on  the  14th  of  November  he  made  his 
first  speech.  Mr.  Stanard  had  just  concluded  his  speech,  and 
the  question  on  the  amendment  of  Judge  Green  to  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  Legislative  Committee,  basing  the  representation 
in  the  House  of  Delegates  on  white  population  exclusively,  was 
about  to  be  taken  when  he  arose  to  address  the  chair.  The 
word  passed  through  the  City  in  an  instant  that  Randolph 
was  speaking,  and  soon  the  House,  the  Lobby  and  the  Gallery 
were  crowded  almost  to  suffocation.  He  was  evidently  ill  at 
ease  when  he  began  his  speech,  but  soon  recovered  himself 
when  he  saw  the  telling  effect  of  every  sentence  that  he  uttered. 
He  spoke  nearly  two  hours,  and,  throughout  that  time,  every 
eye  was  fixed  upon  him,  and,  among  the  most  attentive  of  his 
hearers,  were  Mr.  Madison  and  Mr.  Monroe,  who  had  not 
heard  him  before  since  his  rupture  with  the  administration 
of  their  predecessor  in  the  Presidency.  From  that  day,  he 
addressed  the  body  with  perfect  self-possession,  and,  although 
he  did  not  at  any  subsequent  time  speak  at  length,  he  fre- 
quently mingled  with  marked  ability  in  debate;  and  it  was 
easy  to  tell  from  the  first  sentence  that  fell  from  his  lips  when 
he  was  in  fine  tune  and  temper,  and,  on  such  occasions,  the 
thrilling  music  of  his  speech  fell  upon  the  ear  of  that  excited 
assembly  like  the  voice  of  a  bird  singing  in  the  pause  of  the 
storm.  It  is  difficult  to  explain  the  influence  which  he  exerted 
in  that  body.  He  inspired  terror  to  a  degree  that,  even  at  this 
distance  of  time,  seems  inexplicable.  He  was  feared  alike  by 
East  and  West,  by  friend  and  foe.  The  arrows  from  his 
quiver,  if  not  dipped  in  poison,  were  pointed  and  barbed, 
rarely  missed  the  mark,  and  as  seldom  failed  to  make  a  rank- 
ling wound.  He  seemed  to  paralyze  alike  the  mind  and  body 
of  his  victim.  What  made  his  attack  more  vexatious,  every 
sarcasm  took  effect  amid  the  plaudits  of  his  audience.  He 
called  himself,  on  one  occasion,  a  tomahawker  and  a  scalper, 
and  true  to  the  race,  from  which  he  sprung,  he  never  explained 
away  or  took  back  anything;  and,  as  he  knew  the  private  as 
well  as  the  public  history  of  every  prominent  member,  it  was 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    95 

impossible  for  his  opponents  to  foresee  from  what  quarter, 
and  on  whom  his  attacks  would  fall.  He  also  had  political 
accounts  of  long  standing  to  settle  with  sundry  individuals, 
and  none  could  tell  when  the  day  of  reckoning  would  arrive. 
And,  when  it  did  come,  it  was  a  stern  and  fearful  one.  What 
unnerved  his  opponents,  was  a  conviction  of  his  invulnerability, 
apparent  or  real;  for,  unconnected  as  he  was  by  any  social 
relation,  and  ready  to  fall  back  on  a  colossal  fortune,  he  was 
not  on  equal  terms  with  men  who  were  struggling  to  acquire  a 
competency,  and  whose  hearts  were  bound  by  all  the  endearing 
ties  of  domestic  love.  Moreover,  it  was  impossible  to  answer 
a  sneer  or  a  sarcasm  with  an  argument.  To  attempt  anything 
of  the  kind  was  to  raise  a  laugh  at  one's  expense.  Hence  the 
strong  and  the  weak  in  a  contest  with  him  were  upon  the  same 
level.  In  early  youth,  the  face  of  Mr.  Randolph  was  beautiful, 
and  its  lineaments  are  in  some  degree  preserved  in  his  portrait 
by  Stuart;  but,  as  he  advanced  in  life,  it  lost  its  freshness,  and 
began  to  assume  that  aspect  which  the  poet  Moore  described 
in  his  diary  as  a  young-old  face,  and  which  is  so  faithfully 
portrayed  by  Harding.  His  voice,  which  was  one  of  the  great 
sources  of  his  power,  ranged  from  tenor  to  treble ;  it  had  no  bass 
notes;  its  volume  was  full  at  times,  but,  though  heard  distinctly 
in  the  hall  and  the  galleries,  it  had,  doubtless,  lost  much  of  the 
sweetness  and  roundness  of  its  earlier  years.  Its  sarcastic 
tones  were  on  a  high  key.  He  was,  too,  though  he  had  the  art 
to  conceal  his  art  from  common  observers,  a  consummate  actor. 
In  the  philosophy  of  voice  and  gesture,  and  in  the  use  of  the 
pause,  he  was  as  perfect  an  adept  as  ever  trod  the  boards  of 
Covent  Garden  or  Drury  Lane.  When  he  described  Chapman 
Johnson  as  stretching  his  arm  to  intercept  and  clutch  the 
sceptre,  as  it  was  passing  over  Rock  Fish  Gap,  or,  when  he 
rallied  him  for  speaking  not,  'fifteen  minutes  as  he  promised, 
but  two  hours,  not  by  Shrewsbury  Clock,  but  by  as  good  a 
watch  as  can  be  made  in  the  City  of  London,'  and,  opening  the 
case  of  his  hunting  watch,  held  it  up  to  the  view  of  the  Chair- 
man; or,  when  seeking  to  deride  the  length  of  Johnson's  speech, 
he  said,  'The  Gentleman  said  yesterday,  or  the  day  before,  or 
the  day  before  that,'  Garrick  or  Kean  would  have  crowned  his 
acting  with  applause.     No  weight  of  character,  no  grade  of 


96  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

intellect  afforded  a  shield  impenetrable  by  his  shaft.  Probably 
the  committee,  to  which  was  referred,  near  its  close,  all  the 
resolutions  of  the  Convention,  with  a  view  of  having  them 
drawn  in  the  form  of  a  Constitution,  was  the  most  venerable 
in  years,  in  genius,  in  all  the  accomplishments  of  the  human 
mind,  and  in  length  and  value  of  public  service,  that  ever 
sat  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Madison,  Marshall,  Tazewell, 
Doddridge,  Watkins  Leigh,  Johnson  and  Cooke  were  the 
seven  members  who  composed  it.  Yet  Mr.  Randolph,  almost 
without  an  effort,  raised  a  laugh  at  their  expense.  It  appears, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  that  some  qualification  of  the  right  of 
suffrage,  which  was  embraced  in  the  resolutions,  was  not  to  be 
found  in  the  reported  draft,  and  to  this  omission  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph called  the  attention  of  the  House.  Mr.  Leigh  observed 
that,  if  Mr.  Randolph's  views  were  carried  out,  it  would 
virtually  leave  the  entire  regulation  of  the  right  of  suffrage  to 
the  General  Assembly.  Randolph  replied,  with  all  his  pecu- 
liar emphasis  and  gesture,  'Sir,  I  would  as  soon  trust  the  House 
of  Burgesses  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia  as  the  Com- 
mittee of  Seven.'  I  followed  his  finger,  and,  amid  the  roar  of 
laughter,  which  burst  forth,  I  saw  Mr.  Madison  and  Mr.  Leigh 
suddenly  and  unconsciously  bow  their  heads.  He  idolized 
Shakespeare,  and  cherished  a  taste  for  the  drama;  and,  in  this 
department  of  literature,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  older  English 
classics  from  Elizabeth  to  Anne,  and,  indeed,  in  all  that  was 
embraced  by  the  curiosity  and  taste  of  a  scholar,  his  library 
was  rich.  He  spoke  and  wrote  the  English  language  in  all  its 
purity  and  elegance,  and  his  opponents  had  at  least  the  grati- 
fication of  knowing  that  they  were  abused  in  good  English; 
indeed,  Madison  could  not  vie  with  him  in  a  full  and  ready 
control  over  the  vocabulary  or  the  harmony  of  the  English 
tongue.  His  later  speeches  exemplify  this  remark  in  a  more 
striking  manner  than  his  earlier  ones.  In  his  speech  on 
Retrenchment,  delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
1828,  one  meets  with  sentences  of  great  beauty,  and  it  may  be 
observed  that,  towards  the  close  of  that  speech,  is  one  of  the  few 
pathetic  touches  to  be  found  in  his  productions.  Yet  it  may 
well  be  doubted  whether  his  speeches  will  hold  a  high  place 
in  aftertimes.    His  sayings  will  be  quoted  in  the  South;  and 


Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator    97 

some  of  his  speeches  will  undoubtedly  be  read;  but  they 
will  hardly  emerge  beyond  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  and  never 
reach,  even  within  that  limit,  the  dignity  of  models.  What  Sir 
James  Mcintosh  observed  to  an  American  respecting  one  of  his 
speeches,  will  probably  convey,  when  oral  tradition  grows 
faint,  the  impression  which  they  make  on  impartial  minds — 
that  there  was  a  striving  after  effect — a  disposition  to  say 
smart  or  hard  things  beyond  the  ability.  On  the  score  of 
argument,  they  were  beneath  criticism.  It  is  but  just,  how- 
ever, to  say  that  Mr.  Randolph  protested  against  the  authen- 
ticity of  most  of  the  speeches  attributed  to  him.  Those  in 
the  published  debates  of  the  Convention  are  undoubtedly 
authentic,  and  must  have  received  his  revisal."1 

In  another  place,  in  the  same  discourse,  Grigsby  speaks 
of  "the  rich  soprano"  of  Randolph.2 

1  Va.  Conv.  of  182Q-30,  41. 

2  Id.,  77- 

VOL.  II — 7 


CHAPTER  V 
Randolph's  District 

It  was  thought  by  some,  who  had  heard  Randolph  both 
in  Congress  and  on  the  hustings,  that  he  particularly 
excelled  on  the  hustings1;  and,  happily  for  us,  Powhatan 
Bouldin,  a  native  of  Charlotte  County,  was  forehanded 
enough,  before  the  besom  of  time  had  swept  away  all  of 
Randolph's  contemporaries  in  his  old  Congressional  Dis- 
trict, to  collect  from  some  of  the  most  prominent  of  them 
a  remarkably  well-written  series  of  recollections  re- 
lating to  him.  After  reading  these  papers,  we  are  at 
no  loss  to  know  just  what  the  Rev.  James  Waddell  Alex- 
ander, who  was  the  pastor  from  1 826-1 828  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Charlotte  Court  House,  meant  when 
he  said  that  Randolph  was  the  Magnus  Apollo  of 
Southside  Virginia.  Indeed,  the  writer  of  these  pages 
can  testify  that,  as  late  as  his  early  manhood,  the  clang  of 
that  silver  bow  was  almost  as  real  to  the  ear  of  his 
generation  as  it  had  been  to  that  of  Randolph's.  How  far 
Randolph  is  still  the  subject  of  popular  conversation  in 
Charlotte  County,  he  cannot  affirm,  but  he  knows  that, 
45  years  ago,  a  group  of  lawyers  could  hardly  gather  about 
a  tavern  table  at  Charlotte  Court  House,  or  a  group  of 
planters  assemble  on  its  court  green,  without  bearing 
witness  in  their  talk,  in  some  way  or  other,  to  the  inefface- 
able imprint  made  by  Randolph  upon  the  minds  of  those 
who  had  seen  and  heard  him.     And  never,  too,  did  we 

1  Bouldin,  55. 

98 


Randolph's  District  99 

hear  anyone,  who  had  known  or  seen  Randolph,  even  if 
it  were  only  an  aged  negro  whom  he  had  chided  for  block- 
ing his  road,  recall  any  words  uttered  by  him  without 
attempting  to  imitate  the  tone  of  the  high-pitched,  epicene 
voice  which  was  the  most  remarkable  of  his  physical 
attributes.  Forty-five  years  ago,  enough  time  had  elapsed 
for  the  Southside  Virginia  Elijah,  Patrick  Henry,  and  his 
chariot  of  fire  to  melt  away  from  the  sight  of  the  populace 
into  what  Prof.  Tyndall  calls  "the  infinite  azure  of  the 
past,"  but  the  mantle,  that  Henry  dropped  in  his  ascent 
from  his  own  shoulders  upon  those  of  Randolph,  had  too 
recently  fallen  from  the  latter  for  Randolph  not  to  be  yet 
a  living  presence.  We  cannot  undertake  to  assert  with  our 
fellow-countryman,  Bouldin,  that  "Mr.  Randolph  was 
perhaps  the  most  impressive  man  that  ever  lived."1 
Southside  Virginia,  after  all,  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  entire 
terrestrial  globe,  the  canvass  of  universal  history  is  very 
densely  peopled,  and  the  assertion  imposes  entirely  too 
severe  a  strain  upon  the  mental  organs  of  memory 
and  comparison;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  few 
men  have  ever  so  completely  enslaved  the  imagina- 
tion of  a  people  as  did  Randolph  that  of  the  people 
among  whom  he  lived.  They  felt  in  him  such  a  degree 
of  curious  interest  as  they  felt  in  no  other  man:  "In 
their  views,"  as  one  of  them  has  told  us,  Randolph 
was  "as  prominent  and  necessary  an  object  in  our 
human  world  as  the  sun  in  the  solar  system."2  "All 
the  bastard  wit  of  the  country,"  Randolph  once  com- 
plained, ' '  has  been  fathered  on  me. " 3  (a)  Every  word  of 
his  speeches  was  followed  by  his  constituents  so  intently 
that  some  of  them  carried  whole  paragraphs  from  them  in 
their  memories  for  years.  His  witticisms,  his  gibes,  his 
eloquent  appeals,  his  pictorial  imagery,  his  witty  sayings 
were  in  almost  as  general  circulation  among  them  as  the 
federal  currency ;  and,  if  he  had  not  been  a  man  of  genius, 

1  Bouldin,  10.  2  Id.,  84.  3  Garland,  v.  1,  preface  vii. 


ioo         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

with  a  training  and  faculties  marvelously  well  adapted  to 
the  office  of  hitting  their  local  convictions,  predilections, 
and  prejudices  between  wind  and  water,  his  landed  and 
social  importance,  his  strange  aspect,  his  erratic  bearing, 
his  pride  and  violence  were  enough  in  themselves  to  have 
made  him  an  object  of  insatiable  wonder  to  them.  From 
first  to  last,  he  exerted  a  fascinating  spell  over  them.  Once 
only  was  this  spell  sufficiently  weakened  to  cost  him  his 
seat  in  the  House;  and  then,  without  any  recantation  or 
apology  on  his  part,  it  soon  reasserted  its  sway  as  if  it  had 
never  been  dissolved.  The  idea  that  Randolph  secured 
his  election  to  Congress,  term  after  term,  by  bullying  the 
young  men  and  cajoling  the  old  men  in  his  District,  is  too 
shallow  on  its  face  to  require  serious  refutation.  He  was 
again  and  again  elected  to  Congress  because  the  electorate 
that  elected  him  was  limited  to  a  small,  intelligent  body  of 
freeholders,  who  admired  his  talents  too  much  to  be  influ- 
enced by  secondary  considerations  of  any  kind  affecting 
his  general  popularity,  and  who  wished  to  be  represented 
in  Congress  by  a  man  so  truly  typical  of  their  own  sec- 
tional and  class  interests  and  aims;  and  because,  before 
Randolph's  mind  became  chronically  deranged  in  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  and  both  his  body  and  soul  steeped  in  their 
bitter  misery,  his  rare  social  gifts  made  him  a  welcome 
companion  at  every  place  of  public  resort  and  an  honored 
guest  in  every  conspicuous  home  of  his  District.  The 
scope  of  the  social  activities,  which  brought  these  gifts 
into  play  during  the  relatively  vigorous  years  of  a  life 
which,  like  that  of  Alexander  Pope,  was  "one  long  dis- 
ease," is  fully  disclosed  by  his  Diary  and  letters.  Like 
all  masterful  public  men,  he  asserted  his  will  at  times 
imperiously,  and  more  than  once,  under  exceptional  cir- 
cumstances, even  brutally.  It  must  be  admitted  too  that, 
under  the  viva  voce  mode  of  voting,  which  prevailed  in 
Virginia  in  Randolph's  time,  intimidation  could  be  more 
readily  practiced  at  an  election  by  an  aggressive,  overawing 


Randolph's  District  i<w 

nature  than  it  could  be  in  our  day ;  (a)  but  the  idea  that 
Randolph  coerced  and  coaxed  his  way  into  Congress 
biennially,  with  the  exception  of  two  terms,  for  some  30 
years  rests  upon  nothing  more  satisfactory  than  the 
'assertions  of  political  or  personal  enmity,  or  the  country- 
side gossip  which  gave  a  sensational  or  exaggerated  turn  to 
even  the  simplest  things  that  such  an  original  man  as  he 
might  do  or  say.  No  man,  Randolph  was  in  the  habit 
of  declaring,  ever  had  such  constituents  as  he  had  had. 
And  the  declaration  was  not  far  from  the  truth,  when 
tested  by  ordinary  standards  of  popular  attachment  and 
constancy;  but  it  was  still  nearer  the  truth,  when  tested 
by  ordinary  standards  of  popular  curiosity  and  enthusiasm. 
When  the  announcement  had  gone  out  in  one  of  the 
counties  of  Randolph's  District  that  he  would  address  the 
People  on  the  next  County  Court  Day,  the  morning  of 
that  day  was  sure  to  find  the  Court  House  green  thronged 
with  a  great  mass  of  human  beings,  drained  from  all  the 
surrounding  country,  and  tense  with  anxious  expectancy 
until  the  stir  and  murmur,  which  spring  up  in  a  crowd — 
no  man  can  ever  tell  how — just  before  what  it  awaits 
breaks  upon  its  vision,  apprised  even  the  dullest  of  them 
that  their  political  idol,  the  far-famed  descendant  of  King 
Powhatan  and  William  Randolph  of  Turkey  Island, 
astride  one  of  his  fleet  thoroughbreds,  or  behind  one  of  his 
sure-footed  roadsters,  with  his  favorite  negro  servant, 
John,  on  horseback  forty  paces  in  his  rear,  was  nearing  the 
spot;  though  still  invisible  to  their  straining  sight,  and 
that  he  would  soon  be  speaking  to  them  in  the  shrill  voice 
distinguishable  above  the  uproar  of  a  thousand  throats, 
and  yet  so  musical  that  it  made  music  of  the  commonest 
words.  Once  arrived,  his  coming  was  followed  by  a 
surging  movement  of  the  multitude  towards  and  around 
him  as  if  no  man  among  them  had  ever  seen  him  before, 
and  their  eyes  were  cups  to  drink  with.  And,  when  con- 
ducted by  an  escort  of  elderly  retainers,  he  ascended  the 


iQ2         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

rostrum,  and  removed  his  hat  from  his  head,  and  made 
his  graceful  bow,  all  business  in  the  village  was  suspended, 
its  " stores"  were  closed,  and  proprietors,  clerks,  and  cus- 
tomers alike  poured  out  of  them  pell-mell,  and  hurried 
across  the  muddy  or  dusty  highway  to  swell  the  auditory 
already  assembled  about  the  speaker.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances, oratory  became  a  fixed  institution  in  the 
habits  of  a  community;  not  only  a  powerful  agency  of 
popular  education  but  of  popular  entertainment  as  well. 
A  speaker  must  have  been  an  inert  lump  of  clay,  indeed, 
not  to  have  imbibed  some  additional  inspiration  on  such 
an  occasion,  and  the  memory  of  an  audience  must  have 
been  like  shifting  sand  not  to  have  retained  a  lasting 
impression  of  much  that  was  said  on  it.  Crowded  centres 
of  population  had  their  theatres,  their  concerts,  their 
lyceums,  their  many  other  sources  of  popular  recreation 
and  enjoyment.  The  theatre,  the  lyceum  of  Virginia 
was  the  court-green  rostrum.  Hence  it  was,  along  with 
the  free  spirit  of  her  people,  and  the  proud  position  that 
she  had  in  the  earlier  stages  of  our  national  existence, 
because  of  her  preponderant  wealth  and  population,  that 
the  art  of  public  speaking  was  so  generally  practiced,  and 
so  highly  prized,  and  early  attained  such  a  singular  pitch 
of  perfection  within  her  limits.  "The  Virginians  are  the 
best  orators  I  ever  heard,"  was  the  conclusion  that  the 
youthful  William  Ellery  Channing,  who  was  to  acquire 
fame  as  an  orator  himself,  reached  when  he  was  writing 
from  Virginia  to  New  England  in  1799.1  More  remark- 
able still,  in  his  letters,  the  Rev.  James  Waddell  Alexander, 
who  was  as  good  a  judge  of  eloquence  as  any  man  of  his 
time,  says:  "I  have  always  considered  this  region  of 
Virginia  [Southside  Virginia]  more  favorable  to  the  highest 
popular  eloquence  than  any  other.  There  are  twenty  men 
in  this  county  [Charlotte]  whose  elocution  is  enviable."2 

1  Memoir  of  Wm.  Ellery  Channing,  v.  1,  96. 

2  March  10,  1842,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  1,  351. 


Randolph's  District  103 

Suffer  t  in  una  civitate  esse  unum  rhetor  em,  was  a  cynical 
maxim  that  found  little  favor  in  Virginia.  Towards  the 
end  of  his  life,  the  homage  shown  Randolph  by  his  con- 
stituents became  so  eager  at  times  as  to  irritate  him.  "I 
am  neither  a  lion  nor  a  tiger, "  was  his  impatient  rebuke 
from  the  depths  of  his  carriage,  on  one  occasion,  to  a  gaping 
throng,  which  had  collected  about  it,  when  he  was  leaving 
the  door  of  the  tavern  at  Charlotte  Court  House.1  In 
1833,  when  his  carriage  came  to  a  stop  in  front  of  the  tavern 
at  Buckingham  Court  House,  it  was  immediately  sur- 
rounded by  a  dense  crowd,  and  the  circumstance  was  so 
annoying  to  him  that  when  his  servant  was  in  the  act  of 
opening  the  door  of  the  carriage,  so  that  he  could  issue 
from  it,  he  abruptly  commanded  him  to  let  it  remain 
closed  until  the  crowd  should  retire;  adding  that  he  was 
no  wild  beast,  intended  for  public  exhibition.2  To  this 
intense,  not  to  say  morbid,  interest  in  Randolph,  when  he 
was  living,  was  due  the  fact  that  the  popular  memory  in 
his  District  remained  such  a  rich  treasury  of  information 
in  regard  to  him  so  many  years  after  his  death. 

Randolph's  Congressional  District  was  composed  of 
Buckingham  and  Cumberland  Counties,  which  are  bound- 
ed on  the  north  by  the  James  River;  Charlotte  County, 
which  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Staunton  River,  and 
Prince  Edward  County,  which  lies  between  Charlotte 
County  and  the  two  counties  first  named.  From  its 
northernmost  point  of  extension  to  its  southernmost  was 
about  78  miles;  and  its  total  area  was  2,159  square  miles.3 
With  the  exception  of  some  level  stretches  here  and  there, 
its  surface  is  fretted  by  the  last  undulations  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies  before  they  flatten  out  into  the  great  coastal  plain 
of  Tidewater  Virginia;  but  only  in  Willis'  mountain,  the 
lonely  cone  in  Buckingham  County,  which  teased  the  eye 
of  Jefferson  at  Monticello,  forty  miles  away,  with  its  optical 

1  Scrap  Book  of  Ellen  Bruce  Baylor.  2  Bouldin,  161 

3  Martin's  Gazetteer,  133,  145,  160,  265. 


104         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

vagaries,  Ferguson's  mountain  in  the  same  county,  and 
several  other  less  well-known  elevations  does  this  surface 
assume  a  mountainous  character.  Aside  from  certain 
sterile  and  desolate  ridges  in  Buckingham  County,  and 
some  other  more  or  less  haggard  tracts  of  country,  the  soil 
of  this  territory  readily  responds  to  good  treatment.  In 
Randolph's  time,  as  today,  a  vast  portion  of  it  was  covered 
with  woods,  and  it  is  most  abundantly  watered  by  many 
copious  streams;  the  James  on  its  way  to  Turkey  Island, 
the  home  of  William  Randolph,  and  Cawsons,  the  birth- 
place of  John  Randolph  himself;  the  Staunton,  on  which 
Roanoke  was  situated;  the  Appomattox,  which  flows  by 
Bizarre,  Matoax,  and  Cawsons,  the  first  three  homes  of 
Randolph;  Slate  River,  which  rises  in  the  southern  part  of 
Buckingham  County  and  empties  into  the  James  63  miles 
above  Richmond;  Willis'  River,  which  rises  in  the  southern 
part  of  Buckingham  County  and  joins  the  James  23  miles 
below  the  mouth  of  Slate  River;1  and  the  Falling  River, 
which  debouches  into  the  Staunton  hard  by  Red  Hill,  the 
home  of  Patrick  Henry.  Smaller  streams  are  Great 
Guinea  and  Angle  Creeks  in  Cumberland  County;  Buffaloe 
Creek  in  Prince  Edward  County,  on  which  Judith  Ran- 
dolph owned  a  tract  of  land;  and  the  Little  Roanoke, 
which  was  the  western  boundary  of  Randolph's  Lower 
Quarter  at  Roanoke;  Cub  Creek,  near  which  was  situated 
Cub  Creek  Church  that  was  one  of  the  advance  posts  of 
early  Virginia  Presbyterianism,  and  was  at  one  time  under 
the  charge  of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  and,  at  another, 
of  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice;  and  Turnip  Creek,  which  finds  its 
way  into  the  Staunton  across  alluvial  meadows,  almost  as 
rich  as  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi,  that  were,  after  Ran- 
dolph's time,  but,  before  the  abolition  of  Southern  slavery, 
to  become  the  basis  of  the  Staunton  Hill  plantation,  owned 
and  organized  by  Charles  Bruce,  the  son  of  James  Bruce,  of 
Halifax  County,  Va.,  one  of  Randolph's  friends,  which  was 
1  Martin' s  Gazetteer ,  134. 


Randolph's  District  105 

long  a  typical  example  in  the  South  of  what  Industry  and 
Social  Life,  under  the  institution  of  Slavery,  were  at  their 
best.  We  are  thus  particular  in  mentioning  these  different 
streams  because  almost  all  of  them  were  associated  with 
the  life  of  Randolph  in  some  personal  way  or  other,  and 
because  the  larger  of  them,  before  the  construction  of  the 
James  River  and  Kanawha  Canal  and  steam  railroads, 
performed  a  highly  important  function  for  the  people  in 
Randolph's  District  in  furnishing  them  with  highways  for 
the  exportation  and  importation  of  commodities.  Moist 
river  and  creek  bottoms,  enriched  by  the  nitrogen  and  lime, 
brought  down  by  freshets  from  forest  floors  and  limestone 
ledges,  were  also  things  of  no  mean  importance  in  commu- 
nities, too  sparsely  settled  for  intensive  agriculture.  The 
James  River  was  navigable  by  bateaux  from  Buckingham 
County  to  Richmond;  Willis'  River  (or  canal  rather  it 
should  have  been  called),  though  it  never  leaves  the  two 
counties  of  Buckingham  and  Cumberland  in  its  course  from 
its  fountains,  in  the  southern  part  of  Buckingham  county, 
to  its  point  of  junction  with  the  James,  would  appear  to 
have  been  navigable  by  bateaux  for  a  distance  of  sixty -five 
miles  from  its  mouth;1  the  Appomattox,  a  narrow,  but 
comparatively  deep,  stream,  was  navigable  by  bateaux 
from  Farmville  to  Petersburg,  a  distance  of  some  eighty- 
eight  miles;  and  the  Staunton  was  navigable  by  similar 
craft  from  Roanoke  to  Weldon  in  North  Carolina.  The 
significance  that  such  streams  had  in  the  economic  life  of 
Southside  Virginia  may  be  inferred,  when  the  reader  is  told 
that,  at  one  time,  the  project  was  entertained  of  making  a 
navigable  water  course  of  even  BufTaloe  Creek,  an  insig- 
nificant stream,  in  conjunction  with  the  Little  Roanoke, 
and  was  abandoned  only  when  an  engineer  had  made  a 
survey,  and  reported  that  it  was  impracticable.2  The 
climate  of  Randolph's  District,  especially  that  of  its  south- 
ern end,  is  considerably  softer  than  the  climate  of  Northern 
1  Martin's  Gazetteer,  134.  2  Id.,  26$. 


106         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Virginia.  Randolph  seems  to  have  had  no  fondness  for 
flowers.  Beyond  his  request  that  Dr.  Dudley  should 
plant  at  Roanoke  two  common  specimens  of  the  flora  of 
Charlotte  County,  there  is  not  a  reference  in  his  Diary  or 
letters  to  one,  so  far  as  we  can  recall.  To  him,  therefore, 
we  cannot  look  for  any  of  those  tell-tale  jottings  about  the 
vernal  return  of  bud  or  bloom,  which  in  writings,  fuller  of 
the  sap  of  nature,  disclose  so  much  in  regard  to  climate. 
The  fact  is  all  the  more  remarkable,  as,  in  both  his  Diary 
and  other  journals,  he  kept  an  elaborate  thermometrical 
record  of  the  weather  for  weeks  at  a  time.  We  only  know 
that  Randolph  had  no  good  opinion  of  the  Southside 
Virginia  climate;  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  is  cer- 
tainly, as  compared  with  climates  in  similar  latitudes, 
notably  free  from  rawness  in  winter  and  mugginess  in 
summer.  In  a  letter  to  his  niece,  on  one  occasion,  he 
mentioned  a  recent  fall  of  140  in  the  thermometer,  at 
Roanoke,  and  said:  "Such  a  climate  may  suit  red  men 
but  not  white  ones.  Even  for  blacks,  it  is  too  cold  in 
winter.  The  sensible  cold  here  far  exceeds  that  of  Si- 
beria. " r  In  a  subsequent  letter  to  Francis  Walker  Gilmer, 
he  says :  V  Milton's  description  of  Hell  in  the  second  book 
is  just  suited  to  the  climate  "  [of  Roanoke]  ;2  and,  in  another 
letter  to  Gilmer,  favorably  contrasting  the  constant  heat 
of  Arabia  and  Guinea,  bad  as  it  was,  with  violent  fluctua- 
tions of  temperature  in  "Massachusetts  Bay,"  he  ob- 
serves: "I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  this  climate 
will  amply  avenge  upon  the  whites  the  cruel  wrongs  done 
upon  the  red  men. " 3  After  his  return  from  Russia,  in  one 
of  his  letters  to  Andrew  Jackson,  he  said  that  he  was  turn- 
ing all  his  property  into  money  as  fast  as  he  could  that  he 
might  escape  the  next  year,  if  he  should  survive,  from  a 
climate  worse  than  that  of  Russia.  "A  climate  where  we 
have  a  Greenland  winter  and  an  African  summer  in  lati- 

1  Aug.  9,  1823,  Bryan  MSS.  2  July  2,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  July  30,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph's  District  107 

tude  370  north — the  latitude  of  Algiers. " s  And,  when  the 
author  was  a  boy,  it  was  said  in  Charlotte  County  that 
Randolph  once  declared  that  to  live  in  such  a  climate  as 
that  of  Southside  Virginia  was  like  being  in  a  great  ham- 
mock, swung  backwards  and  forwards  between  the  Torrid 
and  Arctic  Zones.  "This  day  must  have  emigrated  from 
the  Northwest  coast  of  Scotland,"  he  once  wrote  to  Dr. 
Dudley,  from  Bowling  Green,  Virginia.2  But  Randolph, 
the  reader  will  remember,  was  a  man  without  a  skin ;  and 
his  health,  besides,  was  so  delicate  that  he  was  for  that 
reason  too  a  poorer  judge  of  temperature  than  the  ordi- 
nary individual. 

Indeed,  it  is  not  to  Randolph  in  any  respect  that  we 
should  go  for  appreciation  of  the  physical  features  of 
Southside  Virginia.  He  was  not  insensible  to  natural 
beauty.  Far  from  it.  It  is  said  that  he  once  spent  the 
night  upon  the  Peaks  of  Otter,  in  Bedford  County,  Vir- 
ginia, for  the  purpose  of  seeing  the  sunrise  of  the  next 
morning,  and  that  when,  with  the  return  of  dawn,  the  most 
splendid  object  in  the  field  of  human  vision  rose  above  the 
earth-rim  in  the  glorious  vesture  of  its  first  hour,  and  began 
its  ascent  of  the  Heavens,  he  turned  to  his  servant  and 
charged  him  "never  from  that  time  to  believe  anyone  who 
told  him  there  was  no  God. " 3  (a)  The  story  is  not  im- 
probable ;  for  we  know  from  one  of  Randolph's  journals 
that  he  did  visit  the  Peaks  of  Otter  on  Sept.  II,  i8i8,4and 
the  exhortation  is  quite  in  his  vein;  but  the  loneliness  of 
his  life  at  Roanoke  subdued  his  feelings  too  closely  to  its 
own  sombre  cast  to  leave  him  much  disposition  to  admire 
its  natural  setting.  The  physical  beauty  of  the  country 
south  of  the  James,  however,  does  not  lack  its  votaries. 
In  his  Famous  Americans  of  Recent  Times,  James  Parton 
speaks  of  it  as  "an  enchanting  region,"  and  says  that  "a 

1  Dec.  19,  1 831,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  79,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  139. 

3  Hist.  Colls,  of  Va.,  by  Henry  Howe,  190.  4  Libr.  Cong. 


108         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

country  better  adapted  to  all  good  purposes  of  man,  nor 
one  more  pleasing  to  the  eye,  hardly  exists  on  earth."1 
But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  he  was  writing  shortly 
after  the  Civil  War — that  mighty  refracting  mirror — and 
he  is  praising  the  country  partly  for  the  purpose  of  more 
effectively  belittling  its  inhabitants;  and  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, too,  that,  if  his  praise  was  intended  to  apply  to  the 
whole  of  the  territory  south  of  the  James,  it  is  not  praise 
but  flattery;  for,  after  the  last  ripples  set  up  by  the  Alle- 
ghanies  die  out  in  their  eastward  movement,  much  of  the 
face  of  the  land  becomes  very  flat,  lifeless,  and  dreary,  and, 
some  of  it  mere  pine  barrens.  Limit  Parton's  tribute, 
however,  to  the  more  highly-favored  portions  of  Southside 
Virginia,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  Valley  of  the  Staunton, 
from  Brookneal  in  Campbell  County  to  Roanoke,  and  it  is 
near  enough  the  truth  to  pass  muster  creditably.  The 
broken  territory  in  Southside  Virginia  is,  naturally  speak- 
ing, truly  a  fair  land;  a  land  of  bold  hills,  peaceful  valleys, 
and  sylvan  labyrinths,  and  of  life-giving  rivers,  creeks,  and 
"branches";  a  land  where  the  fervor  of  a  hot  sun  unites 
with  an  abundant  rainfall  and  a  kindly  soil  to  reward 
every  earnest  effort  of  the  husbandman.  The  only  serious 
blights  upon  it  in  Randolph's  time  were  slavery  and  the 
mosquito;  the  slavery  which  in  1831  produced  the  Nat 
Turner  insurrection  that  in  the  brief  space  of  a  few  houis 
resulted  in  the  butchery  of  more  than  three  score  white 
men,  women,  and  children;  and  the  mosquito  which  made 
every  mill-pond  a  community  grievance.  Through  the 
letters  of  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander,  we  obtain  some 
very  interesting  glimpses  of  natural  conditions  in  Char- 
lotte County  during  the  latter  years  of  Randolph's  life. 
On  Feb.  16,  1827,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Hall,  his  Northern 
correspondent:  "The  Crocus  and  Persian  Iris  are  in 
bloom  and  the  frogs  begin  to  sing,  so  that  you  may  judge 
of  the  difference  of  climate. " 2  Of  course,  this  was  a  pre- 
"P.184.  2V.i,97. 


Randolph's  District  109 

cocious  season.    And  on  March  13,  1827,  he  wrote  to  the 
same  person : 

"We  are  now  enjoying  spring  in  all  its  sweetness.  I  am 
sitting  with  opened  windows  into  which  the  'Sweet  South'  is 
breathing.  Our  gardens  are  redolent  with  vernal  fragrance, 
the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  has  come,  and  no  country  can 
boast  of  more  charms  in  this  respect  than  Virginia.  The  wood 
lark  and  the  mocking  bird  are  songsters  of  the  first  order. 
Read  a  graphic  description  of  the  latter  in  Wilson's  Orni- 
thology. They  are  sometimes  taken  to  the  North  in  cages, 
but  in  that  case  you  seldom  hear  the  rich  gushing  of  their 
natural  strains,  as  when  they  sit  among  the  hawthorn  bushes 
and  pour  out  melody  for  hours.  The  plows  are  all  now  in 
motion."1 

And  how,  indeed,  like  the  breath  of  the  Sweet  South 
stealing  over  a  bank  of  violets,  and  bringing  back  the  sen- 
sations and  emotions  of  youth  to  even  the  most  palsied 
consciousness,  is  this  Springtide  letter  too : 

"I  must  pause  to  tell  you  (what  you  certainly  could  never 
find  out  for  yourself)  that  the  birds  are  making  melody  this 
day  in  a  manner  more  exquisite  than  usual.  Be  it  known  to 
you  as  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance  that  I  am  a  most 
enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  singing  of  birds,  and  that  I  live 
in  a  region  where  I  enjoy  this  sort  of  pleasure  in  perfection. 
I  often  stop  for  half  an  hour  to  listen  to  that  most  capricious, 
sweet,  jovial,  fascinating  musician,  the  mocking  bird.  What- 
ever may  be  the  case  with  the  European  mimic,  it  is  by  no 
means  true  of  ours  that  he  has  no  originality.  I  have  never 
heard  the  song  of  any  bird  comparable  to  his,  and  I  watch  his 
habits  very  closely.  He  is  to  be  found  about  sunrise  upon 
the  topmost  twig  of  the  highest  tree,  swelling  and  throbbing 
with  the  gush  of  melody,  pouring  out  a  stream  of  song, 
infinitely  varied,  of  clear,  liquid  notes,  trilled  with  an  inimi- 
table rapidity  and  wayward  changes.  No  other  bird  ever 
excites  my  laughter,  but  his  imitations  are  so  exact,  and  so 

1  P.  98. 


no         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

surprise  the  other  birds,  that  I  am  often  beguiled  into  a  hearty 
laugh  in  my  solitary  walks.  And  I  have  other  favorites.  The 
beautiful  redbird  I  have  never  seen  elsewhere.  It  is  of  alight, 
taper  shape,  of  the  deepest  crimson,  except  a  circle  of  black 
velvet  on  each  side  of  the  face.  The  melancholy  whip-poor- 
will,  which  begins  its  monotonous  cry  at  twilight,  though  its 
note  is  not  pleasing,  has  the  power  of  making  me  listen  often 
for  a  long  time;  and  even  the  buzzard,  that  foulest  of  fowls,  has 
such  a  grace  and  majesty  in  his  sailing  among  the  clouds  that 
I  almost  forgive  him  his  diet  and  his  stench."1 

The  face  of  nature  has  changed  but  little  in  Charlotte 
County  since  Randolph's  death.  So,  for  our  purpose, 
there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  also  quote  in  this 
connection  from  the  Familiar  Letters  of  Dr.  Alexander, 
written  after  Randolph's  death.  On  March  10,  1842,  he 
wrote  to  Dr.  Hall : 

' '  The  weather  is  mild  but  pluvious.  There  have  been  great 
freshes  here,  perhaps  30  during  the  season.  Peas  are  quite 
high ;  peach  and  plum  trees  in  blossom  some  days.  Birds  are 
pairing,  and  their  number  on  this  estate  [Ingleside]  is  remark- 
able. Mr.  Carrington  saw  four  wild  turkey  cock  on  his 
grounds  a  day  or  two  ago. " 2 

More  than  10  years  later,  Dr.  Alexander  wrote  on  the 
20th  of  April : 

"The  spring  no  longer  coquets  but  embraces  with  Oriental 
voluptuousness.  Yesterday,  would  have  done  for  Florida. 
In  a  north  porch,  in  shade,  the  glass  stood  at  95 °  all  the  after- 
noon. This  morning  it  is  less  burning  but  still  hot.  When  I 
arrived  in  Virginia,  the  spring  was  still  behind,  but,  for  two 
days,  we  have  almost  seen  it  growing.  .  .  .  Before  breakfast, 
I  counted  14  species  of  birds  known  to  me,  and  two  unknown. 
There  are  about  50  mocking  birds  in  and  about  this  lawn,  and 
40  robins  were  counted  on  the  grass  at  once."3 

1  Apr.  10, 1827,  v.  1, 102-103.  2  V.  1,  350. 

3  Apr.  20,  1855,  v.  1,207. 


Randolph's  District  1 1 1 

In  a  letter  to  the  author,  dated  Oct.  12,  1919,  William 
Beebe,  the  brilliant  naturalist  of  our  own  time,  informs 
him  that,  some  years  ago,  he  drew  up  a  list  of  76  different 
species  of  birds  which  he  had  noted  at  the  home  in  Char- 
lotte County,  about  13  or  so  miles  from  Roanoke,  of  Mr. 
Henry  C.  Rice,  the  son  of  Dr.  Izard  Rice,  who  left  behind 
him  an  interesting  paper  relating  to  Randolph.  All  of 
these  species  were,  doubtless,  observed  by  Randolph  at 
Roanoke.     In  July,  18 18,  he  wrote  to  Francis  W.  Gilmer: 

"I  wish  you  could  come  and  listen  to  my  concert;  it  is  far 
superior  to  Mrs.  French's  or  Mr.  Philipps' ;  I  would  show  you 
too  the  invisible  bird  (the  woodthrush),  as  a  certain  philosopher 
[Jefferson]  in  his  manner  calls  it.  There  are  dozens  on  my 
lawn  besides  doves,  summer  red-birds,  cardinals,  etc.,  etc.,  to 
say  nothing  of  squirrels  and  hares.  Now  and  then  a  red  fox; 
sometimes  a  gray  one  is  to  be  seen  at  the  gate,  but  the  wolf 


A  few  years  later,  Randolph  wrote  to  his  niece:  "I 
assure  you  my  shades  are  as  cool,  as  free  from  dust,  as 
Bush  Hill  [the  residence  of  Judge  Coalter  near  Richmond] ; 
and  as  for  noises,  I  hear  none  but  the  warbling  of  the  birds 
and  the  barking  of  the  squirrels  around  my  windows."2 

The  population  of  Randolph's  District  in  1800,  the  year 
after  his  first  election  to  Congress,  was  21,253  whites,  598 
free  blacks,  and  24,251  slaves,  or  a  total  of  46,102  persons; 
in  1830,  the  last  census  year  before  his  death,  it  was  21 ,853 
whites,  1283  free  blacks,  and  36,264  slaves,  or  a  total 
of  59,400  persons.  Its  density,  therefore,  for  the  2,159 
square  miles  over  which  it  was  diffused,  was  in  1800  about 
22  persons  to  the  square  mile,  and,  in  1830,  about  2j.  The 
figures  that  we  give  also  show  that,  during  the  30  years 
between  1800  and  1830,  the  rate  of  increase  among  the 
whites  was  about  3%,  among  the  free  blacks  about  1 14%, 
and  among  the  slaves  about  49%.     Ominous  percentages 

1  Bryan  MSS.        2  Roanoke,  June  12,  1821,  Bryan  MSS. 


ii2         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

over  which  Randolph  must  have  often  brooded  in  his 
hours  of  depression  at  Roanoke !  Since  his  day,  the  popu- 
lation in  his  District  has  undergone  a  sensible  decline; 
being  less  by  4,950  inhabitants  in  1910  than  it  was  in  1830, 
80  years  before — a  fact  due  partly  to  the  terrible  indus- 
trial stagnation,  produced  by  a  variety  of  special  causes, 
which  prevailed  in  Virginia  between  1820  and  1830;  the 
lure  of  the  Virgin  West,  and  the  feverishly  active  cotton- 
fields  of  the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States,  during  the 
decades  between  1830  and  i860;  the  havoc  and  derange- 
ment occasioned  by  the  Civil  War,  and  the  competition 
with  the  rich  lands  of  our  own  Western  territory  and  of 
foreign  lands  opened  up  by  the  steam  car  and  the  steam- 
ship; but,  above  all,  to  the  mildew  of  der  Ewige  Neger, 
first  as  an  ignorant,  listless,  and  immoral  slave,  in  one  sense 
wholly  impotent,  and  yet  powerful  enough  to  assert  his 
influence  over  the  very  speech  of  his  owner's  children, 
and,  afterwards,  as  a  freedman,  free  from  his  former  mas- 
ter but  still  enslaved  to  his  former  self,  (a)  Today,  in  this 
region,  the  salutary  transition  from  the  old  Plantation 
System,  with  its  slave  or  hired  labor  and  other  features, 
to  small  tenant  or  proprietary  holdings,  which  has  been 
going  on  steadily  for  many  years,  is  at  last  complete,  and 
there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that,  in  process  of  time, 
a  new  industrial  and  social  organization,  built  up  exclu- 
sively around  the  principle  of  selfhelp,  as  all  truly  thrifty 
and  lasting  social  and  industrial  organizations  are,  instead 
of  that  of  feudal  overlordship,  noble  and  gracious  in  many 
respects  as  its  spirit  was,  will  take  the  place  of  the  one  that 
existed  in  Randolph's  time,  and  even  for  a  considerable 
period  after  the  Civil  War ;  and  that  the  territory,  repre- 
sented by  Randolph  in  Congress,  will  cease  to  wear  the 
look  that  it  has  worn  for  so  many  years  of  a  sick  stag 
shedding  its  antlers  or  of  a  human  being  overtaken  by  the 
decrepitude  of  age  before  he  has  attained  his  majority. 
"The  influence  of  slavery,  united  to  the  English  char- 


Randolph's  District  1 13 

acter,  explains  the  manners  and  the  social  condition  of  the 
Southern  States."1  The  truth  of  this  dictum  of  De 
Tocqueville  was  aptly  exemplified  in  Randolph's  District. 
The  leading  landowners  of  that  part  of  Virginia,  such  as 
the  Randolphs,  the  Harrisons,  the  Skipwiths,  and  the 
Carringtons,  were  merely  English  gentry  modified  by  the 
plantation.  Edward  Dillon  and  Dr.  Thomas  Robinson, 
of  Prince  Edward  County,  two  of  Randolph's  friends, 
who  were  British-born,  fitted  into  the  social  life  of  South- 
side  Virginia  as  smoothly  as  if  they  had  been  native  Vir- 
ginians. Writing  to  Dr.  Hall  from  England  in  1857,  Dr. 
James  Waddell  Alexander  said  that  the  general  look  of  the 
English  lords  reminded  him  of  Virginia  gentlemen ;  quite 
so,  as  far  as  manner  was  concerned;  only  the  Virginia 
gentlemen  were  not  so  neat  in  point  of  dress  as  most  of 
them. 2  The  resemblance  had  been  previously  noted  by 
Randolph  himself.  In  a  letter  to  his  niece,  written  in 
England  on  May  27,  1822,  he  said:  " The  higher  ranks, 
a  few  despicable  and  despised  fashionables  excepted, 
are  as  unpretending  and  plain  as  our  old-fashioned  Virgin- 
ia gentlemen  whom  they  greatly  resemble."3  Mutatis 
mutandis,  the  ambitions,  tastes,  and  pastimes  of  the  Virgin- 
ia gentleman  in  Southside  Virginia,  or  any  other  portion 
of  slave-holding  Virginia,  were  all  those  of  the  English 
country  gentleman.  To  own  and  manage  a  plantation, 
well  stocked  with  negroes  and  spirited  horses,  in  the 
heart  of  some  leafy  wilderness,  to  hand  around  the  plate 
in  his  roadside  church  on  Sunday,  as  vestryman  or  elder, 
to  sit  upon  the  bench  of  his  county  court,  or  to  represent 
his  county  in  the  State  Legislature,  or  his  District  in  Con- 
gress, and,  when  not  engrossed  with  these  cares,  to 
fox-hunt,  shoot  quail  or  "partridges,"  as  he  called  them, 

1  De  Tocqueville,  v.  1,  36,  Cambridge,  1864  (4th  ed.). 

2  London,  July,  3,  1857,  40  Yrs'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Alex- 
ander (N.  Y.,  i860),  v.  2,  246. 

3  Garland,  v.  2,  184. 

VOL.  II— 8 


ii4         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  other  game,  frequent  horse  races,  and  dine  with 
his  friends  were  the  objects  which  he  usually  placed 
before  himself  as  promising  a  human  being  the  highest 
degree  of  gratification  and  happiness.  In  the  breast  of 
every  such  Virginian,  at  the  beginning  of  life,  if  he  was 
not  so  fortunate  as  to  inherit,  or  expect  to  inherit,  such  a 
plantation,  was  the  resolve  to  realize  his  ideal  of  perfect 
felicity  by  sooner  or  later  buying  one  and  spending  the 
remainder  of  his  days  on  it  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  ru- 
ral pleasures,  which  are  among  the  few  human  pleasures 
that  leave  no  bitter  taste  in  the  mouth.  When  his 
object  was  attained,  the  life  he  led  was  certainly  an 
agreeable  one ;  for  it  was  even  agreeable  enough  to  make 
John  Mitchel,  the  Irish  patriot,  zealous  as  he  was  for 
Irish  freedom,  sigh  for  a  "good  plantation  well  stocked 
with  fat,  healthy  negroes."1 

The  class,  of  which  we  speak,  had  its  share  of  human 
infirmities,  of  course,  but  it  can  be  truly  said  of  it  that  it 
is  not  dependent  upon  its  own  commendation  for  a  proper 
acknowledgment  of  its  conspicuous  virtues.  Referring 
to  the  landed  gentry  of  Virginia  in  1789,  Anburey  says: 

-  "The  first  class  [of  the  Virginians]  consists  of  gentlemen  of 
the  best  families  and  fortunes  which  are  more  respectable  and 
numerous  than  in  any  other  province ;  for  the  most  part  they 
have  had  a  liberal  education,  possess  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  world,  with  great  ease  and  freedom  in  their  manners  and 
conversation.  Many  of  them  keep  their  carriages,  have 
handsome  services  of  plate,  and,  without  exception,  keep 
their  studs  as  well  as  sets  of  handsome  carriage  horses."2 

It  was  to  this  class  that  Randolph  himself  belonged; 
and,  while  the  stately  tidewater  opulence  which  Anburey 
describes,  was  out  of  keeping  with  the  simpler  social  con- 
ditions and  the  more  modest  measure  of  individual  wealth, 
on  the  whole,  which  afterwards  obtained  in  Randolph's 

1  Life  of  Quincy,  24. 

2  Travels  Through  the  Interior  Parts  of  America,  Anburey,  372. 


Randolph's  District  1 1 5 

District  in  Randolph's  time,  it  was  not  sufficiently  so  to 
render  the  description  altogether  inapplicable  to  it.  The 
four  counties,  which  constituted  Randolph's  District,  were 
it  should  be  remembered,  settled  after  Tidewater  Virginia, 
and  never  became  endowed  with  such  a  degree  of  wealth, 
or  permeated  with  such  a  degree  of  aristocratic  pride,  as 
the  riparian  communities  on  the  James.  The  whole 
framework  of  their  social  organization,  though  essentially 
the  same,  was  distinctly  barer  and  less  pretentious,  if,  for 
no  other  reason,  because  their  struggle  with  primeval 
nature  came  along  later. 

Anburey  also  noted  that  all  Virginians  were  fond  of 
horses,  from  Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe,  who 
built  a  stable  for  his  favorite  Shakspeare,  with  a  recess 
in  it  for  the  bed  of  the  negro  who  kept  watch  over  him  day 
and  night,  ■  to  the  humblest  member  of  "the  middling  and 
lower  classes, "  who  gratified  his  passion  for  horseflesh  by 
attending  the  "quarter  races,"  which  went  on  almost 
unremittingly  at  the  cross-roads  tavern,  or  ordinary,  as  it 
was  called  in  Virginia — a  name  which  Anburey  thought 
fully  deserved.2  That  this  fondness  for  horses  still  con- 
tinued to  exist  in  Southside  Virginia  throughout  Ran- 
dolph's life,  we  need  no  better  proof  than  is  to  be  found 
in  the  assiduous  attention  which  he  gave  to  his  own  stud 
at  Roanoke,  and  the  celebrity  which  his  friend,  Wm.  R. 
Johnson,  the  famous  turfman,  who  resided  at  Oakland, 
in  Chesterfield  County,  acquired  throughout  the  United 
States.  During  Johnson's  career,  Petersburg,  which  was 
but  a  few  miles  from  Oakland,  was  one  of  the  most  popular 
racing  centers  in  the  country.  "In  spite  of  the  Virginian 
love  for  dissipation,  the  taste  for  reading  is  commoner 
there  among  men  of  the  first  class  than  in  any  other  part 
of  America,"  declared  the  Due  de  Liancourt  at  the  close 
of  the  Eighteenth  Century.  This  statement  anyone,  who 
has  read  the  remarkable  debates  in  the  Virginia  Consti- 

1  Anburey,  supra,  360.  2  Id.,  393. 


u6         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

tutional  Convention  of  1829-30,  can  readily  credit.  All 
of  the  first  library,  accumulated  by  Randolph  at  Bizarre, 
which  appears  to  have  been  quite  a  valuable  one,  was 
destroyed  by  fire r ;  but,  at  his  death,  he  had  accumulated 
at  Roanoke  one  of  the  most  valuable  private  libraries  in 
the  United  States.  "I  blush  for  my  own  people  when  I 
compare  the  selfish  prudence  of  a  Yankee  with  the  gener- 
ous confidence  of  a  Virginian,"  wrote  Wm.  Ellery  Chan- 
ning  in  1799  from  Richmond,  when  he  was  teaching  in  the 
family  of  David  Meade  Randolph : 

"Here  I  find  great  vices  but  greater  virtues  than  I  left 
behind  me.  There  is  one  single  trait  which  attaches  me  to 
the  people  I  live  with  more  than  all  the  virtues  of  New  Eng- 
land— they  love  money  less  than  we  do;  they  are  more  dis- 
interested; their  patriotism  is  not  tied  to  their  purse" strings. 
Could  I  only  take  from  the  Virginians  their  sensuality  and 
their  slaves,  I  should  think  them  the  greatest  people  in  the  world. 
As  it  is,  with  a  few  great  virtues,  they  have  innumerable  vices. ' ' 2 

Generous  words  on  the  whole — all  the  more  generous 
because  of  the  crust  of  prejudice  through  which  they  had 
to  break  their  way — that  might  well  have  elicited  a  re- 
sponsive tribute  from  some  Southern  pen  to  the  sterling 
virtues  of  the  New  England  character.  Laying  aside  all 
invidious  comparisons,  the  almost  unmurmuring  fortitude, 
with  which  Virginia  bore  the  load  of  restrictive  fatuity, 
imposed  by  Jefferson  upon  her  industry,  and  the  glow  of 
resentful  patriotism,  which,  during  the  war  of  18 12,  was 
too  much  for  even  Randolph's  prestige  in  his  District, 
would  appear  to  bear  out  the  general  tenor  of  what 
Channing  says  in  one  respect.  Forty  years  later,  William 
Cullen  Bryant,  another  New  Englander,  expressed  the 
opinion  that  "whatever  may  be  the  comparison  in  other 
respects,  the  South  certainly  has  the  advantage  over  us 
in  point  of  manners. " 3 

1  J.  R.'s  Diary.  a  Memoir  of  W.  E.  C,  v.  1,  82. 

3  Hist,  of  U.  S.f  by  Adams,  v.  1,  132 


Randolph's  District  117 

"The  time  has  not  yet  come,"  said  Josiah  Quincy  in  1892, 
"to  estimate  with  impartiality  the  class  of  Southern  gentle- 
men, to  which  Randolph  belongs.  Many  of  them  were  men  of 
great  ability  and  singular  fascination  of  manner."1  "There 
is  a  suavity  and  grace  in  the  manners  of  gentlemen  of  the 
first  rank  in  this  state  and  a  peculiar  fascination  in  their 
elocution,"  wrote  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  to  Dr.  Hall 
from  Petersburg,  "which  you  will  understand  better  if  you 
have  ever  seen  Tazewell,  Clay  or  John  Randolph."2  (a) 

Of  the  upper-class  Virginians,  who  resided  in  Ran- 
dolph's District  and  in  other  parts  of  Southside  Virginia 
adjacent  to  it,  we  obtain  many  pleasing  views  in  his 
journals  and  letters.  It  is  a  fact  not  usually  realized  that, 
while  the  primary  education  of  the  general  mass  of  the 
Virginia  people  before  the  Civil  War  fell  lamentably  below 
the  standard  at  which  Jefferson,  with  his  catholic  sympa- 
thies, aimed,  and  Massachusetts  actually  attained, 
academic  and  collegiate  education  was  more  common  in 
Virginia  than  in  any  other  State  of  the  Union. 3  After  the 
Revolution,  young  men  in  Southside  Virginia,  of  the  same 
class  as  Randolph,  were  usually  educated  at  William  and 
Mary,  Princeton,  and  Hampden-Sidney  College,  in  Prince 
Edward  County.  To  the  latter  institution,  especially, 
which  has  been  maintained,  at  times,  under  circumstances 
of  extreme  discouragement,  the  people  of  Southside 
Virginia  are  deeply  indebted.  How  true  this  is  a  brief 
glance  at  the  names  of  the  many  distinguished  and  useful 
men  who  derived  their  intellectual  nurture  from  its  teach- 
ing will  clearly  establish.  After  leaving  college,  South- 
side  Virginia  contemporaries  of  Randolph,  who  occupied 
the  same  social  station  as  himself,  settled  down,  some  to 
purely  professional  pursuits,  but  the  majority  wholly,  or, 
in  connection  with  some  other  vocation,  to  the  life  of  a 
planter  in  the  tranquil  homes,  scattered  along  the  banks 

1  P.  228.  2Jan.  27,  1826,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  1,  93. 

*Old  Churches,  etc.,  of  Va.,  by  Meade,  90  (note);  The^Cotton  Kingdom, 
Yale  University  Press,  by  Wm.  E.  Dodd,  in  (note). 


n8         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

of  the  James,  the  Appomattox  and  the  Staunton,  which 
were,  in  most  instances,  the  abodes  of  a  strong  religious 
faith ;  of  an  unsullied  domestic  purity  and  fidelity ;  and  of  a 
manly  dignity  and  simplicity  of  bearing  in  all  the  ordinary 
social  relationships  of  life,  and,  as  a  rule,  of  a  just  sense  of 
responsibility  too  for  the  servile  beings  clustered  about 
them.  These  houses  for  the  most  part  were  flimsy  and 
plain,  in  comparison  with  the  "magnificent"  mansions  in 
eastern  Virginia  which  excited  the  admiration  of  de 
Chastellux, x  (a) ;  and  the  best  of  them  would  be  regarded  as 
very  modest  dwellings  in  our  time  in  point  of  scope  and 
design ;  and,  in  conveniences,  according  to  modern  stand- 
ards, they  were  almost  wholly  wanting.  But  it  is  land 
and  caste,  and  not  necessarily  splendid  houses  or  a  fat 
purse,  which  make  a  true  aristocracy,  and,  separated  as 
this  class  of  landowners  was,  by  the  impassable  gulf  of 
slavery,  from  the  blacks,  and  by  marked  social  distinctions, 
based  on  education  and  similar  principles,  from  the  less 
fortunate  whites,  they  were  a  true  aristocracy  in  spirit; 
though  too  amenable  to  the  bit  of  American  constitutional 
restraints  ever  to  get  out  of  friendly  and  sympathetic 
touch  with  the  poorer  whites.  So  far  as  wealth  was  con- 
cerned, their  good  fortune  was  mainly  specious.  Slave 
labor  was  sadly  deficient,  of  course,  in  intelligence,  energy, 
and  zeal.  In  consequence,  the  life  of  the  master  was 
likely  to  be  one  long,  daily  conflict  with  inefficiency  and 
wastefulness.  If  he  was  too  lenient,  nothing,  or  next  to 
nothing,  was  done ;  if  he  relied  too  far  upon  work  extorted 
by  fear,  he  incurred  the  reprobation  of  his  more  conscien- 
tious and  easy-going  neighbors.  It  was  a  saying  of 
Charles  Bruce,  of  Charlotte  County,  who  was  the  owner 
of  many  slaves,  that  "slavery  cheated  the  master  with  the 
semblance  of  wealth."  "A  Virginia  estate  is  plenty  of 
serfs,  plenty  of  horses,  but  not   a  shilling"2  Randolph 

1  P.  162,  V.  2. 

2  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  1,  356. 


Randolph's  District  119 

declared.  During  the  industrial  depression  that  existed 
in  Virginia  between  1820  and  1840,  he  predicted  that, 
instead  of  the  master  advertising  for  the  runaway  slave, 
the  slave  would  soon  be  advertising  for  the  runaway 
master.  There  is  a  letter  among  the  papers  of  Creed 
Taylor  from  the  widow  of  one  of  the  Randolphs,  requesting 
him  as  her  agent  to  discharge  her  debts  when  her  tobacco 
was  sold,  and  "ask  credit  until  harvest  for  25  lbs.  white 
sugar."1  The  shortcomings  of  slave  labor,  the  many 
vicissitudes  to  which  growing  crops  were  subject,  the 
exacting  spirit  of  hospitality,  created  by  the  free  and  easy 
conditions  of  the  old  Virginia  life,  and,  as  the  Virginia 
planter  thought,  the  tariff  burdens,  imposed  upon  agri- 
culture by  protection,  in  the  interest  of  the  Northern 
manufacturer,  at  times,  reduced  even  such  wealthy 
planters  as  Randolph  himself  to  straitened  circum- 
stances. But,  living  as  the  Southside  Virginia  planter 
did  in  the  country,  and  blessed  as  he  was  with  a  genial 
sun,  and  a  kindly  soil  and  numerous  servants,  maintain- 
able at  small  expense,  and,  in  a  position,  too,  as  he  was  to 
derive  almost  everything  essential  to  human  comfort  or 
convenience  from  his  own  property,  in  many  respects,  he 
led  a  very  care-free  and  delightful  life.  If  he  did  not 
have  much  ready  money,  he  had  most  of  the  things  for 
which  ready  money  is  reasonably  craved ;  if  his  dwelling 
lacked  many  of  the  mechanical  improvements  and  labor- 
saving  devices  of  modern  times,  the  fact  did  not  make 
much  difference  when  he  had  so  many  human  mechanisms 
about  him  to  perform  their  functions.  Writing  to  Dr. 
Hall  from  Charlotte  County  on  May  19,  1826,  Dr. 
James  Waddell  Alexander  said: 

''The  manners  of  the  people  are  plain,  frank,  hospitable 
and  independently  proud  of  their  Virginianism  and  all  its 
peculiarities.  I  suppose  that  no  set  of  people  in  the  world 
live  more  at  their  ease,  or  indeed  more  luxuriously,  so  far  as 

1  Green  Creek,  Feb.  20,  1810,  Creed  Taylor  MSS. 


120         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

eating  and  drinking  are  concerned.  No  farmer  would  think 
of  sitting  down  to  dinner  with  less  than  four  dishes  of  meat  or 
to  breakfast  without  several  different  kinds  of  warm  bread."1 

Tested  by  the  criteria  of  austerer  societies,  such  pro- 
fusion may  not  bespeak  very  high  standards  of  frugality 
and  thrift,  but  it  at  least  furnishes  abundant  indications 
of  the  animal  comfort  which,  since  the  day,  when  Sully 
hoped  to  see  a  chicken  in  the  pot  of  every  peasant,  has 
been  the  prime  requirement  of  human  happiness. 

But  it  would  be  a  grave  mistake  to  think  of  Randolph's 
District  and  its  circumjacent  territory  as  a  region  where 
little  or  no  thought  was  paid  by  anyone  to  prudential  con- 
siderations. Many  of  the  Southside  Virginians  handled 
little  cash  from  year  to  year,  but  others  were  more  fortu- 
nate; and  a  certain  amount  of  accumulation  went  on  in 
Southside  Virginia,  as  it  does  in  every  other  community, 
where  "gold,  bright  and  yellow,  hard  and  cold,  heavy  to 
get  and  light  to  hold"  is  an  object  of  desire.  On  March 
22,  1 8 14,  Randolph  wrote  to  Josiah  Quincy  from  Rich- 
mond: "Some  of  our  people,  particularly  in  my  quarter 
of  the  country,  are  rich. " 2  Indeed,  in  the  same  letter,  he 
said  that  you  could  almost  smell  "the  rum  and  cheese, 
and  loaf,  lump  and  muscovado  sugar"  out  of  which  some 
mushroom  fortunes  had  sprung.  Some  four  years  later, 
he  wrote  to  Key  from  Roanoke : 

"The  state  of  manners  around  me  cannot  be  paralleled,  I 
believe,  on  the  face  of  the  earth — all  engaged  in  unremitting 
devotion  in  the  worship  of 

'The  least  erected  spirit 
That  fell  from  heaven.' 

This  pursuit  I  know  to  be  general  throughout  the  land,  indeed, 
I  fear  throughout  the  world;  but  elsewhere  it  is  tempered  by 

1  Forty  Yrs. '  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  1,95. 

2  Richmond,  Mar.  22,  1814,  Life  of  Quincy,  p.  352. 


Randolph's  District  121 

the  spirit  of  society  and  even  by  a  love  of  ostentation  or  of 
pleasure."1 

On  May  19,  1826,  writing  to  Dr.  Hall  from  the  vicinity 
of  Charlotte  Court  House,  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander 
said:  "This  is  a  rich  and  fertile  region,  producing  great 
quantities  of  prime  tobacco,  and,  of  course,  growing 
wealthy."2  James  Bruce,  who  resided  at  Woodburn  in 
Halifax  County,  died  in  1837  leaving  a  fortune  of  about 
$2,000,000.00;  a  regal  one  for  his  day.3  It  was  derived 
from  the  profits  of  both  trade  and  planting,  and  was 
perhaps  one  of  the  few  private  fortunes  in  the  United 
States  at  that  time  which  at  all  approximated  those  of 
Stephen  Girard  and  John  Jacob  Astor.  One  of  Ran- 
dolph's neighbors  tells  us  that  Randolph  declared  on  one 
occasion  at  Roanoke,  in  the  year  1832,  that  the  Nullifica- 
tion crisis  was  so  menacing  that  he  would  not  take  Mr. 
Girard's  or  Mr.  Bruce's  bond  for  18c.4  It  is  comparatively 
easy  to  see  how  Girard  could  have  amassed  his  great  for- 
tune in  Commerce,  in  such  a  city  as  Philadelphia,  or  John 
Jacob  Astor  his  in  the  Fur  Trade,  but  that  James  Bruce 
should  have  acquired  a  fortune  of  about  $2,000,000,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  19th  century,  in  such  a  thinly  settled, 
wholly  agrarian,  country  as  that  traversed  by  the  Staunton 
River,  is  a  thing  that  some  competent  biographer  might 
well  undertake  to  explain.  If  tradition  may  be  believed, 
sagacity,  integrity,  and  an  equable  temper  were  the  main 
factors  that  entered  into  his  success;  but  a  highly-devel- 
oped instinct  of  prudence  seems  to  have  had  something  to 
do  with  it  too.  "  I  am  fond, "  he  wrote  on  one  occasion  to 
a  correspondent,  "  of  taking  two  securities  to  a  bond."5  (a) 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  95. 

2  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  I,  94. 

3  Proceedings  in  matter  of  Estate  of  Jas.  Bruce,  Clerk's  Office,  Houston, 
Va. 

^Bouldin,  109. 

s  July  6,  1829,  J.  B.  to  Parker  M.  Rice,  James  Bruce  MSS. 


i22  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Speaking  of  James  Bruce,  as  he  lived  in  the  year  1827, 
Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  says  in  one  of  his  letters 
to  Dr.  Hall: 

"I  have  just  returned  from  Halifax.  .  .  .  My  visit  was 
principally  to  the  family  of  Mr.  Bruce  to  which  I  beg  leave  to 
introduce  you.  His  house  is  noted  for  its  hospitality,  and 
presents  to  the  bon  vivant  as  great  temptations  as  can  well  be 
found  in  Virginia.  At  Mr.  Bruce's,  we  seldom  sat  down  to 
table  during  the  week  I  spent  there  with  less  than  10 
strangers."1 

And  Dr.  Alexander  adds:  "I  also  visited  Gen.  Edward 
C.  Carrington,  who  has  a  seat  upon  Dan  River  (which 
with  the  Staunton  forms  the  Roanoke).  .  .  .  He  is  a 
scholar  and  a  gentleman  and  has  large  possessions." 
Berry  Hill,  the  seat  of  General  Carrington,  was  afterwards 
purchased  before  the  Civil  War,  by  James  C.  Bruce,  the 
son  of  the  James  Bruce  just  mentioned,  and  the  home 
built  by  him  is  still  standing;  and,  with  its  imposing 
Doric  front,  flanking  subsidiary  structures  and  other 
striking  features,  is  one  of  the  stateliest  and  handsomest 
monuments  of  the  Slave  Era  in  the  South.  It  and  Staun- 
ton Hill,  the  home  of  Charles  Bruce,  in  Charlotte  County, 
built  in  1848,  are  perhaps  the  most  interesting  relics  in 
Southside  Virginia  at  the  present  time  of  that  Era.  The 
display  of  silver  in  these  two  houses  would  compare  favor- 
ably with  any  in  the  United  States  today,  except  in  the 
very  wealthiest  homes ;  and  the  items  of  silver  in  the  Berry 
Hill  collection  even  included  silver  bedroom  wash  basins 
and  toilet  articles.2  Another  spacious  and  imposing 
mansion  in  the  region,  in  which  Randolph  resided,  was 
Prestwould,  in  Mecklenburg  County,  the  home  of  Sir 
Peyton  Skip  with,  the  father  of  St.  George  Tucker's  second 
wife.     Each  of  these  three  celebrated  mansions  stood  out 

1  Feb.  16,  1827,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  1,  97. 

2  Historic  Va.  Homes,  by  Robt.  A.  Lancaster,  Jr.,  435. 


Randolphs  District  123 

in  alto  relievo  from  its  primitive  environment  upon  a  back- 
ground of  thousands  of  acres  of  land.  The  estate  in 
Amelia  County,  to  which  William  B.  Giles  retired  in  1815, 
when  sick  and  in  political  eclipse,  is  thus  described  by 
D.  R.  Anderson  in  his  biography  of  Giles: 

"His  spacious  plantation  of  3,000  acres,  with  its  comfortable 
mansion,  furnished  in  solid  mahogany,  adorned  with  costly 
silver  plate,  and  equipped  with  its  bountiful  supply  of  stock, 
shops,  mills,  dairies  and  barns,  afforded  the  conveniences  and 
distractions  suited  for  the  relief  of  a  wearied  body  and  mind."1 

"Rich,"  too,  if  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  was  not 
wrong,  was  more  than  one  branch  of  the  Venable  family 
of  Prince  Edward  County.2  Banister  Lodge,  in  Halifax 
County,  one  of  the  Clark  homes,  where  Randolph  was 
occasionally  a  guest;  Ingleside,  near  Charlotte  Court 
House,  built  in  18 10  by  Col.  Thomas  Read;  and  Green 
Hill,  the  home  of  the  Pannills,  in  Campbell  County,  are 
good  specimens  of  the  more  substantial  homes  of  the 
Southside  Virginia  planter  in  Randolph's  time.3  But 
houses  like  these  were  quite  exceptional.  As  a  general 
thing,  the  homes  in  Randolph's  District  of  even  the  most 
prominent  members  of  his  class  had  nothing  about  them 
to  attract  the  eye  either  in  point  of  magnitude  or  archi- 
tectural finish ;  though  in  the  vicinity  of  Petersburg  there 
were  "not  a  few  very  splendid  mansions,"  if  Dr.  James 
Waddell  Alexander  has  not  lauded  them  too  highly.4 
Indeed,  some  homes  in  Southside  Virginia,  that  were  the 
seats  of  a  refined  and  generous  hospitality,  would  not  now 
be  considered  good  enough,  in  respect  to  either  size  or 
external  pretensions,  for  the  superintendent  of  one  of  our 
city  parks,  or  the  lodge  keeper  of  one  of  our  opulent  mer- 

1  Wm.  Branch  Giles,  by  Dice  Robins  Anderson,  210. 
2 40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  I,  351. 
3  Lancaster's  Historic  Va.  Homes,  438,  431,  421. 
440  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  1,  91. 


124         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

chants.  The  truth  of  what  we  say  will  be  verified  if  the 
reader  will  turn  to  the  illustrations  of  Oakland,  one  of  the 
Cocke  homes;  Clifton,  one  of  the  Harrison  homes,  and 
Union  Hill,  one  of  the  Page  homes,  in  Cumberland  County; 
and  Bellmont,  one  of  the  Cary  homes,  in  Buckingham 
County,  all  seats  of  families  of  the  very  highest  social 
position,  which  appear  in  Lancaster's  Historic  Virginia 
Homes  and  Churches1;  a  memorable  book  that  deserves 
the  frequent  use  and  praise  which  it  receives.  It  was  not 
the  scale  of  these  homes  but  the  indwelling  spirit,  bred  of 
ancient  family  traditions  and  the  genuine  sense  of  superi- 
ority, fostered  by  a  highly  stratified  social  order,  which 
made  their  inmates,  however  crude  or  cramped  or  com- 
monplace their  surroundings,  quasi- aristocrats. 

As  such,  they  had,  generally  speaking,  the  virtues  which 
belong  to  a  quasi-aristocracy ;  a  far  better  thing,  at  any 
rate,  than  any  legalized  aristocracy;  that  is  to  say,  pride 
of  character,  a  nice  sense  of  honor,  courage,  freedom  from 
sordid  passions  and  vulgar  propensities,  courtesy  and 
chivalrous  deference  for  womanhood.  And  their  health- 
ful, open-air  pursuits  and  remoteness  from  the  vanities 
and  dissipations  of  city  life,  if  nothing  else,  saved  them,  to 
a  great  extent,  from  the  enervation  and  sensual  indulgence 
which  are  only  too  likely  to  accompany  real  privilege. 
What  their  women  were  at  their  best,  no  reader  of  ours, 
familiar  with  Dr.  George  W.  Bagby's  Old  Virginia  Gen- 
tleman, or  Thomas  Nelson  Page's  inimitable  In  Ole  Vir- 
ginia, can  be  at  a  loss  to  know.  No  one,  we  suppose, 
seriously  disputes  the  fact  that  the  standard  of  female 
delicacy  and  honor,  to  which  the  lives  of  these  women 
were  adjusted,  was  quite  as  high  as  any  that  has  ever 
existed  in  any  civilized  society.  In  saying  this,  we  weigh 
every  word,  nay,  every  syllable  as  deliberately  as  John 
Randolph  would  have  spoken  them.  The  simile  of  the 
Southern  poet,  Daniel  B.  Lucas,  "like  violets  our  virgins 

'Pp.  175,186,185,187. 


Randolph's  District  125 

pure  and  tender,"  haunts  the  memory  of  the  Virginian, 
because  it  is  so  true  to  the  rich  measure  of  chastity  and 
unselfish  affection  which  inspired  it,  and  we  need  not  go 
further  than  John  Randolph  himself  for  a  winning  picture 
of  what  the  Virginia  matron  with  her  distaff  was.  Speak- 
ing in  Congress  of  domestic  manufactures,  he  is  reported 
to  have  said: 

"I  have,  from  a  sort  of  obstinacy,  that  belongs  to  me,  laid 
aside  the  external  use  of  these  manufactures,  but  I  am  their 
firm  friend,  and  of  the  manufacturer  also.  They  are  no  new 
things  to  me;  no  Merino  hobby  of  the  day.  I  have  known 
them  from  my  infancy.  I  have  been  almost  tempted  to 
believe  from  the  similarity  of  character  and  avocations  that 
Hector  had  a  Virginian  wife;  that  Lucretia  herself — for  she 
displayed  the  spirit  of  a  Virginian  matron — was  a  Virginian 
lady.  Where  were  they  found?  Spinning  among  their 
handmaids.  What  was  the  occupation  of  a  Virginian  wife ;  her 
highest  ambition  ?  To  attend  to  her  domestic  and  household 
cares;  to  dispense  medicine  and  food  to  the  sick;  to  minister 
to  the  comfort  of  her  family,  her  servants  and  her  poor 
neighbors,  where  she  had  any.  At  the  sight  of  such  a  woman, 
his  heart  bowed  down  and  did  her  reverence."1  (a) 

And  this  it  did  in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Tabb  of  Amelia 
County. 

"Poor  Mrs.  Tabb,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  "by 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Coupland  is  saddled  with  two  more  helpless 
grandchildren.  She  is  the  best  and  noblest  creature  living; 
and  I  pray  God  that  I  may  live  once  more  to  see  her — a  true 
specimen  of  the  old  Virginia  matron."2 

And  we  know  no  verses  at  which  John  Quincy  Adams, 
who  was  an  able  and  accomplished  statesman,  but  whose 
poetry,  as  a  rule,  was  as  purely  mechanical  as  the  rhythm 
of  a  creaking  saw,  ever  tried  his  uninspired  hand  which 

1  A.  of  C,  1811-12,  v.  i,  542.  2  Garland,  v.  2,  275. 


126         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

are  more  readable  than  these  hitherto  unpublished  ones, 
dated  Aug.  7,  1841,  in  which,  in  his  old  age,  he  honored 
with  his  homage  the  beautiful  presence  and  lovely  spirit 
of  a  daughter  of  Southside  Virginia: 

"To  Miss  Ellen  B— : 

"Oh!  wherefore,  Lady  was  my  lot 
Cast  from  thine  own  so  far; 
Why,  by  kind  fortune,  live  we  not 
Beneath  one  blessed  star? 
For  had  thy  thread  of  life  and  mine 
But  side  by  side  been  spun; 
My  heart  had  panted  to  entwine 
The  tissue  into  one. 

And  why  should  time  conspire  with  space 

To  sever  us  in  twain  ? 

And  wherefore  have  I  run  my  race 

And  cannot  start  again? 

Thy  thread  how  long !     How  short  is  mine ! 

Mine  spent — thine  scarce  begun ! 

Alas !  we  never  can  entwine 

The  tissue  into  one! 

But  take  my  blessing  on  thy  name; 

The  blessing  of  a  sire, 

Not  from  a  lover's  furnace  flame ; 

'Tis  from  a  holier  fire; 

A  thread  unseen  beside  of  thine 

By  fairy  forms  is  spun, 

And  holy  hands  shall  soon  entwine 

The  tissue  into  one."1 

Next  in  the  social  scale,  was  the  class  of  smaller  land- 
owners. They  differed  from  the  larger  landowners  only 
in  that  they  owned  less  land,  were  possessed  of  less  edu- 
cation, and  enjoyed  less  social  standing;  but  they  owned 
enough  land  to  entitle  them  to  exercise  the  franchise,  and 

1  Autograph  Book  of  Mrs.  Jas.  A.  Seddon. 


Randolph's  District  127 

their  political  and  material  interests  were  identical  with 
those  of  their  wealthier  and  more  consequential  neighbors. 
Then  came  the  landless  whites.  They  were  poor  and 
illiterate,  but,  as  a  rule,  independent  in  spirit,  brave,  and 
honest,  and  as  jealous  of  female  chastity  as  their  social 
superiors.  These  virtues  they  were  all  the  more  sedulous 
to  cultivate  because  they  alone,  aside  from  the  color  of 
their  skins,  established  any  real  distinction  between  them 
and  the  negro.  Their  position  was,  in  many  respects,  a 
pathetic  one.  They  had  no  land  themselves ;  they  shrank 
from  laboring  side  by  side  with  the  slaves  of  those  who 
had ;  and  yet  they  lived  in  a  community  where  agriculture 
was  for  all  practical  purposes  the  sole  breast  of  the  State. 
The  result  was  that  they  were  compelled  to  earn  a  more 
or  less  precarious  subsistence  by  turning  their  hands  to 
such  uncertain  tasks  as  they  could.  Since  no  one  could 
vote,  who  did  not  own  25  acres  of  land  in  the  country, 
or  a  city  lot,  they  were  without  political  power,  and,  for 
that  reason,  as  well  as  by  reason  of  their  poverty,  were 
regarded  with  derision  by  the  negro  as  "po*  white  trash. " 
(a)  In  the  same  sentence,  in  which  the  Due  de  Liancourt 
speaks  of  the  taste  of  the  Virginians  of  the  first  class  for 
reading,  he  adds:  "But  the  populace  is  perhaps  more 
ignorant  there  [Virginia]  than  elsewhere."  It  was  cer- 
tainly very  illiterate  in  Randolph's  District,  owing  to  the 
want  of  a  proper  system  of  general  public  education ;  and 
to  him  the  barbarous  vernacular  of  the  unlettered  portion 
of  his  fellow-countrymen  was  always  a  source  of  amuse- 
ment, slightly  dashed  with  derision.  In  his  Diary,  he 
entered  the  following  specimens  of  their  syntax  and 
pronunciation,  under  the  head  "Virginiana. "  No 
Southside  Virginian  at  any  rate  can  read  them  today 
without  realizing  that  Virginia,  even  under  the  instruction 
of  her  present  public  schools,  is  as  slow  to  abjure  her 
native  speech  as  Patrick  Henry  thought  an  American 
ought  to  be  to  "abjure  his  native  victuals." 


128         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"I  happened  at  Curnull  Purnull's,  un  thah  wuz  a  purdi- 
geous  stawm  that  blow'd  down  all  the  cawn;  but  the  Curnull 
give  us  a  heap  o'  grog,  un  we  sot  it  up  agin. 

The  gals  was  agwine  to  meetin  but  they  war  abliged  to 
return  back  hoame. 

Cuffy  bresh  my  coat  might  clean  us  I'm  agwine  a  coatin 
un  doan  tetch  it  with  yo  finguz  a'ter  you've  done;  else  you'll 
dutty  it. 

One  chick'n  done  lawce  he  ma-am-y. 

Cap'n  Dannil  mecks  a  famous  crop. 

A  rapid  price;  i.e.  high. 

Cuvvawtin  (curvetting  applied  not  to  a  horse  but  a  man). 

Skeerd  (scared).     Sheer  (share).     Cheer  (chair). 

He  is  in  a  proper  fix  (a  bad  situation). 

He  done  (did)  it  out  of  ambition  (i.e.  malice — never  used  in 
its  proper  sense)  ("ambition, "  Jul.  Caesar,  Shaksp.) 

He  is  ruined  by  paying  intruss  (i.e.  interest). 

He  attacted  (attacked)  him  about  it,  and  channelged  (chal- 
lenged) him." 

And  so  on. 

Nor  were  barbarisms  like  these  always  confined  to  the 
lower  classes  of  the  whites.  ' '  Whoever  said  'wuz'  but  you 
and  the  Chief  Justice,"  Randolph  exclaimed  impatiently 
on  one  occasion  to  a  slothful  woman  who  had  insisted  that 
"she  wuz  a-making"  his  coffee.  He  was  referring,  of 
course,  to  John  Marshall. * 

Then  came  the  free  blacks.  They  occupied  a  position 
as  equivocal  as  that  which  produced  the  saying  of  the 
Haitien  blacks  that  a  mulatto  hates  his  father  and  despises 
his  mother.  By  the  whites,  though  nominally  free,  he  was 
not  allowed  to  vote,  hold  office,  or  testify  against  a  white 
man,  and  was  accorded  a  far  more  limited  measure  of 
social  intercourse  than  the  slave,  with  whom  their  relations 
were  often  intimate  and  affectionate  in  the  highest  degree. 
In  other  words,  his  freedom  did  not  bring  him  any 
closer  to  the  superior  race,  though  it  sensibly  separated 

1  The  True  Patrick  Henry,  by  Geo.  Morgan,  33. 


Randolph's  District  129 

him  from  sympathetic  communion  with  his  own. 
Under  such  circumstances,  a  free  black  found  himself 
greeted  on  every  side  by  sullen  brows  and  averted  looks, 
and  he  would  have  had  more  moral  and  intellectual 
stamina  than  the  white  man  himself,  if  he  had  not  fre- 
quently become  more  or  less  of  a  thief  and  a  vagabond. 
Speaking  of  the  slaves,  manumitted  by  Richard  Ran- 
dolph, and  relying  upon  a  history  of  them,  published  by 
a  Col.  Madison,  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  says: 
"They  have  almost  become  extinct;  those  who  remain  are 
wandering  and  drunken  thieves,  degraded  below  the  level 
of  humanity  and  beyond  the  reach  of  gospel  means."1 

This  description,  we  are  satisfied,  Is  gloomier  than  the 
real  facts  warranted.  During  the  Slave  Era,  it  was  hard 
to  get  at  the  truth  about  the  slaves ;  and  the  truth  about 
the  free  black  was  with  still  more  difficulty,  perhaps, 
arrived  at.  The  Charlotte  County  slaves,  Dr.  James 
Waddell  Alexander  thought  "unspeakably  superior  to  the 
Northern  free  blacks. " 2 

And  lastly  came  the  slave.  Theoretically,  he  was  the 
mere  thrall  of  his  master;  his  "ox,  his  ass,  his  anything," 
to  use  the  words  of  Petruchio,  with  no  legal  right  except 
that  of  not  being  deprived  of  his  life  by  his  master  by 
downright  murder.  But,  apart  from  his  liability  to  sale 
and  lasting  separation  from  all  his  family  connections  and 
local  ties,  which  was  the  capital  reproach  of  slavery,  his 
lot  in  Southside  Virginia  was  by  no  means  a  very  harsh 
one.  On  this  point,  nothing  can  be  more  valuable  than 
the  testimony  of  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander,  who  came 
to  Charlotte  County  with  all  the  prepossessions  of  a 
Northern  man  against  slavery,  and  resided  there  for 
several  years  in  the  very  closest  association  with  both 
whites  and  blacks,  and  was  subsequently  in  the  habit  of 
returning  on  visits  to  the  locality  in  which  he  had  resided. 

1  Oct.  19,  1838,  40  Yrs.1  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  I,  270. 
3 40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  1,  353. 


130         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Shortly  after  reaching  Virginia,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Hall 
from  Petersburg,  he  indulged  in  these  interesting  reflec- 
tions : 

"The  number  of  blacks  which  I  met  in  the  streets  at  first 
struck  me  with  surprise;  but  now  everything  has  become 
familiar.  When  I  consider  how  much  of  the  comfort,  luxury 
and  style  of  Southern  gentlemen  would  be  retrenched  by  the 
removal  of  the  slave  population,  I  can  no  longer  wonder  at  the 
tenacity  with  which  they  adhere  to  their  pretended  rights. 
The  servants,  who  wait  upon  genteel  families,  in  consequence  of 
having  been  bred  among  refined  people  all  their  lives,  have 
often  as  great  an  air  of  gentility  as  their  masters.  The  comfort 
of  slaves  in  this  country  is  greater,  I  am  persuaded,  than  that 
of  the  free  blacks  as  a  body  in  any  part  of  the  United  States. 
They  are  no  doubt  maltreated  in  many  instances;  so  are 
children;  but  in  general,  they  are  well  clad,  well  fed,  and  kindly 
treated.  Ignorance  is  their  greatest  curse,  and  this  must  ever 
follow  in  the  train  of  slavery.  The  bad  policy  and  destructive 
tendency  of  the  system  is  increasingly  felt ;  you  hear  daily 
complaints  on  the  subject  from  those  who  have  most  servants. 
But  what  can  they  do  ?  Slavery  was  not  their  choice.  They 
cannot  and  ought  not  to  turn  them  loose.  They  cannot  afford 
to  transport  them;  and  generally  the  negroes  would  not  con- 
sent to  it.  The  probable  result  of  this  state  of  things  is  one 
which  philanthropists  scarcely  dare  contemplate."1 

When  Dr.  Alexander  next  passed  through  Petersburg, 
on  his  way  to  Charlotte  County,  after  a  vacation  at  the 
North  for  the  recovery  of  his  health  which  had  been 
seriously  impaired  by  "a  bilious  fever, "  he  was  not  quite 
in  the  state  of  body  or  mind  to  see  things  exactly  as  he  had 
done  on  his  first  arrival  in  Virginia. 

"The  dirty,  gloomy,  ugly  town  of  Petersburg,"  he  says, 
"presents  the  same  appearance  as  it  did  three  years  ago,  when 
I  entered  it  for  the  first  time.  I  now  perceived  that  I  was 
in  Virginia  by  the  gangs  of  negroes,  some  with  burdens  on 

1  Jan.  27,  1826,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  1,  93. 


Randolphs  District  131 

their  heads,  others  driving  wagons  of  cotton  and  tobacco, 
women  arrayed  in  men's  hats,  and  children  with  scarcely  any 
raiment  at  all."1 

But,  when  he  got  back  to  Charlotte  County,  and  to 
what  he  called  "the  forests,  the  streams, 

'The  mossed  oaks, 
Which  have  outlived  the  eagle,' 

of  Virginia"2;  he  was  soon  the  captive  of  the  hamadryad 
again,  and  again  seeing  things  in  his  usual  way,  that  is, 
perhaps,  just  a  little  couleurderose.  Even  on  the  abolition 
question  there  then  prevailed,  he  thought,  a  moderation 
much  in  advance  of  the  temper  that  he  had  witnessed  less 
than  three  years  before.3  This  opinion  was  expressed 
five  years  after  the  death  of  John  Randolph.  Some  four 
years  later,  he  reached  the  interesting  conclusion  that  a 
gradual  emancipation  was  that  to  which  the  interior 
economy  of  the  North- Southern  States  was  tending,  and 
that  which  it  would  reach ;  that  it  was  inevitable,  and  that 
it  was  craved  by  thousands  of  the  whites  in  Southside 
Virginia.4  Nor  apparently  did  anything  ever  happen  to 
make  him  change  his  mind  on  this  subject.  Two  years 
afterwards,  he  communicated  to  Dr.  Hall  the  statement  of 
some  Virginian  that  the  opinion  was  openly  expressed 
every  day  more  and  more  in  his  part  of  Virginia  that 
slavery  was  a  curse  economically5;  and,  upwards  of  ten 
years  later,  and  only  six  years  before  the  beginning  of  the 
Civil  War,  he  penned  these  remarkable  words : 

"I  am  deeply  convinced  that  a  majority  of  the  South  will 
one  day  come  to  the  point  of  mitigating  slavery,  so  far  as  to 
make  it  a  sort  of  feudal  apprenticeship;  and  that  it  will  be 
abolished.     Every  year — even  in  the  face  of  Northern  rebuke 

1  Nov.  16,  1828,  Id.,  v.  1,  114.  2May  II,  1829,  Id.,  v.  I,  128. 

3  Oct.  13,  1838,  Id.,  v.  1,  269.  4 Mar.  25,  1842,  Id.,  v.  1,  354. 

s  Aug.  21, 1844,  Id.,  v.  1,  400. 


132         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

— hundreds  of  new  voices  are  raised  in  behalf  of  marriage, 
integrity  of  families  and  license  to  read.  To  a  practical  mind 
it  is  striking  that  abolitionism  has  abolished  no  slavery."1 

Notwithstanding  his  sympathy  with  the  trend  of  Vir- 
ginian sentiment  in  favor  of  emancipation,  Dr.  Alexander 
did  not  favor  immediate  emancipation.  In  1848,  he  wrote 
to  Dr.  Hall: 

"That  the  most  miserable  portion,  physically  and  morally, 
of  the  black  race,  in  the  United  States,  is  the  portion  which 
is  free,  I  am  as  well  assured  as  I  can  be  of  any  similar  propo- 
sition. That  immediate  emancipation  would  be  a  crime 
I  have  no  doubt."2 

The  abolition  agitation,  it  is  also  interesting  to  note, 
Dr.  Alexander  held  responsible  for  a  most  important 
change  in  the  legislation  of  Virginia  in  regard  to  the  slave, 
which  was  enacted  after  he  had  returned  to  the  North. 
Writing  when  on  a  visit  to  Charlotte  County,  he  said: 
"The  law  (thanks  to  the  meddling  of  anti-slavery  societies) 
forbids  schools  and  public  teaching  to  read ;  it  was  not  so 
when  I  lived  here. " 3  These  views,  as  is  well  known,  were 
also  those  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nehemiah  Adams,  of  Boston, 
who  spent  three  months,  during  the  decade  before  the  Civil 
War,  in  the  study  of  slavery  in  Georgia,  South  Carolina, 
and  Virginia;  and,  despite  his  original  prepossessions 
against  it,  on  his  return  to  Boston,  gave  this  advice  to  the 
North:  "Hands  off!  the  question  is  a  domestic  one  best 
settled  by  the  South,  and  only  delayed  and  hampered  by 
interference  from  without."  The  idea  that  the  post- 
revolutionary  sentiment  in  Virginia,  in  favor  of  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery,  which  was  so  earnestly  shared  by  Wash- 
ington, Jefferson,  Henry  and  Edmund  Randolph,  was  a 
mere  spasm  of  eleutheria,  is  not  maintainable.  Never  in 
an  abolition  convention  was  the  institution  of  slavery 

1  Jan.  14,  1856,  Id.,  v.  2,  218.  2May  28,  1846,  Id.,  v.  2,  52. 

3  Charlotte  C.  H.,  Oct.  19,  1838,  Id.,  v.  2,  272. 


Randolphs  District  133 

more  unsparingly  denounced  than  it  was  in  the  Virginia 
Legislature  of  1831-32  by  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
Virginians  of  that  time;  and  never  was  the  sense  of  its 
dangers,  its  evils,  and  its  injustice  so  keen  in  Virginia  as 
it  was  when  that  Legislature  all  but  succeeded  in  making 
the  proper  provision  for  its  gradual  termination.  Among 
its  opponents  in  Southside  Virginia,  were  two  of  the  ablest 
Presidents  that  Hampden-Sidney  College  has  ever  had — 
William  Maxwell  and  John  Holt  Rice.  Speaking  of  Max- 
well in  1827,  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  said: 

"He  is,  in  my  judgment,  the  very  best  orator  I  know  any- 
where. I  have  never  heard  Tazewell,  with  whom  he  maintains 
a  successful  competition  at  the  bar.  Mr.  Maxwell  is  a  man  of 
wealth  and  influence,  and  he  casts  both,  with  great  effect,  into 
the  scale  of  Christianity.  He  is,  though  a  native  Virginian, 
the  faithful  and  fearless  champion  of  the  oppressed  Africans. 
For  a  publication  of  his  on  this  subject  the  Norfolk  people 
menaced  him  with  an  application  of  tar  and  feathers.  When 
he  avowed  himself  the  author  of  the  paper,  which  was  pub- 
lished anonymously,  his  opposers  shrunk  away  before  a 
character  so  universally  revered.  He  is  a  bachelor,  lives  in 
good  style,  has  an  elegant  library,  is  a  most  agreeable  com- 
panion and  a  finished  scholar."1 

On  April  14,  1827,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice  wrote  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander:  "I  have  long  had  it 
as  an  object,  dearest  to  my  heart,  to  get  Virginia  free  from 
Slavery  " 2 ;  and,  in  the  same  letter,  reading  the  signs  which 
Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  was  reading  too,  he  said: 
"  There  is  a  march  of  opinion  on  the  subject  which  would, 
if  uninterrupted,  at  no  distant  date,  annihilate  this  evil 
[slavery]  in  Virginia.  I  have  no  doubt  of  it. " 3  Still  other 
instructive  and  agreeable  observations  on  the  slave  in 
Charlotte  County  appear  in  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexan- 

1  May  13,  1827,  40  Yts.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  I,  104. 

2  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  John  H.  Rice,  by  Wm.  Maxwell,  313. 

3  Id.,  312. 


i34         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

der's  Familiar  Letters.  "In  all  this  country,"  he  wrote 
from  Ingleside  in  that  county,  "there  is  no  sign  or  sus- 
picion of  any  suffering.  I  have  renewed  my  acquaintance 
with  a  large  number  of  the  old  blacks,  and  have  been 
struck  with  the  ease  of  their  life."1  These  words  were 
written  in  1855;  but  slavery  in  Charlotte  County  in  that 
year  was  not  materially  different  from  what  it  was  25  or 
30  years  before.  If  there  was  any  cruelty  practiced  upon 
the  slave  in  that  county,  or  if  the  slaves  there  harbored 
any  animosity  towards  their  masters,  the  fact  was  not 
brought  to  the  attention  of  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander : 

"  I  do  believe,' '  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Hall,  "that  there  are  a  dozen 
on  this  estate  who  would  risk  their  lives  in  an  instant  for  my 
wife.  They  are  under  ordinary  masters  a  happy  people.  .  .  . 
Several  wait  on  my  wife  who  are  as  well  bred  and  (in  heart) 
refined  as  ladies."2 

In  another  letter,  he  declared: 

"I  am  more  and  more  convinced  of  the  injustice  we  do 
slaveholders.  Of  their  feelings  towards  their  negroes  I  can 
form  a  better  notion  than  formerly  by  examining  my  own 
towards  the  slaves  who  wait  on  my  wife  and  mind  my  children. 
It  is  a  feeling  most  like  that  we  have  to  near  relations.  Nan- 
ette is  a  mild  but  active  brown  woman  with  whom  I  would 
trust  any  interest  we  have.  She  is  an  invalid,  however,  and 
in  the  North,  would  long  since  have  died  in  an  almshouse. 
As  it  is,  she  will  be  well  housed,  well  fed,  protected  and  happy 
if  she  lives  to  be  100.  There  are  two  blind  women,  80-90, 
on  this  estate  who  have  done  nothing  for  years."3  Dr.  Alex- 
ander also  had  this  to  tell  Dr.  Hall : 

"Mrs.   's  cook  (emerita),  Patty,  she  says,   'is  as 

pious  a  woman,  and  a  lady  of  as  delicate  sensibilities  as  I 
ever  saw ;  she  is  one  of  the  very  best  friends  I  have  in  the 

1  Apr.  20,  1855,  v.  2,  208. 

3  Mar.  2it  1842,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  1,  353. 

3  Mar.  10,  1842,  Id.,  v.  1,  351. 


Randolph's  District  135 

world.'  Ml  Such  a  declaration  brings  home  to  us  very 
pointedly  the  affectionate  intimacy  which  often  existed 
between  the  mistress  and  her  servant  under  the  patriar- 
chal slave  conditions  of  Southside  Virginia.  The  cafe- 
less  levity  with  which  servitude  was  accepted  by  the 
younger  blacks,  at  any  rate,  is  amusingly  brought  out 
by  Dr.  Alexander:  "One  of  Mrs.  LeGrand's  black  girls, 
aet.  14,  said  more  than  once  to  my  wife,  with  a  face  of 
great  importunity,  'Miss  Betsy  do  pray  ax  Missum  to  gi' 
me  to  ye'  .  "2  In  nothing  was  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alex- 
ander so  much  interested  as  in  the  religious  improvement 
of  the  blacks ;  and  both  in  his  Life  of  his  father,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  and  in  his  Familiar  Letters,  he 
imparts  much  valuable  information  on  that  point.  The 
names  of  black  communicants  at  Cub  Creek  Church  in 
Charlotte  County,  he  assures  us  in  his  Life  of  his  father, 
exceeded  those  of  the  whites,  and  were  probably  more 
than  ioo3;  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  also  speaks  of 
a  preacher  named  Skidmore,  himself  a  slaveholder,  who 
had  some  thirty  plantations  under  his  charge,  at  one  of 
which  he  preached  every  evening  to  the  blacks.  His  sys- 
tem was  to  enroll  the  names  of  his  hearers  and  to  conduct 
the  meeting  on  the  plan  of  a  class  meeting. 4  "I  am  much 
affected  by  the  negro  singing,"  Dr.  Alexander  adds. 
"  There  is  a  softness  in  their  voices  which  penetrates  me, 
and  in  these  meetings  they  all  sing  down  to  the  infants. " s 
In  another  place,  he  speaks  of  the  negro-singing  at  a 
meeting  as  being  true  enough  in  tone  to  have  satisfied 
Haydn.6  These  remarks  remind  us  of  the  profound 
truth  that  Randolph  uttered  when  he  said  that  the  negro 
is  musical  but  not  poetical. 7 

Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  energetically  strove  both 

'-'/<£,-?;?,' 35 1.  2 Oct.  19,  1838,  Id.,  v.  1,  271.  3P-i57- 

*  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  1,  351. 

s  Mar.  10,  1842,  Id.,v.  1,  351. 

6  Mar.  25,  1842,  Id.,  v.  1,  355.  7  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 


136         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

by  preaching  and  conversational  exhortation  to  inspire 
the  slaves  about  him  with  a  proper  sense  of  religious 
responsibility ;  and  he  appears  to  have  taken  a  very  favor- 
able view  of  their  capacity  for  religious  instruction.  Some 
of  the  negroes  about  Ingleside  seemed  to  him  to  be  as  good 
and  experienced  Christians  as  any  white  people  of  the 
laboring  class. "  He  even  tells  us  that  many  of  the  negroes 
around  Charlotte  Court  House  seemed  to  him  to  be  genu- 
ine saints. 2  That  they  were,  however,  we  must  say  frank- 
ly, we  do  not  believe;  if  for  no  other  reason  because  we 
have  never  met  with  any  white  persons  of  that  description. 
Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  undoubtedly  saw  slavery 
at  its  best  in  the  refined  and  Christian  community  with 
which  he  was  connected,  first,  as  a  pastor,  and  then  as  a 
visitor;  and  his  Northern  prejudices  against  it  were 
doubtless  to  some  degree  qualified  by  his  Virginian  descent 
and  Virginian  wife,  though  he  was  but  a  mere  child  when 
his  father  left  Virginia,  and  he  did  not  marry  Elizabeth 
C.  Cabell,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Geo.  Cabell,  until  he  had 
expressed  the  same  ideas  about  the  Virginia  slave  that  he 
expressed  after  marriage;  but  that  the  testimony  of  so 
able  and  upright  a  man  in  regard  to  the  real  conditions  of 
the  ante-bellum  negro  in  Southside  Virginia  is  entitled  to 
an  uncommon  degree  of  respect  is  too  manifest  to  require 
emphasis. 

But  it  would  be  grave  error  to  imagine  that  the  whites 
in  Randolph's  District  did  not  differ  materially  from  the 
whites  in  Tidewater  Virginia.  What  has  been  loosely 
called  the  cavalier  element  in  Virginia  was  well  represented 
in  such  families  as  the  Randolphs,  the  Pages,  and  the 
Harrisons,  of  Cumberland  County,  and  the  Carringtons, 
of  Cumberland  and  Charlotte  Counties;  but,  in  Cumber- 
land County,  which  included,  until  1761,  the  territory, 
now  known  as  Buckingham  County,  and  in  Prince  Ed- 

1  Apr.  20,  1855,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  2,  208. 

2  Oct.  19,  1838,  Id.,  v.  1,  271. 


Randolph's  District  137 

ward  and  Charlotte  Counties  there  was,  after  the  middle 
of  the  1 8th  century,  a  large  Presbyterian  element  which 
gave  a  character  of  its  own  to  the  population  of  those 
counties.  Many  years  before  the  Revolution,  they  were 
frequently  visited  by  the  great  Presbyterian  missionary 
and  preacher,  Samuel  Davies,  of  Delaware,  who  became 
generally  known  as  the  Apostle  of  Virginia;  and,  about 
1735,  under  the  leadership  of  John  Caldwell,  the  grand- 
father of  John  C.  Calhoun,  Presbyterian  settlements  were 
effected  on  Cub  Creek,  in  Charlotte  County,  on  Buffaloe 
Creek,  in  Prince  Edward  County,  and  at  Hat  Creek  and 
Concord,  in  Campbell  County.  Later,  the  Cub  Creek 
Church,  another  Presbyterian  Church,  at  Briery,  in  Prince 
Edward  County,  and  Hampden-Sidney  Academy,  after- 
wards Hampden-Sidney  College,  established  in  Prince 
Edward  County  in  1775  by  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover, 
became  leading  centers  of  Presbyterian  influence  in  the 
United  States.  Among  the  remarkable  men,  who  were 
at  one  time  or  other  Presidents  of  Hampden-Sidney,  in  its 
early  history,  were  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  its  first 
president,  a  graduate  of  Princeton,  who  afterwards  be- 
came President  of  that  institution;  John  Blair  Smith,  the 
brother  of  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith  and  likewise  a  graduate 
of  Princeton,  who  afterwards  became  President  of  Union 
College,  New  York;  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  who  after- 
wards became  the  first  professor  of  Theology  in  the 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  and  Dr.  Moses  Hoge, 
whose  eloquence  was  greatly  admired  by  John  Randolph, 
(a)  Among  its  professors,  when  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander 
was  its  President,  was  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice,  a  utiu1y  great 
and  extraordinary  man"  in  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Archibald 
Alexander,1  who  was  later  offered  the  Presidency  of 
Princeton  but  declined  it,  and  Dr.  Conrad  Speece,  who 
had  "  a  great  mind, "  in  the  opinion  of  Wm.  Wirt. 2     Dur- 

1  Memoir  cf  Rev.  John  Holt  Rice,  by  Maxwell,  399. 
aId.,  202. 


138         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

ing  the  Presidency  of  Dr.  Hoge,  were  laid  the  foundations 
of   the   Union   Theological   Seminary,    which,    until   its 
removal,  a  few  years  ago,  from  Prince  Edward  County  to 
Richmond,  was  associated  for  so  many  years  in  the  public 
mind  with  Hampden-Sidney  College.     Under  the  headship 
of  Dr.  Rice,  this  institution  acquired  as  high  a  reputation 
in  the  South  as  the  Theological  Seminary  of  Princeton 
enjoyed  in  the  North,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  exagger- 
ate the  extent  to  which  the  able  and  devoted  men,  who 
have  been  connected  with  it  and  Hampden-Sidney  Col- 
lege   have    moulded  the  minds  and  characters  of  the 
people  of  Southside  Virginia.     The   effect   of  the  Cal- 
vinistic  ministers,  who  taught  at  the  two  institutions, 
and  of  the  different  ministers,   who  filled  the  Presby- 
terian   pulpits    of    Cumberland,     Prince   Edward,    and 
Charlotte  Counties  after  1735,  was  to  give  to  life  in 
those  counties  a  soberer  and  more  earnest  aspect  than 
life  usually  wore  among  the  more  social  and  pleasure- 
loving  inhabitants   of  Tidewater  Virginia.     Every   few 
miles,  along  the  woodland  roads  in  Randolph's  District, 
stood  some  large,  bare,  quadrangular  frame  structure, 
with  no  more  pretensions  to  architectural  beauty  or  grace 
than  a  drygoods  box,  where  Sunday  after  Sunday  some 
dutiful  Presbyterian  divine  expounded  the  stern  dogmas 
of  his  creed,  inculcated  the  purest  and  soundest  principles 
of  morality,  confirmed  the  faith  of  the  careless  and  waver- 
ing, and  held  up  to  the  eyes  of  the  penitent  sinner  the 
atoning  blood  of  Christ  Jesus.     All  of  these  faithful  men 
were  not  Archibald  Alexanders,  or  John  Holt  Rices,  or 
Moses  Hoges ;  certainly  not  such  a  sublime  melting  orator 
as  the  blind  Presbyterian  preacher,  James  Waddell,  the 
father-in-law  of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  whose  eloquence 
William  Wirt  has  sketched  in  The  British  Spy  with  such 
a  telling  pencil.     Men  like  these  are  rare  at  any  time  and 
anywhere ;  but  far  the  greater  portion  of  them  were  worthy 
of  the  Scotch  Calvinism  which,  in  the  person  of  its  minister, 


Randolph's  District  139 

experienced  no  difficulty  in  reconciling  the  narrowest 
income,  the  barest  surroundings,  and  the  plainest  fare  with 
dignity  of  character  and  bearing,  a  lofty  standard  of  morals 
and  deportment,  profound  learning,  and  the  persuasive 
accents  which  captivate  unwilling  hearts.  If  the  author 
were  to  take  his  reader  to  the  humble  edifice  on  Cub 
Creek,  where  the  crook  of  John  Caldwell  brought  together 
one  of  the  first  Presbyterian  flocks  in  Southside  Virginia, 
he  could  scarcely  believe  that,  in  such  a  building,  in  such 
a  half-subdued  wilderness,  could  such  famous  men  as  Dr. 
Archibald  Alexander  and  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice  have  ever 
pursued  their  sacred  calling,  and  the  incredulity  of  the 
reader  would  be  hardly  less  outspoken  were  the  author  to 
take  him  a  few  miles  west  of  Cub  Creek  Church  to  Roa- 
noke Church,  another  great  four-square  barn  of  later  date 
and  tell  him  that  here  at  times  in  his  boyhood,  when  the 
Roanoke  Presbytery  was  holding  its  sessions,  and  every 
hospitable  home  in  the  vicinity  was  honored  by  having 
some  clergyman  billeted  upon  it,  would  be  seen  more  than 
one  debater  or  orator  such  as  Robert  L.  Dabney,  or 
Clement  C.  Vaughn,  qualified  to  arrest  and  fix  the  atten- 
tion of  any  assemblage,  however  critical. 

Almost  from  the  beginning  of  its  existence  as  a  civilized 
community,  therefore,  Randolph's  District  was  Presby- 
terian territory,  and,  under  the  influence,  modified  by 
slavery,  of  course,  as  everything  else  within  its  limits  was, 
of  the  peculiar  tenets  and  temperament  of  Presbyterian- 
ism.  In  Randolph's  time,  there  was  no  Episcopal  rector 
in  Charlotte  County, '  and  there  was  no  Methodist  Church 
there  until  18422;  and,  as  there  were  no,  or  practically, 
no  Catholics,  the  only  sects,  except  the  Methodists,  who 
had  some  little  strength  here  and  there,  to  whom  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  people  in  Randolph's  District  was 

1  Bouldin,  38. 

2  Feb.  23,  1842,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  v. 
1,349- 


i4°         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

committed,  were  the  Presbyterians  and  the  Baptists ;  and 
the  influence  of  the  latter,  though  considerable,  was  not 
determining.  On  the  whole,  the  churches  of  these  sects 
discharged  their  trusts  with  fidelity  and  efficiency,  and 
were  not  only  religious  agencies  but  points  about  which 
no  small  part  of  the  social  life  of  their  members  circled. 
Indeed,  Charles  Bruce,  the  Charlotte  County  planter,  to 
whom  we  have  several  times  referred,  bearing  in  mind  the 
market  reports  and  countryside  gossip,  of  which  they 
were  no  mean  centers  of  propagation,  was  once  heard  to 
say  that  their  communicants  deserved  no  credit  for 
attending  their  services  with  such  punctilious  regularity 
because  they  supplied  these  communicants  with  almost 
their  only  sources  of  social  recreation  and  business  intelli- 
gence. Be  this  as  it  may,  the  types  of  character,  devel- 
oped by  them,  were  often  very  different  from  those  de- 
veloped by  the  Established  Church,  or  even  the  Episcopal 
Church,  as  afterwards  more  or  less  evangelized.  At 
times,  great  waves  of  religious  enthusiasm,  known  as 
revivals,  would  sweep  over  them,  blowing  up  the  dying 
embers  and  bleaching  ashes  of  sinking  religious  faith  into 
quickened  life,  rekindling  the  love  and  fear,  to  which 
religion  beyond  any  other  human  agency  holds  the  keys, 
and  filling  the  breasts  of  the  indifferent,  the  selfish,  and  the 
depraved  with  tumultous  feelings  of  mingled  self-reproach 
and  hope  which  sometimes  found  expression  even  in 
hysteria.  And,  at  one  time,  there  was  an  intestine  con- 
troversy between  the  Old  School  and  New  School  Pres- 
byterians in  Southside  Virginia  sufficiently  bitter  to  cause 
Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  to  speak  of  it  as  "  The  Holy 
War."  In  fact,  he  even  said  that  it  was  "helium  plus- 
quam  civile, "  and  divided  house  against  house  and  mother 
against  daughter.1 

To  realize  how  unlike,  in  some  respects,  the  tone  of 
society  in  Southside  Virginia  in  Randolph's  day  was  from 

1  Oct.  13,  1838,  40  Yrs.}  Familiar  Letters,  v.  I,  269. 


Randolph's  District  H1 

that  of  the  state  of  society,  of  which  the  Established 
Episcopal  Church  in  Tidewater  Virginia  was  one  of  the 
principal  features,  we  need  only  turn  to  some  of  the  par- 
ticularly conspicuous  individuals,  men  and  women,  who 
were  the  fruits  of  Presbyterianism  in  the  former  region. 
One  of  the  most  conspicuous,  Little  Joe  Morton,  became 
an  inhabitant  of  Charlotte  County,  then  a  part  of  Lunen- 
burg County,  so  early  that  when  he  built  his  log  cabin 
near  Little  Roanoke  Bridge,  he  did  not  have  a  neighbor 
nearer  than  30  miles  to  protect  his  wife  and  children,  when 
he  was  called  away  from  home  by  his  business  as  a  sur- 
veyor. It  was  he  who  was  employed  at  times  by  the 
Randolphs  and  others  to  look  up  lands  in  the  country 
about  his  rude  abode  for  which  it  might  be  desirable  for 
them  to  secure  patents.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  bold 
pioneer,  a  staunch  hunter,  and  a  skilful  tracker  and 
rounder-up  of  wild  horses,  like  those  which  gave  Horse 
Pen  Creek  in  Charlotte  County  its  name. '  The  manner, 
in  which  this  man  became  enlisted  in  the  service  of  God, 
is  thus  narrated  in  a  brief  memoir  of  him  which  appeared 
in  the  Watchman  and  Observer  for  Feb.  18,  1847. 

''When  Mr.  Davies  took  long  tours  of  preaching,  which  he 
usually  did  in  the  course  of  the  year,  he  was  commonly  ac- 
companied by  a  pious  young  man  not  merely  as  a  companion 
but  as  a  pioneer,  to  ride  on  before  and  find  a  place  of  lodging; 
for  many  people  were  unwilling  to  receive  a  'New  Light' 
preacher  into  their  houses  in  those  days.  In  this  service, 
young  John  Morton  (father  of  Major  Morton)  was  sometimes 
employed,  for,  having  been  converted  under  Mr.  Davies' 
ministry,  he  was  delighted  to  have  the  opportunity  of  enjoying 
his  company  and  pious  conversation.  The  writer  has  often 
heard  old  Mrs.  Morton,  of  Little  Roanoke  Bridge,  called 
'the  Mother  in  Israel,'  relate  the  circumstance  of  Mr.  Davies' 
first  visit  to  that  place.  Young  John  Morton,  who  was  a 
relative,  came  one  day  to  know  whether  Mr.  Davies,  the  'New 
Light'  preacher,  could  be  lodged  there  that  night.     Her  hus- 

1  Life  of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  by  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander,  180. 


142         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

band,  called  by  way  of  distinction  Little  Joe  Morton,  not  being 
at  the  house,  she  could  not  answer.  But  when  he  was  sent 
for  from  the  field,  and  the  question  was  proposed  to  him,  after 
a  few  moments'  consideration,  he  answered  in  the  affirmative; 
and  Mr.  Morton  went  back  to  the  inn  and  brought  Mr.  Davies 
to  the  house ;  and  with  him  Christ  and  salvation  came  to  that 
house.  Both  of  the  heads  of  the  family,  under  the  influence 
of  the  gospel,  as  heard  from  Mr.  Davies,  became  truly  and 
eminently  pious;  and  their  conversion  was  the  foundation  of 
the  Briery  Congregation,  of  which  Little  Joe  Morton  was  the 
first  elder,  and,  before  they  had  a  regular  minister,  was  more 
like  a  pastor  than  a  ruling  elder;  for  every  Sabbath  he  would 
convene  the  people  and  read  to  them  an  evangelical  sermon, 
and  regularly  catechise  the  children  out  of  the  shorter  catechism. 
The  writer  never  saw  this  excellent  man,  but  he  can  truly  say 
he  never  knew  any  layman  to  leave  behind  him  a  sweeter  savor 
of  piety.  None  was  ever  heard  to  speak  of  him,  after  his 
decease,  otherwise  than  with  respect,  bordering  on  veneration; 
and  all  the  children  of  this  pious  pair  became  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church;  and,  if  all  their  children  and  grand- 
children were  collected  together,  who  are  members  of  the 
church,  they  would  form  a  large  congregation;  and,  among 
them,  would  be  found  several  preachers  of  the  Gospel."1 

Another  prominent  figure,  in  the  early  history  of  South- 
side  Virginia  Presbyterianism,  was  Col.  Samuel  Venable, 
who  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton,  as  were  his  three 
brothers,  Abraham,  Richard,  and  Nathaniel,  and  many 
another  braw  young  Southside  Virginian.  Dr.  Arcihbald 
Alexander  became  acquainted  with  him  in  1789,  or  9 
years  after  he  had  graduated  at  Princeton,  and,  during  the 
whole  of  his  own  life,  was  accustomed  to  speak  of  him  as 
the  most  remarkable  instance  of  wisdom,  matured  by 
experience  and  observation,  that  he  had  ever  known; 
indeed,  in  this  respect,  he  is  said  to  have  been  fond  of 
comparing  him  with  Franklin.2     He  resided  in  Prince 

1  Sketches  of  Va.y  by  Foote,  215. 

2  Life  of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  by  Alexander,  128-130. 


Randolph's  District  *43 

Edward  County,  and  was  successful  enough  as  a  merchant, 
to  accumulate  a  large  estate  for  his  time.  His  wife  was 
the  daughter  of  the  elder  Judge  Paul  Carrington,  and  is 
said  to  have  been  a  .woman  of  uncommon  vivacity,  wit, 
and  power  of  sarcasm;  and  they  had  twelve  children,  all 
of  whom  she  lived  to  see  married  and  converted.1  In 
1842,  no  less  than  142  descendants  of  this  pair  were  living. 2 
Not  unlike  one  of  those  devout  women,  who  ministered 
to  the  comfort  of  the  Apostles,  was  another  individual 
who  has  been  portrayed  for  us  with  sharp  distinctness  by 
her  grateful  contemporaries;  that  is  Paulina  Read,  first 
the  wife  of  Edmund  Read,  and  afterwards  of  the  Rev. 
Nash  LeGrand,  a  Presbyterian  minister.  It  was  at  her 
home,  " Retirement,"  about  two  miles  from  Charlotte 
Court  House,  that  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  resided  for 
three  or  four  years,  during  his  pastorate  in  Charlotte 
County;  and,  thirty  years  afterwards,  the  same  hospitable 
and  Christian  roof  sheltered  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexan- 
der, during  his  pastorate  in  the  same  county.  Her  plan- 
tation was  contiguous  with  Ingleside,  the  plantation  of 
Henry  Carrington,  which  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander 
occasionally  visited  after  his  pastorate  in  Charlotte 
County  had  ceased,  and  the  two  together  contained  about 
6,000  acres  of  land,  which  seem  to  have  been  kept  in  a 
well-tilled  and  highly  productive  condition. 3  In  his  Life 
of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander 
tells  us  that  Mrs.  LeGrand  was  widely  known  among 
Christians  of  every  name  in  Virginia,  and  that  probably 
no  house  in  the  land  ever  opened  its  doors  to  more  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel;  that,  indeed,  a  whole  Presbytery  was 
sometimes  sheltered  under  her  roof;  and  that  her  wealth 
was  largely  dispensed  in  acts  of  charity.  He  further  tells 
us  that  though  of  a  despondent  turn  as  to  her  own  spiritual 

1  Life  of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  by  Alexander,  129;  and  Forty  Years' 
Familiar  Letters,  by  Alexander,  v.  I,  352. 

2  Ibid.  3  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Alexander,  v.  1,  269. 


144         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

state,  she  was  perpetually  occupied  with  religious  thoughts 
and  employment,  and  was  a  devoted  hearer  of  the  Word; 
and  that,  when  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  first  came  to 
Charlotte  County,  having  been  recently  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  evangelical  truth,  she  was  full  of  zeal, 
and  unwearied  in  her  endeavors  to  second  all  Gospel 
labors. l  And  how  constant  were  the  principles  by  which 
her  conduct  was  governed  may  be  inferred  from  what  Dr. 
James  Waddell  Alexander  had  to  say  of  her  long  after- 
wards in  his  Forty  Years'  Familiar  Letters,  when  he  was  on 
a  visit  to  Charlotte  County,  after  his  return  to  Princeton : 

"  Mrs.  LeGrand's  house  is  still  full  from  day  to  day.  There 
is  not  a  small  mechanic  or  laboring  family  in  all  the  village,  or 
vicinage,  who  does  not  freely  come  to  her  for  aid,  or  as  freely 
enter  her  doors.  I  sincerely  think  I  have  never  seen  a  human 
being  who  lived  so  much  for  others.  Mere  sacrifice  of  money 
is  little:  in  her  case  it  is  sacrifice  of  health,  time,  privacy, 
convenience,  ease,  and  (virtually)  of  life.  She  is  about  78, 
and  is  ill  enough  any  day  to  keep  her  bed,  which  she  never  kept 
except  when  in  severe  pain  or  extreme  languor.  Her  cough  is 
deadly  and  her  extenuation  extreme."2 

Later,  when  the  news  of  Mrs.  LeGrand's  death  reached 
him,  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  used  these  tender 
words  about  her;  not  so  tender,  however,  as  to  lose  sight 
of  the  tenebrous  shadows  in  which  their  object  had  worked 
out  her  salvation  under  the  stern  creed  of  Calvin: 

"  I  suppose  I  had  no  better  friend  on  earth.  Mrs.  LeGrand 
has  been  an  extraordinary  woman.  Her  views  of  her  own 
religious  state  were  always  dark.  On  every  other  point,  no 
one  could  be  less  morbid  or  more  clear  of  sight.  Her  con- 
science and  intrepidity  exceeded  all  I  ever  read  in  books. 
I  do  not  believe  the  human  being  lived  to  whom  she 
durst  not  speak  her  mind.     Her  beneficence  for  60  years  has 

1  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  2,  19-21. 

2  Id.,  v.  1,  349. 


Randolph's  District  i45 

been,  so  far  as  I  know,  unexampled.  Like  most  planters,  she 
had  little  ready  money ;  but  she  has  been  a  perennial  fountain 
of  good  works.  She  has  washed  the  saints'  feet;  her  notions 
of  plainness  were  extreme;  her  personal  attire  was  little  above 
that  of  her  servants  in  expense;  she  loved  all  of  every  sect  who 
loved  religion;  and  such  as  did  not  she  exhorted  and  warned 
in  a  way  which  shames  me  when  I  write.  She  was  distressingly 
exercised  about  slavery,  but  what  could  she  do?  She  often 
asked  me,  but  I  was  dumb.  She  had  as  many  as  possible 
taught  to  read  and  this  up  to  the  present  time  ( 1 845) .  A  large 
number  of  her  slaves  are  real  Christians ;  not  to  speak  of  per- 
haps a  hundred  who  have  gone  to  Heaven.  I  fully  believe 
that  more  of  them  have  secured  eternal  life  than  would  have 
been  the  case  in  any  freedom  conceivable."1 

Seven  days  later,  in  another  letter  to  Dr.  Hall,  Dr. 
James  Waddell  Alexander  said : 

•"My  father  lived  under  her  roof  several  years;  so  did  I 
30  years  after.  My  first  interview  with  my  wife  was  there. 
There  also  was  my  first  ministry.  A  longer  course  of  good 
doing  (eikoita,  Heb.  xiii),  I  never  knew.  The  executive 
part  of  Christianity  seemed  almost  perfect  in  her."2 

In  an  earlier  letter,  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  tells 
us  that  Mrs.  LeGrand  lodged  and  boarded  "a  good  Epis- 
copalian (a  Connecticut  man  but  20  years  in  Virginia) 
awaiting  orders  for  his  business  among  her  slaves. "  "He 
has  this  moment,"  he  adds,  " returned  on  foot,  and 
through  a  smart  rain,  from  the  overseer's  house,  two  miles 
off,  where  he  instructed  a  group  of  15  last  night.  "3 

Indeed,  Southside  Virginia  Presbyterianism  seems  to 
have  even  had  its  ascetic,  a  fact,  happily,  that  has  not 
often  clouded  the  spirit  of  the  healthy-minded  people  of 
that  portion  of  Virginia.  Referring  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
Dr.  Hall  to  a  recent  visit  to  Prince  Edward  County,  Dr. 
James  Waddell  Alexander  says : 

xFeb.  10,  1845,  Id.,  v.  2,  19.        a  Feb.  17, 1845,  Id.,v.  2,21. 
3  Oct.  19,  1838,  Id.,  v.  1,  272. 

VOL.  II — 10 


146         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"I  there  saw  such  an  instance  of  solitary  life  as  I  never 
before  witnessed.  Mrs.  Spencer,  a  woman  of  nearly  80  years 
of  age,  has  lived  the  life  of  a  hermit  for  about  30  years.  Her 
residence  is  a  little  log  hut  at  a  distance  from  any  other  habi- 
tation, and  she  suffers  no  living  being  to  remain  with  her 
during  the  night,  or  for  any  long  period  during  the  day.  Her 
victuals  are  cooked  about  half  a  mile  off  and  sent  to  her  once 
a  day.  She  is  crooked  and  withered;  dresses  always  in  white 
linen,  and  in  the  oldest  fashion.  Her  whole  time  is  spent  in 
reading  the  Scriptures,  singing  and  prayer.  Visitors  some- 
times have  to  remain  nearly  an  hour  at  her  door  before  she 
concludes  the  prayer  in  which  she  may  be  engaged.  She  is 
the  most  unearthly  being  I  ever  beheld;  her  conversation  is 
pleasant  and  rational;  and  her  religion  seems  to  be  unfeigned 
and  ardent."1 

In  his  John  Randolph,  Henry  Adams  expresses  the  opin- 
ion that  one  of  the  reasons  why  Randolph's  constituents 
were  so  patient  with  him  was  because  "they  were  used  to 
coarseness  that  would  have  sickened  a  Connecticut  ped- 
dler. "2  Just  how  much  coarseness  it  takes  to  sicken  a 
Connecticut,  or  any  other,  peddler,  we  confess  ourselves 
unable  to  decide.  Not  a  little,  we  imagine,  whether 
peddlers  engaged  in  peddling  wooden  nutmegs  or  other 
wares.  But,  if  what  Adams  meant  to  say  was  that  the 
society,  of  which  Randolph  was  a  part,  was  a  peculiarly 
coarse  one,  he  simply  did  not  state  a  fact.  Social  condi- 
tions in  Southside  Virginia,  during  Randolph's  time,  had, 
of  course,  their  shortcomings.  Judged  by  latter  day 
standards,  they  were  marked  by  a  certain  degree  of  raw- 
ness and  rustic  simplicity  such  as  one  would  naturally 
expect  in  communities  which  had  but  recently  been 
frontier  settlements  and  had  not  fully  taken  on  the  char- 
acter of  a  complex  and  long-established  civilization. 

"I  am  under  great  uneasiness  for  Tudor,"  Randolph  wrote 
on  one  occasion  to  Josiah  Quincy  from  Richmond.  "There 
1  Mar.  13,  1827,  Id.,  v.  1,  99.  2  P.  256. 


Randolph's  District  H7 

is  no  field  for  him  in  his  native  country.  Would  you  have  him 
return  here,  attend  a  court  every  week,  ride  more  miles  than 
a  post-boy,  sleep  two  perhaps  three  in  a  bed  and  barely  make  a 
support  for  himself  and  his  horse?  Such  is  the  life  of  our 
country  lawyers  who  eke  out  their  scanty  gains  by  some  paltry 
speculation  at  the  Sheriff's  sales."1  (a) 

The  gentry  class  had  the  defects  of  the  virtues,  as  well 
as  the  virtues,  which  inhere  in  an  aristocratic,  or  quasi- 
aristocratic,  society.  The  pride  of  this  class  was  too  quick 
to  take  alarm  at  supposed  insult  or  indignity,  and  mani- 
fested itself  at  times,  even  when  there  was  no  such  fancied 
provocative,  in  a  too  imperious  and  overbearing  spirit. 
Jefferson  was  right  when  he  said  that  the  effect  of  slavery 
was  to  foster  a  despotic  spirit  in  the  breast  of  the  whites, 
though  the  coloring  that  he  gave  to  his  statement  was 
perhaps  too  vivid.  The  courtesy  of  this  class  was  some- 
times a  little  Grandisonian,  and  its  courage  ran  out  too 
quickly  into  temerity.  Its  deference  for  women  occasion- 
ally made  it  difficult  for  a  man  to  obtain  justice  where  a 
woman  was  his  accuser.  In  many  economic  respects,  too, 
the  ignorance  and  inefficiency  of  the  slave,  and,  above  all, 
the  extent  to  which  his  numbers  and  servility  relieved  the 
members  of  this  class  of  the  necessity  of  doing  many 
things  for  themselves  that  it  is  well  for  every  human  being 
to  be  under  the  necessity  of  doing  for  himself,  reacted 
unfavorably,  to  some  extent,  upon  their  morale;  though 
there  was  never  a  better  school  than  the  Southern  planta- 
tion for  the  development  of  leadership  and  the  executive 
faculty.  The  thriftless,  shiftless  mass  of  human  beings, 
with  whom  they  had  to  deal,  apart  from  its  direct  influence 
over  them  in  one  way  or  another,  could  not  but  finally 
make  them  more  or  less  indifferent  to  proper  industrial 
standards  of  every  kind.      v 

Nor  should  any  false  sense  of  delicacy  deter  us  from 
admitting  that  the  purity  of  conduct  which  was  so  con- 

1  Life  of  Quincy,  351. 


148         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

spicuous  among  women  of  the  gentry  class,  and,  through 
force  of  example,  of  the  lower  classes  of  whites  as  well, 
in  Southside  Virginia,  under  the  Slave  Regime,  was  due 
in  some  measure  to  the  abundant  opportunity  that  the 
women  of  a  servile  and  degraded  race  afforded  the  white 
race  for  licentious  intercourse.  In  the  matter  of  sexual 
purity,  the  white  women  of  the  South,  under  the  Slave 
Regime,  unmarried  and  married,  reached  perhaps  as  high 
a  level  of  attainment  as  can  ever  be  expected  under  any 
social  conditions,  and,  because  of  the  influence  naturally 
exerted  by  the  character  of  such  women  over  their  hus- 
bands, as  well  as  other  conspiring  influences,  it  is  surpris- 
ing how  rarely  it  was,  though  illustrations  to  the  contrary 
might  be  readily  cited,  that  the  Ishmaelitish  Hagar  came 
between  Sarah  and  her  lord,  (a)  But,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  author,  it  cannot  be  truthfully  declared  that  any 
higher  standard  of  sexual  morality  prevailed  among  young 
unmarried  white  men  under  the  Slave  Regime  in  South- 
side  Virginia  than  among  young  unmarried  men  in  other 
portions  of  the  United  States ;  though  he  is  yet  to  have  any 
convincing  evidence  brought  to  his  attention  showing  that 
the  standard  which  prevailed  among  them  was  lower. 

The  manners  of  the  less  fortunate  whites  were  in  some 
respects,  of  course,  rude.  In  his  John  Randolph,  Henry 
Adams  speaks  of  gouging  as  if  it  prevailed  in  Randolph's 
youth  in  every  country  neighborhood  in  Virginia,  whether 
in  the  backwoods  or  otherwise.  To  begin  with,  the  extent 
of  this  frontier  practice  is  grossly  exaggerated  by  him. 
But  it  was  not  until  he  published  his  history  of  the  United 
States  that  he  brought  out  the  fact,  which  he  might  have 
been  just  and  candid  enough  to  have  brought  out  in  his 
John  Randolph,  that,  during  the  time  that  the  practice 
of  gouging  prevailed  in  Virginia,  it  also  prevailed  in 
England.1  Even  Anburey,  who  formed  an  unfavorable 
opinion  in  some  regards  of  the  lower  orders  of  the  white 


Randolph's  District  149 

population  of  Virginia,  in  1789,  states  that  the  better  class 
of  the  two  classes  into  which  he  divides  them  were  hospi- 
table, generous,  and  friendly.  In  the  judgment  of  the 
author,  no  people  with  the  same  limited  opportunities 
were  ever  more  liberally  endowed  with  the  rudimentary 
virtues  of  true  manhood  than  both  classes.  The  Civil 
War,  if  nothing  else,  demonstrated  that.  Backward  in 
many  respects  as  they  were,  the  humblest  of  them  had  a 
natural  dignity  and  independence  of  character,  and  a 
fund  of  innate  sympathy  and  good  feeling,  which,  if  they 
did  not  distinguish  him  from  the  whites  of  the  same  stock 
and  class  in  other  portions  of  the  United  States,  distin- 
guished him  very  sharply  indeed  from  individuals  of  the 
same  class  in  many  foreign  lands. 

Fortunately  for  Southside  Virginia  Dr.  James  Waddell 
Alexander  and  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  have  both  borne 
testimony  to  what  the  people  of  Randolph's  District  were 
under  social  conditions  which  placed  within  the  reach  of  a 
small  pecuniary  income  a  measure  of  material  abundance 
and  comfort  that  even  a  considerable  fortune  now  often 
fails  to  secure,  made  good  manners,  moral  worth,  and 
intellectual  distinction,  rather  than  the  mere  acquisi- 
tion of  wealth,  the  passports  to  public  respect  and  favor, 
and  left  some  time  from  the  practical  duties  of  life,  now 
too  often  devoted  to  the  feverish  pursuit  of  unwholesome 
pleasures  or  excessive  gain,  for  the  cultivation  of  social 
gifts,  and  the  indulgence  of  the  mellower  and  more  cordial 
impulses  of  the  human  heart. 

The  first  view  that  the  former  Alexander  had  of  South- 
side  Virginia  was  in  Petersburg  when  he  was  on  his  way  to 
his  new  home  at  Charlotte  Court  House.  After  speaking 
in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Hall  of  the  incessant  round  of  social  ex- 
actions which  he  had  been  treading,  "enlivened  by  the 
peculiarly  abundant  good  cheer  of  this  bountiful  land 
and  the  copious  flowing  of  rum  toddy  and  the  like  refec- 
tions,"  and    of   rides    on   a   " high-blooded  horse,"   in 


150         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

company  with  fellow  equestrians  and  a  carriage  load 
of  beauty  and  vivacity,  and  of  corn  bread  and  bacon, 
oysters  and  hominy,  daily  dinners  and  unceasing  conver- 
sation, he  uses  these  words: 

"As  to  society,  I  am  free  to  declare  that  I  have  never  so 
enjoyed  social  and  Christian  intercourse  in  my  life  as  here. 
Without  trying  it,  you  can  have  no  conception  of  what  South- 
ern hospitality  means.  After  all  my  preparations  and  previ- 
ous knowledge,  I  find  myself  daily  surprised  with  the  winning 
cordiality  and  kindness  of  the  people;  and  this  not  merely  in 
expression  and  words.  Every  house  seems  at  once  a  home,  and 
every  individual  devotes  himself  heartily,  and,  with  manifest 
satisfaction,  to  your  service.  If  you  look  for  splendor,  you 
would  be  disappointed,  except  in  the  particulars  of  servants' 
attendance  and  diet.  The  tables  of  the  Seaboard  Virginians 
are  worthy  of  their  fame.  I  am  sometimes  almost  discon- 
certed with  the  multitude  of  servants  waiting  at  table."1 

And  then,  as  now,  the  Virginian  had  his  way  of  harmo- 
nizing his  social  recreations  with  his  religious  duties. 
"There  are  in  my  uncle's  [Dr.  Benjamin  H.  Rice]  congre- 
gation about  25  young  men  who  profess  religion,  and  are 
more  active  in  the  cause  than  many  ministers, "  Dr.  Alex- 
ander says  in  the  same  letter.  "  From  this  you  may  judge 
what  the  people  in  general  are. "  In  the  same  letter,  the 
writer  also  says  that  "the  number  of  agreeable  and  pious 
ladies  is  remarkable, "  and  the  easy  access  to  everybody's 
house  and  heart  more  free  than  he  had  ever  expected  in 
his  fondest  hopes.  "A  man  who  comes  here,"  he  adds 
just  a  little  reflectively,  "must  come  with  some  equestrian 
skill  or  expect  to  get  his  neck  broken. " 2 

On  his  return  to  "Retirement"  after  a  considerable 
sojourn  at  the  North,  for  his  health,  and  when  he  had  re- 
solved to  give  up  his  charge  in  Charlotte  County,  Dr.  Alex- 

1  Dec.  23,  1825,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Alexander,  v.  1,  91. 

2  Id.,  92. 


Randolph's  District  151 

andef  wrote  to  Dr.  Hall:  "  I  expect  never  to  see  so  many 
persons  so  rejoiced  to  meet  with  me  as  appeared  at  the 
little  church  last  Sunday.  It  is  painful,  indeed,  to  leave 
friends  so  cordial  and  sincere,  but  I  believe  I  am  pursuing 
the  path  of  duty."1  When  he  settled  down  in  Trenton, 
he  wrote  to  Dr.  Hall  that,  under  the  new  circumstances, 
he  felt  a  greater  stimulus  to  what  might  be  called  the 
external  or  literary  part  of  preparation  than  he  had  ever 
experienced  among  his  simpler  flock  in  Virginia;2  but,  in  a 
later  letter,  he  observed  feelingly  to  the  same  correspon- 
dent that  he  had  once  had  experience  with  the  wretched- 
ness of  leaving  an  affectionate  people  and  that  the  experi- 
ment was  one  of  which  he  craved  no  repetition. 3  Some 
19  months  afterwards,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Hall  that  he  should 
be  unwilling  to  exchange  Trenton  for  any  pastoral  charge 
that  he  had  ever  seen,  excepting  only  Charlotte  Court 
House,  Va.,  which  it  would  be  sheer  madness  for  him  to 
undertake  with  his  atrabilious  temperament. 4  The  gen- 
eral character  of  the  whole  country,  which  Dr.  Archibald 
Alexander  made  the  seat  of  his  labors,  when  he  assumed 
charge  of  Cub  Creek  and  Briery  Churches,  is  very  accu- 
rately stated  in  the  biography  of  him  written  by  Dr. 
James  Waddell  Alexander: 

"There  is  no  portion  of  the  State  or  country  where  the 
bright  side  of  the  planters'  life  is  more  agreeably  exhibited. 
The  district  has  always  been  remarkable  for  its  adaptation 
to  the  culture  of  a  particular  variety  of  tobacco  which  usually 
commands  high  prices,  and  it  has,  therefore,  abounded  in 
slaves.  Although  the  estates  are  less  extensive  than  in  the 
cotton  districts  of  the  remoter  South,  the  proprietors  enjoy 
the  comforts. and  luxuries  of  life  in  a  high  degree,  and  almost 
every  family  has  some  man  of  liberal  education  within  its 
bosom.     Hospitality  and  genial  warmth  may  be  said  to  be 

1  Nov.  16,  1828,  Id.,  115.  2  Jan.  24,  1829,  Id.,  v.  1,  120. 

3  Dec.  4,  1829,  Id.,  v.  1,  138. 
*Id.,  v.  1,  172. 


152         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

universal.  Nowhere  in  the  South  has  the  Presbyterian 
Church  had  greater  strength  among  the  wealthy  and  cultivated 
classes.  It  was  to  be  for  a  long  time  the  theatre  of  Mr.  Alex- 
ander's labors;  and  throughout  life  he  looked  back  on  these 
as  halcyon  days."1 

There  could  be  no  doubt  about  the  "hospitality  and 
genial  warmth."  On  Oct.  19,  1838,  writing  to  Dr.  Hall 
from  Charlotte  Court  House,  where  he  was  paying  a  visit, 
Dr.  Alexander  said : 

"The  manners  and  customs  here  are  not  the  best  for  an 
invalid.  A  visit  of  relations,  some  20  in  number,  horses, 
coaches,  retinue,  etc.,  lasts  at  least  one  day;  sometimes  a  week. 

Where  one  comes  1 7  miles,  as did  to  see  us,  it  is  out  of  the 

question  to  make  a  morning  call.  And,  when  in  turn  we  go  to 
see  some  of  our  kin,  the  solemnities  of  an  old  time  ceremonious 
dinner  are  anything  but  reviving  to  a  queasy  stomach."2 

And  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  upper 
classes  in  this  community  at  any  rate  lacked  schools ;  for 
on  Feb.  23,  1842,  Dr.  Alexander  wrote  to  Dr.  Hall  from 
Charlotte  Court  House:  "There  are  five  schools  in  this 
village;  among  these  is  Michael  Osborne's  lately  erected 
girls'  school  which  has  26  already."3  In  1836,  Martin's 
Gazetteer  makes  mention  also  of  a  female  academy  and  two 
elementary  schools  for  boys  at  Marysville,  the  County 
seat  of  Buckingham  County ;  of  another  elementary  school 
at  Cartersville  in  Cumberland  County ;  of  a  female  school 
at  Farmville  in  Prince  Edward  County,  and  of  a  male 
academy  and  seminary  at  Prince  Edward  Court  House  in 
Prince  Edward  County.  The  latter  enjoyed  a  high  repu- 
tation, provided  for  a  three-year  course,  had  about  80 
pupils,  and  was  conducted  by  two  principals  and  rive 
assistants.     The   former   prepared   youths   for   college.4 

1  Life  of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  by  Alexander,  156. 

2  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Alexander,  v.  1,  271. 

3  Id.,  349.  4  Pp.  I35>  !6i,  268,  269. 


Randolph's  District  153 

Besides  the  educational  facilities  afforded  by  these  schools, 
there  were,  of  course,  throughout  Randolph's  District, 
those  afforded  by  the  ruder  schools,  known  as  the  "  Old- 
field  Schools." 

After  preaching  in  1789  in  Charlotte  and  Prince  Edward 
Counties,  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  referred  to  the  people 
in  whose  midst  he  had  been  as  those  "affectionate  and 
delightful  people. ' ' r  At  times,  when  on  one  of  his  pastoral 
rounds,  the  rites  of  hospitality  would  be  pressed  upon  him 
with  such  assiduous  solicitude  by  his  plainer  parishioners 
that  he  would  find  himself  tied  down  for  hours  to  a  single 
spot.  Thus,  on  one  occasion  at  old  Mr.  Redd's,  on  Bush 
River,  no  heed  whatever  was  paid  to  his  assurance  that  he 
did  not  come  to  dine,  and  everything  was  set  in  motion  to 
spread  "an  enormous  dinner"  before  him;  chickens  were 
chased  in  all  directions,  fires  were  kindled,  the  closets  were 
searched,  and,  in  addition  to  the  chickens,  the  mistress 
and  her  maids  were  soon  in  the  act  of  preparing  a  fat  tur- 
key for  the  spit.  Finally,  when  old  Mr.  Redd  came  in,  he 
would  not  permit  himself  to  be  seen  until  he  had  shaved 
his  beard  and  put  on  some  clean  clothes.  On  this  occasion, 
Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  found  that  he  had  wasted  a  whole 
day  in  visiting  one  family.  So  for  this  method  of  pastoral 
visitation  he  adopted  that  of  preaching  in  different  parts 
of  his  clerical  pale  in  private  houses;  but  this,  too,  he 
found  would  not  do ;  for  so  kind  and  hospitable  were  the 
instincts  of  the  householder  that,  with  his  invitation,  some- 
times as  many  as  30  persons  remained  after  the  service  to 
dine.  "The  old  Virginians,"  Dr.  Alexander  comments, 
"  never  count  the  cost  of  dinners  even  when  they  give  very 
little  for  the  support  of  the  gospel. " 2 

Such  social  characteristics  as  these  may  be  vulnerable 
from  an  economic  point  of  view,  and  cannot  be  reconciled 
with  fastidious  standards  of  elegance,  but  they  certainly 

1  Life  of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  by  Alexander,  128. 

2  Id.,  169-171. 


154         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

do  not  betoken  the  kind  of  coarseness  that  is  likely  to 
sicken  anybody — Connecticut  peddler  or  otherwise — 
unless  it  be  some  such  person  as  the  devitalized  American 
who,  wearied  with  the  "sad  satiety"  of  a  life  without 
duties,  and  largely  spent  abroad  in  the  pursuit  of  purely 
artificial  gratifications,  sinks,  with  a  withered  cry,  from  a 
jaded  life  into  a  ray  less  grave. 

And  it  would  be  a  misconception  also  to  think  of  the 
homes  of  the  landed  gentry  in  Southside  Virginia  in  Ran- 
dolph's time  as  wholly  hard  and  devoid  of  adornment. 
The  furniture  at  Prestwould  was  handsome  enough  to 
excite  the  admiration  of  Lancaster  when  he  was  making  his 
circuit  of  the  old  Virginia  mansion-houses. r  And  no  little 
attention  seems  to  have  been  given  to  flowers  by  the 
inmates  of  some  of  these  homes.  In  one  of  his  letters  to 
Dr.  Hall,  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  speaks  with  enthu- 
siasm of  "the  ten  million  blossomings"  of  "the  wide  plan- 
tation,"  on  which  he  then  was,  that  were  out  together — 
"peach,  apricot,  cherry,  plum,  crab  and  apple, "  intermixed 
with  the  lilac,  the  almond,  the  pyrus  japonica,  corcoras 
and  hyacinths. 2  In  another  letter,  he  says :  "I  have  just 
been  in  Mrs.  LeGrand's  garden ;  which  is  faeryland.  There 
are  blooming  and  perfuming  at  this  moment,  and  by 
wholesale,  yellow  jasmines,  double  peach  hyacinths, 
Siberian  crab,  tulip,  violets,  pansies,  jonquils,  etc."3  And 
this  is  the  description  that  he  gives  of  another  garden  near 
Prestwould: 

"In  Abram  Venable's  garden  of  3  acres,  I  counted  66  beds 
of  tulips  in  bloom,  and,  in  an  average  bed,  I  counted  144 
tulips — 9504  actually  blooming ;  every  shade  and  contour.  He 
is  equally  curious  in  roses.  His  house  is  in  full  view  of  Prest- 
would, seat  of  the  late  Sir  Peyton  Skip  with,  occupied  by 
Humberston  Skipwith,  the  2d  son.     Sir  Grey  lives  abroad."4 

1  Historic  Va.  Homes  and  Churches,  445. 

2  Apr.  20,  1855,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Alexander,  v.  2,  207. 

3  Mar.  25,  1842.  «  Apr.  26,  1842,  Id.,  v.  1,  356. 


Randolph's  District  i55 

All  this  after  telling  us  that,  while  in  Mecklenburg 
County,  he  saw  eglantine  and  coral  honeysuckle  wild  and 
as  "plenty  as  blackberries,"  and  found  the  air  of  its 
swamps  oppressively  loaded  with  the  fragrance  of  the  caly- 
canthus.  But  may  not  a  native  of  Southside  Virginia  ask 
whether  the  good  doctor  was  not  mistaken  in  supposing 
that  he  inhaled  the  fragrance  of  the  calycanthus  outside 
of  Mrs.  LeGrand's  garden?  Even  after  the  Civil  War,  the 
flower  gardens  at  Ridge  way,  the  home  of  one  of  the 
younger  Paul  Carringtons,  Staunton  Hill,  the  home  of 
Charles  Bruce,  and  Windstone,  the  home  of  Edward 
Winston  Henry,  one  of  the  sons  of  Patrick  Henry,  all  in 
Charlotte  County,  still  existed  to  give  an  idea  of  what  the 
gardens  of  Mrs.  LeGrand  and  Abram  Venable  were. 

And  it  was  a  manly  race,  too,  with  which  the  Alexanders 
— father  and  son — came  into  contact! 

"The  boys  are  centaurs,"  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander 
wrote  to  Dr.  Hall,  "and  I  wonder  daily  at  the  coolness  with 
which  Mrs.  C,  a  very  cautious  mother,  sees  her  son,  9  years 
old,  galloping  like  the  wind  through  woods,  and  over  fences 
and  ditches  on  a  colt,  or  a  mule,  or  anything  that  has  legs."1 

And  a  boy  took  so  early  to  his  gun  in  Southside  Virginia 
that  it  was  hard  for  him,  after  he  became  a  man,  to  remem- 
ber how  old  he  was  when  he  shot  his  first  "partridge"  on 
the  wing,  or  first  joined  in  the  hue  and  cry  of  a  fox-chase. 

"If  you  love  shooting,"  Dr.  Alexander  wrote  to  Dr.  Hall  on 
another  occasion  from  "Retirement,"  "come  here  and,  without 
going  off  this  plantation,  you  may  bag  your  four  dozen  quail 
a  day,  with  an  occasional  wild  turkey ;  pheasants  and  rabbits 
also  abound.  An  acquaintance  of  mine  has  caught  more  than 
20  foxes  this  winter,  and  is  now  following  his  hounds  with 
great  zeal."2 

1  40  Yrs.1  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  1,  353. 

2  Jan.  26,  1827,  Id.,  v.  1,  96. 


156         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  law  and  order  prevailed 
to  a  remarkable  extent  in  Randolph's  District.  In  a 
letter  to  Key  from  Roanoke,  dated  Feb.  9,  1818,  he  re- 
ferred to  certain  crimes  of  deep  atrocity,  which  had  been 
perpetrated  in  the  last  two  or  three  years  in  Charlotte 
County,  and  adds:  "This  country  seems  to  labor  under  a 
judgment.  It  has  been  conspicuous  for  the  order  and 
morality  of  the  inhabitants,  and  such  is  the  character  I 
hope  yet.  "J  Some  eight  years  later,  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice 
spoke  in  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Leonard  Woods  of  the  society 
in  Prince  Edward  County  as  bearing  normally  the  charac- 
ter of  being  the  most  orderly  of  any  in  the  country.2 
About  the  same  time,  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander, 
writing  from  "Retirement"  to  Dr.  Hall,  remarked:  "It 
is,  moreover,  (I  speak  of  this  county)  a  moral  country ;  no 
gambling,  no  dissipation  or  frolicking."3  Many  years 
after  Randolph's  death,  the  same  favorable  testimony 
might  have  been  borne  to  the  moral  character  of  the 
communities  which  made  up  his  District.  In  1867, 
in  his  Defence  of  Virginia,  the  Rev.  Robert  L.  Dab- 
ney,  who  had  long  resided  in  Prince  Edward  County, 
stated  that,  in  the  "orderly  little  county  of  Prince  Ed- 
ward," the  criminal  convictions  of  black  persons  had 
averaged  only  one  per  year  before  the  Civil  War. 4  And 
in  1907,  J.  Cullen  Carrington,  clerk  of  the  Charlotte 
County  Court,  could  say  in  his  Charlotte  County  Hand 
Book  of  the  County,  with  which  he  was  so  thoroughly 
familiar : 

"With  a  population  of  15,355,  it  is.no  uncommon  occurrence 
that  the  county  jail  is  without  inmates;  and,  as  an  evidence 
of  their  thrift  [the  thrift  of  the  Charlotte  County  people], 
the  report  of  the  Superintendent  of  the  County  Poor  House 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  96. 

2  Aug.  12,  1826,  Memoir  of  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice,  by  Maxwell,  299. 

3  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  1,  95. 

4  P.  92  (note). 


Randolph's  District  i57 

for  year  ending  July  I,  1906,  showed  there  was  an  average  of 
only  11  inmates."1 

If  anything,  now  that  the  prohibition  of  intoxicating 
liquors  has  been  so  overwhelmingly  approved  by  the 
people  of  Virginia,  first,  as  a  measure  of  State,  and  then 
of  National,  policy,  order  and  morality  are  more  strongly 
entrenched  in  the  counties  of  Randolph's  District  than 
they  were  even  in  his  day. 

Nowhere  in  the  United  States  will  there  be  found  a 
people  freer  from  vice  and  dissipation,  with  a  profounder 
religious  faith,  or  with  a  richer  endowment  of  those 
simple,  manly,  native  virtues  and  kindly,  cordial,  social 
impulses,  which  gave  to  the  old  Virginian  society  its 
highest  worth.  It  is  not  in  the  social  or  moral  character 
of  the  people  of  Randolph's  District,  either  in  his  time  or 
ours,  that  any  true  reproach  to  them  is  to  be  found,  but 
only  in  the  economic  sequels  of  past  conditions  which  still 
exercise,  to  a  considerable  extent,  a  depressing  effect  upon 
their  energy  and  enterprise.  The  real  criticism  to  which 
that  District  is  subject  is  not  that  it  should  not  have 
been  better  than  it  was  in  his  time,  but  that  it  should  not 
be  better  in  many  respects  today  than  it  was  then.  "The 
most  painful  thing  in  visiting  this  old  slave-holding 
country,"  wrote  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  to  Dr. 
Hall  in  1840,  "is  to  see,  after  15  years'  acquaintance,  none 
of  those  municipal  and  domestic  improvements  which 
strike  one  in  the  North."2  With  our  Northern  brothers 
still  setting  the  example  that  they  did  when  these  words 
were  written,  and  with  the  rise  of  great  industrial  com- 
munities south  of  Virginia,  and  the  marked  material 
progress,  which  has  been  made  in  recent  years  by  some 
portions  of  Virginia,  there  is  good  reason  to  hope  that  the 
counties,  which  were  formerly  in  Randolph's  District,  may, 
in  a  few  more  years  of  desquamation,  exhibit  some  of  the 
"municipal  and  domestic  improvements,"   the  lack  of 

1  P.  25.  2  Oct.  27,  1840,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  1,  313. 


158         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

which  Dr.  Alexander  deplored,  and  yet  not  be  despoiled 
of  what  remains  of  the  characteristics  of  which  he  was  such 
an  intelligent  observer  and  such  a  loving  interpreter. 

With  a  few  exceptions,  all  the  people  in  Randolph's 
District  were  engaged  in  tobacco  planting,  or  in  callings 
directly  or  indirectly  ancillary  to  it.  There  were  four  or 
five  lawyers  grouped  about  each  of  its  four  county  seats, 
who  led  the  kind  of  life  that  Randolph  was  so  loth  that 
Tudor  should  lead.  Here  and  there,  was  a  doctor  who 
usually  united  the  character  of  a  physician  with  that  of  a 
tobacco  planter;  and  his  life  on  the  professional  side  was 
not  only  a  long  struggle  with  disease  but  also  with  bad 
roads  and  the  caprices  of  a  climate  which  Dr.  James 
Waddell  Alexander  found  one  summer  "tropical-canicu- 
lar,"1 and  which,  while  usually  blander  in  mid-winter 
than  more  Northern  climates,  yet  had  its  share  too  of  ice, 
sleet,  and  snow,  (a)  A  Southside  Virginia  doctor,  of  the 
best  standing,  has  been  revived  for  us  in  a  feeling  way  by 
Dr.  George  W.  Bagby  in  his  reminiscences  of  Dr.  James 
Dillon,  of  Prince  Edward  County. 2  At  every  village  and 
along  the  country  roads,  were  to  be  seen  the  simple  dwel- 
lings of  Presbyterian  and  Baptist  ministers,  who  were  gen- 
erally men  of  pious,  worthy  lives,  and  held  in  the  highest 
esteem,  and  often  in  the  deepest  affection,  by  their  parish- 
ioners; and,  in  portions  of  Randolph's  District,  there 
were  a  few  Methodist  Ministers  also.  Not  many,  we 
imagine ;  for  it  is  said  that  when  Randolph  was  asked  to 
allow  the  use  of  his  name  as  a  part  of  the  proposed  name 
of  Randolph- Macon  College,  and  was  told  that  the  object 
of  the  college  was  the  education  of  young  Methodists,  he 
replied  in  his  sarcastic  way,  "  Yes,  you  can  use  my  name; 
for,  when  educated,  they  will  cease  to  be  Methodists"3 

1  July  3,  1827,  40  Yrs.1  Familiar  Letters,  v.  I,  107. 

2  Miscellaneous  Writings  of  Dr.  George  W.  Bagby,  v.  1,  262. 

3  Letter  from  H.  F.  Hutcheson,  of  Mecklenburg  Co.,  Va.,  to  the  author, 
Mar.  19,  1919. 


Randolph's  District  159 

— a  fling  which  has  but  little  point  in  our  day  when 
the  Methodist  Church  abounds  in  learned  men,  who, 
aside  from  their  general  professional  usefulness,  do 
more,  perhaps,  than  the  clergymen  of  any  other  denomi- 
nation to  promote  all  those  moral  reforms  which  are 
closely  associated  with  political  progress. 

There  were  no  towns  in  Randolph's  District;  unless 
Farmville,  in  Prince  Edward  County,  which  was  not 
incorporated  until  1832,  and  in  1836  contained  only  800 
inhabitants,  could  be  called  such. l  Even  in  regard  to  it, 
Isaac  Carrington,  a  local  wag,  is  said  to  have  declared, 
upon  visiting  it  not  long  after  Randolph's  death,  that  he 
had  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  farm  but  very  little  of  the 
ville.  The  only  other  collections  of  human  beings  de- 
serving of  mention  were :  Mays  ville,  or  Buckingham  Court 
House,  in  Buckingham  County,  with  a  population  of  300 
people;  Diuguidsville,  in  the  same  county,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  132  people;  New  Canton,  in  the  same  county,  with 
a  population  of  50  people;  Stonewall  Mills,  in  the  same 
county,  with  a  population  of  20  people;  Cartersville,  in 
Cumberland  County,  with  a  population  of  300  people; 
Qa  Ira,  in  the  same  county,  with  a  population  of  210  peo- 
ple, hardly  enough  to  justify  the  expectation  of  progress 
in  which  its  name  was  born ;  Cumberland  Court  House,  in 
the  same  county,  with  a  population  of  90  people;  Stoney 
Point  Mills,  in  the  same  county,  with  a  population  of  90 
people;  Prince  Edward  Court  House,  in  Prince  Edward 
County,  with  a  population  of  some  105  people;  Marysville, 
or  Charlotte  Court  House,  the  county  seat  of  Charlotte 
County,  with  a  population  of  475  people,  and  Keysville, 
in  the  same  county,  with  a  population  of  70  people. 

At  these  points,  there  was  some  little  mercantile  and 
industrial  activity  in  Randolph's  time;  perhaps,  on  the 
whole,  more  than  there  is  today,  because  of  the  extent  to 
which  the  transportation  facilities  connecting  them  with 

1  Martin's  Gazetteer,  268. 


160         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

larger  foci  of  population  and  business  have  been  since 
improved  upon,  as  well  as  because  of  the  extent  to  which 
the  concentration  of  capital,  highly  organized  machinery, 
and  the  adoption  of  new  inventions  and  labor-saving 
processes  in  these  latter  places  have  superseded  small 
local  stores  and  plants  and  individual  handicraftsmen. 
At  Maysville,  there  were  four  mercantile  stores,  an  apoth- 
ecary shop,  three  taverns^  a  tanner,  two  saddlers,  two  boot 
and  shoe  manufacturers,  a  silversmith  and  watchmaker,  a 
milliner  and  mantua-maker,  two  wagon  makers,  two  cabi- 
net makers,  three  tailors,  one  tinplate  worker,  and  one  mil- 
ler; at  Diuguidsville,  three  general  stores,  two  groceries,  a 
tavern,  a  tobacco  warehouse,  a  tanner,  a  saddler,  a  wheel- 
wright, a  blacksmith,  a  cabinet  maker,  a  tailor,  a  brick- 
layer and  stone  mason;  and,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Diu- 
guidsville, there  were  two  extensive ' '  manufacturing  mills, ' ' 
and  a  grist  and  sawmill.  At  New  Canton,  there  were  three 
mercantile  stores,  one  tavern,  a  flour  mill,  a  tan  yard,  and 
a  saddler.  Four  miles  west  of  the  village,  was  the  Virginia 
Flour  Mills,  apparently  a  plant  of  some  little  importance. 
At  Stonewall  Mills,  there  were  two  mercantile  stores,  a 
"manufacturing  mill,"  a  tailor,  a  shoemaker  and  a  black- 
smith. In  Buckingham  County,  taken  as  a  whole,  there 
were  seven  "  manufacturing  flour  mills, "  capable  of  grind- 
ing from  200,000  to  250,000  bushels  of  wheat  annually; 
five  wool-carding  establishments ;  eight  tan  yards,  and  40 
grist  mills.  Slate  was  found  in  abundance  on  Slate  River 
within  its  limits,  and  there  were  gold  mines  within  its 
limits  too,  just  profitable  enough  to  cheat  those  who 
worked  them  with  what  Dr.  Johnson  calls  "the  phantom 
of  hope."  At  Cartersville,  there  were  five  mercantile 
stores,  three  groceries,  a  merchant  mill,  two  builders  of 
threshing  machines,  two  tan  yards,  a  saddler,  and  a  number 
of  mechanics,  such  as  wheelwrights,  plowmakers,  black- 
smiths, shoemakers,  etc. ;  at  £a  Ira  three  mercantile  stores, 
two  taverns,  a  tobacco  warehouse,  a  flour  mill,  two  tailors, 


Randolph's  District  161 

two  wheelwrights,  two  blacksmiths,  and  two  plowmakers; 
at  Cumberland  Court  House  a  mercantile  store,  two 
taverns,  a  boot  and  shoe  factory,  a  saddler,  a  tailor,  and 
various  mechanics ;  and  at  Stoney  Point  Mills  two  mercan- 
tile stores,  a  "large  manufacturing  mill,"  a  wheelwright, 
a  blacksmith,  a  cooper,  and  a  tailor.  At  Prince  Edward 
Court  House  there  were,  besides  a  number  of  "public  and 
private  offices,"  a  tan  yard,  a  coach  manufactory,  and 
various  mechanics;  at  Sandy  River  Church  a  house  of 
entertainment,  a  mercantile  store,  and  several  mechanics; 
and  at  Farmville,  ten  mercantile  stores,  two  taverns,  two 
tobacco  warehouses,  five  tobacco  factories  which  em- 
ployed 250  hands,  a  printing  office,  a  boot  and  shoe  fac- 
tory, a  tan  yard,  two  carpenters,  a  cabinet  maker,  two 
blacksmith  shops,  a  tailor,  a  wheelwright,  a  saddler,  and 
two  milliners  and  mantua-makers.  At  Marysville  there 
were  five  mercantile  stores,  two  well-kept  taverns,  three 
boot  and  shoe  factories,  four  wagon-makers'  shops,  each 
of  which  employed  eight  or  ten  hands,  a  carriage  maker, 
two  tailor  shops,  each  of  which  employed  a  number  of 
hands,  a  tanner,  three  saddlers,  three  blacksmiths,  a  cabi- 
net maker,  and  several  house  carpenters  and  bricklayers; 
and  at  Keysville  a  mercantile  store,  a  tavern,  a  boot  and 
shoe  factory,  two  wagon  makers,  employing  many  hands, 
a  wool-carding  machine  on  an  extensive  scale,  a  cotton  gin, 
and  two  blacksmiths. 

These  different  places  afforded  a  considerable  vent  for 
the  agricultural  products  of  the  surrounding  country.  At 
Diuguidsville,  800  to  1200  hogsheads  of  tobacco  were 
annually  received;  at  Qa  Ira,  300  to  500  hogsheads,  and 
at  Farmville,  4,000  to  4,500.  At  Diuguidsville,  20,000 
to  30,000  bushels  of  wheat  were  annually  purchased. 
Altogether,  the  flour  mills  of  Buckingham  County  ground 
from  250,000  to  350,000  bushels  of  wheat  annually.  The 
mill  at  Cartersville  ground  from  20,000  to  30,000  bushels 
annually,  and  the  mill  at  Qa  Ira  28,000  to  30,000  bushels. 

VOL.  II — 1» 


162         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

The  mills  at  these  places  were  doubtless  the  larger  mills 
in  Cumberland  County. 

All  of  these  figures  in  relation  to  population  and  indus- 
trial conditions  are  taken  from  Martin's  Gazetteer,  which 
was  published  in  1836, z  three  years  after  Randolph's  death, 
and  fully  deserves  the*  encomium  of  Prof.  A.  J.  Morrison, 
of  Hampden-Sidney  College,  who,  in  his  invaluable  mono- 
graph entitled  The  Beginnings  of  Public  Education  in 
Virginia,  1776-1860,  justly  terms  it  a  book  of  "  extra- 
ordinary value. " 2 

Farmville,  the  Gazetteer  pronounced,  "one  of  the  finest 
towns  in  proportion  to  its  size  and  commerce  in  Virginia. " 3 

In  addition  to  the  little  industrial  centres,  mentioned  by 
us,  there  were,  of  course,  the  blacksmith  and  wheelwright 
shops  which  have  always  been  found  everywhere  in  Vir- 
ginia hard  by  the  cross-roads  "store" ;  and,  on  the  largest 
plantations,  the  landowner  usually  had  his  own  corps  of 
negro  artisans.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that,  until  the 
Civil  War,  the  loom  and  the  spinning  wheel  were  common 
objects  in  the  dwelling-houses  of  the  Southside  Virginia 
people.  From  this  summary,  the  reader  can  easily  infer 
how  little  there  was  in  the  economic  conditions  of  Ran- 
dolph's District  to  recommend  a  high  protective  tariff  to 
the  favor  of  its  people. 

It  was  to  the  tobacco  plant  that  the  attention  of  Ran- 
dolph's constituents  was  mainly  given.  Many  thousands 
of  barrels  of  corn  were  grown  on  the  alluvial  meadows  of 
the  James,  the  Appomattox  and  the  Staunton  Rivers  and 
the  other  rivers,  rivulets,  creeks,  and  small  water- courses, 
with  which  Randolph's  District  was  seamed ;  and  some  hay 
was  grown  on  these  streams  too.  But  the  fierce  and  pro- 
longed heat  of  Southside  Virginia,  the  thinness  of  much  of 
the  uplands  in  that  region,  the  dearth  of  lime  in  many  of 
its  fields,  its  sparse  population,  its  vast  expanse  of  virgin 

1  Martin's  Gazetteer,  134,  135,  150,  151,  160,  161,  268,  269. 

2  P.  101.  »/<*.,  268. 


Randolph's  District  163 

areas,  and  the  lax  industrial  methods,  born  of  its  slave 
labor,  all  conspired  to  discourage  the  intensive  system  of 
cultivation  by  which  its  soil  could  have  been  readily  made 
to  produce  much  larger  crops  of  corn  and  of  certain  kinds 
of  hay.  No  little  wheat,  oats,  and  red  clover,  however, 
were  grown  on  the  hills  of  the  district,  and  here  and  there 
on  the  large  plantations  were  to  be  seen  good  flocks  and 
herds  of  grazing  animals. 

Mrs.  LeGrand's  estate  ran  from  Charlotte  Court  House 
southwards  about  3  miles,  with  a  much  narrower  width. 
On  the  south  and  west,  it  was  bounded  by  the  Little  Roa- 
noke and  Randolph's  Bushy  Forest  estate.1  "Most  of 
the  land,"  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  wrote  to  Dr. 
Hall,  "is  covered  with  thick  forests  intersected  with  many 
roads.  The  most  fertile  portion  is  the  flat  land  through 
which  the  stream  above  mentioned  runs.  The  central 
part  is  in  the  highest  state  of  cultivation."2  In  another 
letter  to  Dr.  Hall,  he  says  that  the  wheat  fields  around 
Charlotte  Court  House  were  often  as  much  as  100  acres  in 
extent,  and  speaks  of  the  large  herds  which  gave  a  pastoral 
effect  to  the  landscape.3  Of  little  moment,  however,  in 
the  lives  of  the  people  in  Randolph's  District  as  a  whole,  as 
compared  with  tobacco,  were  cereals  and  livestock.  The 
protracted  summer  weather  gave  the  plant  a  full  oppor- 
tunity to  mature;  the  boundless  forests  supplied  an  un- 
limited quantity  of  fuel  with  which  to  cure  it,  and,  when 
it  exhausted  the  fertility  of  one  field,  a  fresh  area,  on  which 
it  could  be  produced  in  quantity,  could  be  readily  re- 
claimed in  the  form  of  "new  grounds"  from  the  woods. 
In  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Hall,  Dr.  Alexander  mentioned 
the  fact  that  $200.00  worth  of  tobacco  had  been  raised  on 
one  little  island  of  less  than  two  acres.4  Moreover,  the 
habits  formed  by  a  thorough  familiarity  with  tobacco 

1  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  I,  102.  2  Ibid. 

3  Apr.  20,  1855,  Id.,  v.  2,  207. 

4  Oct.  13,  1838,  Id.,  v.  1,269. 


164         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

culture  dated  back  to  the  earliest  colonial  history  of  Vir- 
ginia. All  the  world  has  heard  of  "King  Cotton,''  but 
" King  Tobacco"  was  quite  as  despotic  a  potentate  within 
his  narrower  domain,  and,  in  one  form  or  another,  the 
Southside  Virginian  was  his  slave  from  one  end  of  the 
year  to  the  other.  Tobacco  was  rarely  off  his  hands,  or 
out  of  his  mouth.  When  he  was  not  sowing  its  seed, 
transplanting  it,  working  it,  priming  it,  suckering  it,  worm- 
ing it,  cutting  it,  sheltering  it  or  curing  it,  he  was  manipu- 
lating it  or  marketing  it.  Often  he  was  busy  with  one 
crop  of  it  before  he  had  disposed  of  its  predecessor.  He 
discussed  it  at  the  country  store  and  before  and  after 
service  at  the  country  church.  At  times,  when  it  was 
being  cured,  he  literally  slept  with  it ;  and  he  smoked  and 
chewed  it  as  if  he  revelled  in  his  servitude  to  it.  He  even 
composed  a  new  glossary  of  terms  to  fit  its  exactions. 

"Alack,"  wrote  Dr.  Alexander  to  Dr.  Hall  on  one  occasion, 
"when  shall  my  ears  cease  to  be  molested  with  endless  har- 
angues upon  tobacco?  I  declare  it  to  be  the  most  fertile 
subject  known  among  men.  The  glossary  of  the  planters 
would  compose  a  volume,  and  their  discourse  is  stark  naught 
without  an  interpreter.  What  would  you  understand  by  such 
slang  as  this?  'Have  you  primed  your  crap  Col.  Gouge?' 
(Every  man  is  on  the  army  list.)  'No  sir,  I  had  to  clod  in  May 
and  my  'bacco  in  the  low  grounds  is  fired.'  'I  sent  my  last 
crap  to  Farmville;  they  made  a  break  and  said  it  was  funked  too 
lean  and  fired  too  much.  It  was  struck  too  soon  and  was  in 
nice  order. '  *  Well  I '  ve  got  through  priseing.  The  weather  was 
so  givvy  that  the  tobacco  was  in  high  order  to  come  and  go, 
etc.'"1  (a) 

The  technical  language  of  the  planter  was  gibberish  to 
Dr.  Alexander,  but  not  to  one  to  the  manner  born,  like 
Randolph.  Writing  to  his  niece  from  London  on  May  27, 
1822,  he  said:     "There  were  some  noble  pines  at  High 

1  July  3,  1827,  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  1,  106. 


Randolph's  District  165 

Leigh  which  a  Virginian  overseer  would  soon  have  down 
for  tobacco  sticks."1 

Southside  Virginia,  during  Randolph's  career,  was  a  good 
illustration  of  the  economic  peril  which  any  community 
runs  in  haying  all  its  eggs  in  one  basket.  Between  1799 
and  1830,  the  price  of  tobacco  underwent  some  extra- 
ordinary fluctuations,  and  the  prosperity  of  Southside 
Virginia  rose  and  fell  with  them.  The  period  between 
1799  and  1 81 6  was  signalized  by  a  remarkable  improve- 
ment in  the  fortunes  of  its  people.  Upon  this  subject 
there  are  some  timely  remarks  in  the  "  Discourse  by  Hugh 
Blair  Grigsby  on  the  Lives  and  Characters  of  the  Early 
Presidents  and  Trustees  of  Hampden-Sidney  College, " 
delivered  at  the  centenary  of  the  founding  of  the  college 
on  June  14,  1876.  After  saying  that  it  was  not  until  the 
close  of  the  War  of  18 12  that  the  first  burst  of  sunshine 
after  the  Revolutionary  War  descended  upon  Prince 
Edward  County  and  its  vicinage,  he  adds  these  words : 

"Before  that  time,  when  the  traveler  visited  the  gatherings 
at  churches  and  on  court  days,  and  entered  the  dwellings  of 
the  people  he  saw  none  of  those  signs  of  prosperity  which  10 
years  later  were  everywhere  visible.  The  houses  were  mainly 
of  wood,  and  rarely  had  more  than  two  rooms  on  a  floor; 
the  furniture  was  always  made  at  home,  was  plain  and  not 
abundant,  and  even,  in  houses  of  men  of  wealth,  paint  was 
used  sparingly,  and  in  many  cases,  not  at  all.  The  dress  of 
the  inhabitants  was  mainly  domestic  and,  when  imported  goods 
were  used,  a  single  suit  of  broadcloth  or  a  dress  of  silk  lasted 
for  a  number  of  years.  Before  1815,  four-wheeled  carriages 
were  rare,  and  were  destitute  of  ornaments ;  the  family  vehicle 
was  a  large  and  massive  gig,  which  could  hold  as  great  a  weight 
as  a  single  horse  could  pull.  Before  the  close  of  181 5,  a  new 
era  dawned :  The  high  prices  of  tobacco  were  soon  seen  in  the 
dress  of  the  people,  in  the  elegance  of  their  carriages,  and  in  the 
beauty  of  their  horses ;  in  the  rise  of  many  large  and  handsome 
wood  and  brick  houses,  and  in  the  improvement  of  the  face  of 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  180. 


1 66         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  country.  Twelve  years  after  1815,  when  I  attended  a 
commencement  of  the  college,  the  large  collection  of  people  of 
both  sexes  and  of  all  ages,  who  filled  every  place  in  the  church, 
and  who  were  clad  in  modern  and  costly  apparel,  and  the 
number  of  gigs  and  carriages,  adorned  with  curtains  and 
beautified  with  silver  gilt,  indicated  the  vast  increase  of  the 
general  wealth  in  that  interval."1 

But  this  advance  of  wealth  must  have  been  the  incre- 
ment of  the  earlier  years  after  18 12,  for,  confessedly,  the 
decade  between  1820  and  1830  was  one  of  such  widespread 
pecuniary  depression  in  Virginia  that,  to  some  eyes,  it 
seemed  as  if  the  State  was  declining  into  a  condition  of 
almost  hopeless  atrophy.2  The  year  18 19  was  a  year  of 
general  financial  distress  throughout  the  United  States, 
and  the  effects  of  this  distress  in  Southside  Virginia  are 
stated  by  Randolph  in  his  pungent  way  in  a  letter  written 
by  him  to  Captain  West,  his  sea-captain  friend,  on  April 
30,  1828. 

"Cartersville,  on  James  River, 
April  30,  1828." 

"My  dear  Captain: — Just  as  I  mounted  my  horse  on 
Monday  morning  at  Washington,  your  truly  welcome  and 
friendly  letter  was  put  into  my  hands.  I  arrived  here  this 
evening  a  little  before  sunset,  after  a  ride  on  horseback  of 
thirty-five  miles.  Pretty  well,  you'll  say,  for  a  man  whose 
lungs  are  bleeding,  and  with  a  'church-yard  cough,'  which 
gives  so  much  pleasure  to  some  of  your  New  York  editors  of 
newspapers.  ...  I  am  never  so  easy  as  when  in  the  saddle. 
Nevertheless,  if  'a  gentleman'  (we  are  all  gentlemen  now-a-days) 
who  received  upwards  of  £300  sterling  for  me  merely  to  hand 
it  over,  had  not  embezzled  it  by  applying  it  to  his  own  pur- 
poses, I  should  be  a  passenger  with  you  on  the  eighth.  I  tried 
to  raise  the  money  by  the  sale  of  some  property,  that  only 
twelve  months  ago  I  was  teased  to  part  from  (lots  and  houses 
in  Farmville,  seventy  miles  above  Petersburgh,  on  Appomattox 

1  P.  45.  2  Wm.  B.  Giles,  by  D.  R.  Anderson,  212. 


Randolph's  District  167 

river),  but  could  not  last  week  get  a  bid  for  it.  Such  is  the 
poverty,  abject  poverty  and  distress  of  this  whole  country.  I 
have  known  land  (part  of  it  good  and  wood  land)  sell  for  one 
dollar  an  acre,  that,  ten  years  ago,  would  have  commanded 
ten  dollars,  and  last  year  five  or  six.  Four  fine  negroes  sold 
for  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  so  in  proportion.  But 
I  must  quit  the  wretched  subject.  My  pay,  as  a  member  of 
Congress,  is  worth  more  than  my  best  and  most  productive 
plantation,  for  which,  a  few  years  ago,  I  could  have  got  eighty 
thousand  dollars,  exclusive  of  slaves  and  stock.  I  gave,  a  few 
years  since,  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars  for  an  estate.  It 
had  not  a  house  or  a  fence  upon  it.  After  putting  it  in  fine 
order,  I  found  that,  so  far  from  my  making  one  per  cent,  or 
one-half  or  one-fourth  of  one  per  cent,  it  does  not  clear  expenses 
by  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  annum,  over  and 
above  all  the  crops.  Yet,  /  am  to  be  taxed  for  the  benefit  of 
wool-spinners,  &c,  to  destroy  the  whole  navigating  interest 
of  the  United  States;  and  we  find  representatives  from  New- 
Bedford,  and  Cape  Ann,  and  Marblehead,  and  Salem,  and 
Newbury  port,  voting  for  this,  if  they  can  throw  the  molasses 
overboard  to  lighten  the  ship  Tariff.  She  is  a  pirate  under  a 
black  flag."1 

No  one  had  a  keener  sense  than  Randolph  of  the  fact 
that  the  conduct  of  a  plantation  in  Southside  Virginia 
went  round  and  round  in  a  circle  like  a  horse  hitched  to 
one  of  the  revolving  shafts  which  furnished  the  power  for 
threshing  wheat  at  granaries  on  the  larger  plantations  in 
that  region  before  the  invention  of  the  modern  portable 
threshing-machine,  (a)  "Farming  in  Virginia, "  he  said, 
"goes  in  a  circle;  the  negroes  raise  the  corn,  the  hogs  eat 
the  corn,  and  the  negroes  eat  the  hogs,  &c.  "2 

When  Randolph  wrote  to  Josiah  Quincy  that,  if  he  came 
to  Charlotte  County,  he  would  introduce  him  to  a  small 
school  of  intelligent  freeholders,  he  was  not  over-apprais- 
ing the  character  of  his  constituents.     As  a  rule,  they  were 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  71,  Nov.  4,  1843. 

2  Recollections  of  a  Long  Life,  by  Jos.  Packard,  no. 


168         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

remarkably  well  informed  about  the  public  men,  and  inti- 
mately conversant  with  the  political  issues,  of  their  time ; 
indeed,  it  would  have  been  better  for  them,  if  they  had 
imitated  their  fellow  Democrats  of  the  North,  and  not  lost 
sight  of  the  fact  that  Congress  was  a  great  business  instru- 
mentality as  well  as  a  theatre  for  oratorical  displays  and 
the  conflict  of  political  theories.  Morris  Birkbeck,  an 
English  traveler,  visited  Petersburg,  Va.,  in  1817,  and, 
discussing  the  Virginians  that  he  met  there,  he  says : 

"  I  never  saw  in  England  an  assemblage  of  countrymen  who 
would  average  so  well  as  to  dress  and  manners.  None  of  them 
reached  anything  like  style,  and  very  few  descended  to  the 
shabby.  As  it  rained  heavily,  everybody  was  confined  the 
whole  day  to  the  tavern  after  the  race,  which  took  place  in  the 
forenoon.  The  conversation,  which  this  afforded  me  an 
opportunity  of  hearing,  gave  me  a  high  opinion  of  the 
intellectual  cultivation  of  these  Virginian  farmers."1 

The  compliment  is  all  the  more  significant,  as  it  was 
preceded  by  the  averment  that,  while  a  Virginian  planter 
was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  exhibited  the  high  spirit 
and  independence  of  that  character,  he  was  a  slave-holder, 
irascible,  and  too  often  lax  in  morals;  and  was  said  to  carry 
a  dirk  about  with  him  as  a  common  appendage  to  the  dress 
of  the  planter  in  that  part  of  Virginia.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  some  Southside  planters  did  have  such  a  weapon, 
because  we  know  that  on  one  occasion  Randolph  wrote  to 
Theodore  Dudley  for  a  dirk  which  he  had  left  behind  him 
at  Roanoke. 2  A  gentry,  that  was  not  too  peaceful  for  the 
duelling  pistol,  might  well  be  contentious  enough  at  times 
for  the  dirk. 

One  more  quotation  from  the  agreeable  letters  of  Dr. 
James  Waddell  Alexander  to  Dr.  Hall,  and  we  shall  be 
prepared  to  lift  the  curtain  again  upon  the  figure  of  Ran- 

1  Notes  on  a  Journey  in  America,  3d  Ed.,  London,  p.  16. 

2  Farmville,  Nov.  6,  181 3,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  143. 


Randolph's  District  169 

dolph  as  he  appeared  upon  the  court-green  rostrum  of 
Southside  Virginia. 

"Charlotte,  April  io,  1827." 

"  I  do  not  remember  in  any  'letters  from  the  South'  a  descrip- 
tion of  a  Virginia  court-day,  and,  as  I  know  of  nothing  which 
exhibits  in  more  lively  colours  the  distinctive  traits  of  the 
State  character,  I  will  employ  a  little  time  in  sketching  a  scene 
of  this  kind,  which  presented  itself  on  Monday,  the  2d  of 
April.  The  court  of  Charlotte  Co.  is  regularly  held  upon 
the  first  Monday  of  every  month,  and  there  is  usually  a  large 
concourse  of  people.  This  was  an  occasion  of  peculiar  inter- 
est, as  elections  for  Congress  and  the  State  Legislature  were 
then  to  take  place.  As  the  day  was  fine,  I  preferred  walking, 
to  the  risk  of  having  my  horse  alarmed,  and  driven  away  by  the 
hurly-burly  of  such  an  assemblage.  In  making  my  way  along 
the  great  road,  which  leads  from  my  lodgings  to  the  place  of 
public  resort,  I  found  it  all  alive  with  the  cavalcades  of  planters 
and  country-folk  going  to  the  raree  show.  A  stranger  would 
be  forcibly  struck  with  the  perfect  familiarity  with  which 
all  ranks  were  mingling  in  conversation,  as  they  moved  along 
upon  their  fine  pacing  horses.  Indeed,  this  sort  of  equality 
exists  to  a  greater  degree  here  than  in  any  country  with 
which  I  am  acquainted.  Here  were  young  men,  whose  main 
object  seemed  to  be  the  exhibition  of  their  spirited  horses, 
of  the  true  race  breed,  and  their  equestrian  skill.  The  great 
majority  of  persons  were  dressed  in  domestic,  undyed  cloth, 
partly  from  economy,  and  partly  from  a  State  pride,  which 
leads  many  of  our  most  wealthy  men,  in  opposing  the  tariff,  to 
reject  all  manufactures  which  are  protected  by  the  Government. 
A  man  would  form  a  very  incorrect  estimate  of  the  worldly 
circumstances  of  a  Virginia  planter  who  should  measure  his 
finances  by  the  fineness  of  his  coat.  When  I  came  near  to  the 
village,  I  observed  hundreds  of  horses  tied  to  the  trees  of  a 
neighbouring  grove,  and  further  on  could  descry  an  immense 
and  noisy  multitude  covering  the  space  around  the  court- 
house. In  one  quarter,  near  the  taverns,  were  collected  the 
mob,  whose  chief  errand  is  to  drink  and  quarrel.  In  another, 
was  exhibited  a  fair  of  all  kinds  of  vendibles,  stalls  of  mechanics 


170         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  tradesmen,  eatables  and  drinkables,  with  a  long  line  of 
Yankee  wagons,  which  are  never  wanting  on  these  occasions. 
The  loud  cries  of  salesmen,  vending  wares  at  public  auction, 
were  mingled  with  the  vociferation  of  a  stump  orator,  who,  in 
the  midst  of  a  countless  crowd,  was  advancing  his  claims  as  a 
candidate  for  the  House  of  Delegates.     I  threaded  my  way 
into  this  living  mass,  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  the  oration.   A 
grey-headed  man  was  discoursing  upon  the  necessity  of  amend- 
ing the  State  Constitution,  and  defending  the  propriety  of 
calling  a  convention.     His  elocution  was  good,  and  his  argu- 
ments very  plausible,  especially  when  he  dwelt  upon  the  very 
unequal  representation  in  Virginia.     This,  however,  happens 
to  be  the  unpopular  side  of  the  question  in  our  region  and  the 
populace,  while  they  respected  the  age  and  talents  of  the  man 
showed  but  faint  signs  of  acquiescence.     The  candidate,  upon 
retiring  from  the  platform  on  which  he  had  stood,  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  rival,  who  is  well  known  as  his  standing  opponent. 
The  latter  kept  the  people  in  a  roar  of  laughter  by  a  kind  of 
dry  humour  which  is  peculiar  to  himself.   Although  far  inferior 
to  the  other  in  abilities  and  learning,  he  excels  him  in  all  those 
qualities  which  go  to  form  the  character  of  a  demagogue.    He 
appealed  to  the  interests  of  the  planters  and  slave  owners,  he 
turned  into  ridicule  all  the  arguments  of  the  former  speaker, 
and  seemed  to  make  his  way  to  the  hearts  of  the  people.     He 
was  succeeded  by  the  candidate  for  the  Senate,   Henry  A. 
Watkins,  of    Prince  Edward,   a  man  of  great  address  and 
suavity  of  manner;  his   speech  was  short    but  pungent  and 
efficient,  and,  although  he  lost  his  election,  he  left  a  most 
favourable  impression  upon  the  public  mind.     We    had  still 
another  address  from  one  of  the  late  delegates  who  proposed 
himself  again  as  a  candidate.     Before  commencing  his  oration, 
he  announced  to  the  people  that,  by  a  letter  from  Mr.  Randolph, 
he  was  informed  that  we  should  not  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
that  gentleman,  as  he  was  confined  to  his  bed  by  severe  illness. 
This  was  a  sore  disappointment.      It  was  generally  expected 
that  Mr.  R.  would  have  been  present,  and  I  had  cherished  the 
hope  of  hearing  him  once  in  my  life.     It  would  give  you  no 
satisfaction  for  me  to  recount  to  you  the  several  topics  of  party 
politics    upon    which    the    several    speakers     dilated.     We 


Randolph's  District  171 

proceeded  (or  rather  as  many  as  could,  proceeded)  to  the  court- 
house, where  the  polls  were  opened.  The  candidates,  six  in 
number,  were  ranged  upon  the  Justices'  bench,  the  clerks  were 
seated  below,  and  the  election  began,  viva  voce.  The  throng  and 
confusion  were  great,  and  the  result  was  that  Mr.  Randolph 
was  unanimously  elected  for  Congress,  Col.  Wyatt  for  the 
Senate,  and  the  two  former  members  to  the  Legislature  of  the 
State.  After  the  election,  sundry  petty  squabbles  took  place 
among  the  persons  who  had  been  opposing  one  another  in  the 
contest.  Towards  night,  a  scene  of  unspeakable  riot  took  place ; 
drinking  and  fighting  drove  away  all  thought  of  politics  and  many 
a  man  was  put  to  bed  disabled  by  wounds  and  drunkenness. 
This  part  of  Virginia  has  long  been  celebrated  for  its  breed  of 
horses.  There  is  scrupulous  attention  paid  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  immaculate  English  blood.  Among  the  crowd  on 
this  day,  were  snorting  and  rearing  fourteen  or  fifteen  stallions, 
some  of  which  were  indeed  fine  specimens  of  that  noble  crea- 
ture. Among  the  rest,  Mr.  Randolph's  celebrated  English  horse, 
Roanoke,  who  is  nine  years  old,  and  has  never  been  'backed.' 
That  which  principally  contributes  to  this  great  collection  of 
people  on  our  court  days  is  the  fact  that  all  public  business  and 
all  private  contracts  are  settled  at  this  time.  All  notes  are  made 
payable  on  these  days,  &c,  &c.  But  you  must  be  tired  with 
Charlotte  Court;  I  am  sure  that  I  am."1 

What  Dr.  Alexander  has  to  say  about  the  drinking  and 
fighting,  in  which  the  court  day  described  by  him  ended, 
not  escaped,  we  are  sure,  the  attention  of  the  reader. 
That  such  excesses  were  more  or  less  limited  to  the  satur- 
nalia of  court  day  and  to  the  rabble,  we  must  infer  from 
the  tribute  paid  by  him  to  the  moral  character  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Charlotte;  County,  which  we  have  already  quoted, 
and  from  the  fact  that,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Hall,  he 
also  stated  that  temperance  agitations  were  hardly  neces- 
sary in  Charlotte  County  as  the  body  of  the  people  had 
always  been  V ;mperate. 2   The  truth  is  that  anyone  who  has 

1  Mar.  13,  1827,  40  Vis.'  Familiar  Letters,  v.  I,  98. 
,.  23,  1842,  Id.,  v.  1,350- 


172         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

witnessed  the  tremendous  strides  made  by  temperance  in 
the  matter  of  intoxicating  liquors,  within  the  40  years  pre- 
ceding the  adoption  of  the  18th  amendment  to  the  Federal 
Constitution,  can  easily  decide  how  unfair  it  would  be  to 
judge  the  habits  of  Randolph's  day  by  those  of  even  forty 
years  ago.  We  say  nothing  about  fighting,  because,  wher- 
ever there  is  excessive  drinking,  there  will  be  fighting. 
The  companionship  between  the  two  is  as  close  as  that 
which  led  Alexander  Pope  in  his  sententious  way  to  afnrm 
that  every  liquorish  mouth  must  have  a  lecherous  tail. 
In  Randolph's  time  excessive  drinking  was  common  in 
every  part  of  our  country.  In  his  Advice  to  Connecticut 
Folks,  published  in  1786,  Noah  Webster,  Jr.,  says: 

"Not  a  mechanic  or  a  laborer  goes  to  work  for  a  merchant 
but  he  carries  home  a  bottle  of  rum.  Not  a  load  of  wood  comes 
to  town  but  a  gallon  bottle  is  tied  to  a  cart  stake  to  be  filled 
with  rum.  Scarcely  a  woman  comes  to  town  but  a  gallon  bottle 
is  tied  to  the  cart  stake  to  be  filled  with  rum." 

Webster  computed  that  the  people  of  Connecticut  were 
then  spending  £  90,000  a  year  for  rum — a  sum  somewhat 
in  excess  of  the  expenses  of  the  State  Government.  Judge 
Ebenezer  Rockwood  Hoar  could  recall  the  fact  that  in 
1824,  when  he  was  eight  years  old,  he  and  another  boy 
picnicked  in  the  woods,  and  that  his  mother,  a  Connecticut 
woman,  gave  them  a  bottle  of  punch  to  take  with  them. 
He  also  remembered  that,  during  his  boyhood,  when  any 
young  child  died  at  Concord,  Massachusetts,  "the  pall- 
bearers were  selected  among  the  young  boys,  and  a  room 
was  set  aside  for  them,  in  which  a  table  was  set  with  bot- 
tles of  rum,  whiskey  and  gin,  and  each  of  the  boys  freely 
partook."1  And  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  is  not  picturing 
Silenus  and  his  purple  faced  crew,  but  the  members  of  one 
of  the  Blowing  Clubs  of  Harvard  in  or  about  the  year 
1 82 1,  when  he  pens  these  words: 

1  Editorial  in  New  York  Times,  Oct.  13,  19 18. 


Randolph's  District  173 

"One  of  these  societies,  which  is  yet  in  existence,  though  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  the  habits  of  its  members  have  improved,  was 
wont  to  have  a  dinner  on  exhibition  days.  After  the  exercises 
in  the  Chapel,  the  brethren  would  march  to  Porter's  Tavern, 
preceded  by  a  full  band ;  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  return 
in  the  same  way.  First,  would  come  the  band,  the  only  steady 
part  of  the  show,  whose  music  attracted  a  crowd  of  lookers-on. 
Then  came,  reeling  and  swaying  from  side  to  side,  a  mass  of 
Bacchanals  in  all  stages  of  intoxication."1  (a) 

Everywhere  in  the  United  States,  intoxicating  liquors 
have  now  been  placed  under  the  ban  of  the  law,  and 
nowhere  did  the  public  opinion,  which  has  brought  about 
this  result  assert  itself  sooner  than  in  rural  communities 
in  Virginia  like  Randolph's  District.  Indeed,  in  some  of 
them  the  general  prohibitory  measure,  which  Virginia 
adopted  in  advance  of  the  adoption  of  the  18th  amend- 
ment to  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  that  amendment 
were  merely  declaratory  of  a  condition  which  an  irresisti- 
ble public  sentiment  had  already  decreed.  While  we  are 
dwelling  upon  a  county  court  day  in  Charlotte  County, 
we  might  add  that  nothing  could  be  more  strikingly  indica- 
tive of  the  conservative  character  of  the  people  of  Ran- 
dolph's District  than  the  infrequency  of  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place  in  County  Court  Clerkships  in  it  except 
as  the  result  of  death  or  resignation.  Cumberland 
County  was  organized  in  1748;  Buckingham  County  in 
1 761;  Prince  Edward  County  in  1754,  and  Charlotte 
County  in  1765.  The  first  three  clerks  of  Cumberland 
County — a  father,  son,  and  grandson, — held  the  office  in 
succession  for  100  years;  the  first  three  clerks  of  Prince 
Edward  County  held  it  for  the  same  length  of  time;  the 
first  four  clerks  of  Charlotte  County  held  it  for  98  years, 
and  in  160  years  Buckingham  County  has  had  but  some 
six  clerks. 

1  Figures  of  the  Past,  43. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Randolph  on  the  Hustings 

Such,  so  to  speak,  was  the  sounding-board  under  which 
Randolph  spoke  on  the  hustings  in  his  District.  How 
effectively  he  spoke  to  both  the  eye  and  the  ear  of  his 
Southside  Virginia  auditors  we  are  in  a  position  fully  to 
know.  In  his  Recollections,  William  B.  Green,  a  resident 
of  Charlotte  County,  who  cherished  a  decidedly  hostile 
feeling  towards  him,  says  of  him: 

"When  I  first  knew  him  he  was  about  35  or  36  years  of  age. 
He  was  then  a  Republican,  and  hated  Federalism  with  a 
perfect  hatred;  but,  notwithstanding  this,  he  was  always 
regarded  in  heart  and  in  sentiment  an  Englishman  to  the  core. 
In  his  earlier  speeches,  he  was  guilty  of  what  might  be  con- 
sidered as  bad  taste  at  the  present  day,  namely :  too  frequently 
quoting  and  making  allusions  to  English  authors — Milton, 
Shakespeare,  Tillotson,  Sherlock,  Burke,  and  so  on.  The 
coincidence  of  manner  and  thought  between  the  speeches  of 
Mr.  Randolph  and  the  writings  of  Laurence  Sterne  has  always 
appeared  to  my  mind  so  striking  that  I  have  not  been  able  to 
resist  the  belief  that  he  had,  without  making  the  acknowledg- 
ment, appropriated  the  manner  and  thought  of  that  great  writer. 
But,  however  this  may  have  been,  I  am  free  to  acknowledge 
that,  in  my  poor  judgment,  Mr.  Randolph  was  by  far  the 
greatest  and  most  interesting  speaker  I  have  ever  heard  or 
ever  expect  to  hear. " r 

In  the  same  Recollections,  Green  says  of  the  speech 
made  by  Randolph  at  Charlotte  Court  House  in  1833,  m 

1  Bouldin,  27. 

174 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  175 

support  of  the  series  of  resolutions,  drawn  by  him,  which 
condemned  the  Nullification  Proclamation  of  Andrew 
Jackson : 

"He  was  anxious  ...  to  have  the  speech  which  he  was 
about  to  deliver  fully  taken  down,  but  fearing  that  this  might 
be  impracticable,  he  insisted  that  the  strong  points  and  the 
biting  parts  at  least  should  be  preserved,  and,  in  conclusion, 
said :  'When  I  say  anything  that  tickles  under  the  tail,  be  sure 
to  put  it  down.'  The  speech  was  then  commenced,  and  he 
spoke  for  a  considerable  time  with  overwhelming  power  and 
unsurpassed  eloquence.     The  resolutions  were  then  passed."1 

The  following  are  the  recollections  of  James  W.  Bouldin, 
another  resident  of  Charlotte  County : 

"The  first  time  I  saw  Mr.  Randolph  was  at  Prince  Edward 
Court  in  October  1808  or  09.  He  was  then  at  his  zenith.  For 
the  first  time  since  his  first  election,  which  was  closely  con- 
tested with  Powhatan  Boiling,  some  opposition  began  to 
discover  itself  to  him  in  the  District.  It  was  said  he  was  to 
speak,  and  I  rode  twenty  miles  to  hear  him.  I  remember  well 
his  appearance.  When  I  saw  him,  he  was  approaching  the" 
court-house,  walking  very  slowly,  and  alone — a  tall,  spare, 
straight  man,  very  neatly  dressed  in  summer  apparel — shoes, 
nankeen  gaiters  and  pantaloons,  white  vest,  drab  cloth  coat 
of  very  fine  quality,  and  white  beaver  hat.  Though  he  had 
no  shape  but  that  he  was  forked,  and  had  very  long  arms,  all 
the  way  of  the  same  size,  with  long  bony  fingers,  with  gloves  on, 
still  he  had  a  most  graceful  appearance.  His  bow,  notwith- 
standing it  was  slight,  bending  his  body  very  little,  and  rather 
leaning  his  head  back  than  forward,  was  winning  to  those  to 
whom  it  was  addressed,  and  seemed  to  carry  with  it  marked 
attention  and  respect.  His  eyes  were  hazel,  of  the  darkest  hue, 
and  had  the  appearance  of  being  entirely  black,  unless  you  were 
very  near  him.  They  opened  round,  and,  when  open,  nearly 
hid  the  lids,  the  dark  long  lashes  only  showing.  Their 
brilliancy  surpassed  any  I  have  ever  seen.     His  appearance 

1  Id.,  p.  178. 


176         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

was  remarkable  and  commanding,  and  would  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  any  one.  His  manner,  though  stately,  possessed  a 
charm  to  those  to  whom  he  wished  to  make  himself  agreeable, 
but  had  something  terrible  in  it  to  those  to  whom  he  felt  a 
dislike.     To  mere  strangers  it  was  simply  lofty  and  graceful. 


"Very  soon  after  Mr.  Randolph  made  his  appearance,  the 
people  began  to  gather  around  the  steps  of  the  railing,  where 
those  who  addressed  them  generally  stood.  Much  curiosity 
was  discovered  to  hear  him,  and  I  suppose  of  various  kinds. 
Politicians,  I  imagine,  wished  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say  on 
public  affairs,  and  others  for  other  reasons.  My  anxiety  was 
to  hear  a  great  orator  speak.  He  made  but  a  short  address; 
but  I  was  much  gratified.  He  was  the  first  very  great  man 
I  had  ever  heard  deliver  a  public  speech. 

"I  remember  his  commencement.  It  was  thus:  'After,  an 
absence,  fellow-citizens,  of  nearly  six  months,  I  have  returned 
to  the  bosom  of  my  constituents  to  be — chastised.'  .  .  . 

"I  remember  little  else  now  of  what  he  said  literally.  He 
was  defending  himself  against  charges  made  of  his  having 
deserted  the  Republican  party. 

"As  to  his  manner,  its  fascination  was  felt  by  all  who  ever 
heard  him,  and  those  who  have  not,  can  be  little  edified  by  any 
attempt  to  describe  it.'1  .  .  . 

"  Probably  Mr.  Randolph's  greatest  efforts  at  speaking  were 
made  during  the  canvass  with  Mr.  Eppes,  in  which  he  was 
beaten.  I  heard  many  of  them,  including  the  one  at  Prince 
Edward  court,  in  the  Fall  preceding  the  election.  He  was  told 
by  a  friend  that  this  was  considered  to  be  the  best  speech  he 
ever  made.  He  replied  that  it  was  the  only  time  he  ever  felt 
conscious  of  being  eloquent,  while  speaking.  He  remarked 
that  he  felt  the  truth  of  what  Mark  Antony  said— 'Passion, 
thou  art  catching'— that  he  felt  the  electricity  passing  from 
him  to  the  crowd,  and  from  the  crowd  back  to  him. 

"I  remember  but  one  expression,  literally,  during  that 
speech.  Speaking  of  Bonaparte's  strides  to  universal  domin- 
ion, he  said :  '  He  stood  with  one  foot  upon  European,  and  the 
other  upon  American,  shores.     It  is  said  that  Moloch  smiled 

1  Bouldin,  47. 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  177 

at  the  blood  of  human  sacrifice  running  at  the  foot  of  the  altar; 
this  great  arch  enemy  of  mankind  is  now  grinning  and  smiling 
at  American  blood,  flowing  in  support  of  his  inordinate  ambi- 
tion. ' 

"He  spoke  for  an  hour,  perhaps,  and,  when  he  concluded,  I 
found  myself  musing  and  walking  without  any  aim  or  object ; 
and  looking  around,  found  the  crowd  gradually  dispersing  in 
the  same  mood.  The  Rev.  Moses  Hoge  was  sitting  in  a  chair 
opposite  the  speaker,  and  remained  till  I  observed  him,  still 
with  his  mouth  open,  and  looking  steadfastly  in  the  same 
direction.  Parson  Lyle  was  standing  by  him.  Said  Mr. 
Hoge  to  Lyle,  'I  never  heard  the  like  before,  and  I  never 
expect  to  hear  the  like  again."1 

"I  remember  verbatim  a  portion  of  the  commencement  of  a 
speech  he  made  at  Charlotte  Court,  which,  from  its  peculiar 
style  of  parenthesis,  will  be  recognized  by  all  who  were  ac- 
quainted with  his  manner  of  expression.  He  was  excusing 
himself,  on  the  ground  of  ill  health,  for  declining  the  service  of 
the  people,  after  their  long  continued  confidence  in  him.  He 
said :  '  I  am  going  across  the  sea  to  patch  up  and  preserve  a 
shattered  frame — a  frame  worn  out  in  your  service,  and  to 
lengthen  out  yet  a  little  longer,  (hitherto  certainly)  not  a  very 
happy  existence ;  for,  excepting  the  one  upbraided  by  a  guilty 
conscience,  no  life  can  be  more  unhappy  that  that,  the  days 
of  which  are  spent  in  pain  and  sickness,  and  the  nights  in  tra- 
vail and  sorrow. ' 

"During  this  address  he  remarked:  'I  was  going  to  say  in 
the  sincerity  of  the  poet,  but  the  sincerity  of  the  poet  is  some- 
what doubted; — I  can  say  with  truth,  in  the  language  of  the 
poet, — 

1  Fare  ye  well ;  and  if  forever, 
Still  forever,  fare  ye  well. ' 

"Just  as  he  had  concluded,  and  was  putting  on  his  hat  (he 
always  spoke  with  it  off) ,  as  he  was  stepping  down  to  the  next 
step,  weak  and  somewhat  tottering,  he  said:  'The  flesh  is 
indeed  weak,  though  the  spirit  is  strong. ' 2 

1  Bouldin,  51.  *  Id.,  53. 

VOL.  II — 12 


178         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"Mr.  J.  Robinson,  a  clergyman  of  distinguished  ability, 
dined  with  me  the  day  on  which  he  made  this  speech.  He  was 
opposed  to  Mr.  Randolph  in  politics,  but  was  a  great  admirer 
of  his  genius.  He  remarked :  '  He  had  not  supposed  that  Mr. 
Randolph  had  any  pathos,  as  he  had  never  before  heard  him 
in  that  strain,  but  that  now  he  was  forced  to  confess,  after 
having  heard  all  the  distinguished  orators  of  the  then  just  past 
age,  from  Patrick  Henry  down,  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  the 
most  pathetic  man  he  ever  heard  open  his  lips. ' 

"1  certainly  saw  tears  roll  down  the  cheeks  of  men  who  hated 
him  then,  and  would  curse  his  memory  now  if  he  were  named  in 
their  presence. 

"I  think  these  addresses  did  more  to  make  firm  his  popular- 
ity, which,  during  the  war,  had  been  a  little  shaken,  than  any- 
thing he  ever  did.  They  soothed,  softened,  and  set  aside 
much  of  the  bitterness  which  had  been  engendered  during 
those  bitter  party  conflicts. 

"Though  this  was  the  first  and  only  time  I  ever  heard  Mr. 
Randolph  deliver  a  speech  wholly  in  this  strain  of  pathos,  and 
sober  wisdom  and  counsel,  I  had  often  witnessed  touches  of  the 
same  in  other  speeches,  and  his  power  of  fascination  in  private, 
when  he  chose  to  exert  it,  with  wonder  and  amazement."1 

These  recollections  are  valuable,  because,  in  addition  to 
still  more  important  reasons,  they  tend  to  confirm  our 
faith  in  human  testimony  by  disclosing  physical  circum- 
stances which  enable  us  to  understand  why  some  of  Ran- 
dolph's contemporaries  should  have  thought  his  eyes 
hazel  and  others  black. 

Of  equal  value  are  the  recollections  of  William  H. 
Elliott,  a  resident  of  Charlotte  County: 

"It  has  been  said  by  some,  who  have  heard  Mr.  Randolph 
both  in  Congress  and  on  the  hustings,  that  on  the  latter  theatre 
he  made  his  most  fascinating  and  brilliant  displays.  I  never 
heard  him  in  Congress,  but  I  cannot  conceive  that  anything  he 
uttered  there  could  possibly  surpass  what  I  have  heard  on  the 
hustings. 

1  Bouldin,  53. 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  *79 

"Most  generally,  whenever  it  was  expected  he  would  speak, 
a  large  proportion  of  the  crowd  would  anticipate  his  arrival 
by  some  hour  or  two,  and  gather  around  the  stand  to  secure  a 
close  proximity  to  the  speaker.  But  when  he  was  seen  to  move 
forward  to  the  rostrum,  then  the  court-house,  every  store,  and 
tavern,  and  peddler's  stall,  and  auctioneer's  stand,  and  private 
residence,  was  deserted,  and  the  speaker  saw  beneath  him  a 
motionless  mass  of  humanity,  and  a  sea  of  upturned  faces. 
When  he  rose,  with  a  deliberate  motion,  he  took  off  his  hat, 
and  made  a  slight  inclination  of  the  body,  a  motion  in  which 
grace  and  humility  seemed  inexplicably  blended.  Now  the 
grace  was  natural,  but  the  humility  was  affected,  but  with 
such  consummate  address  as  to  pass  for  genuine,  except  among 
those  who  know  that  artis  est  celare  artem.  His  exordium  was 
brief,  but  always  peculiarly  appropriate.  His  gestures  were  few 
and  simple,  yet  exactly  no  more  or  fewer  than  what  the 
occasion  called  for.  With  many  public  speakers,  there  seems 
to  be  an  unpruned  luxuriance  of  gesticulation,  laboring  most 
painfully  to  bring  forth  a  mouse  of  an  idea.  But,  in  the  case 
of  Mr.  Randolph,  the  idea  was  sure  to  be  bigger  than  the 
gesture  that  accompanied  it.  His  voice  was  unique,  but  yet  so 
perfect  was  his  pronunciation,  and  so  sharp  the  outlines  of 
every  sound,  that,  as  far  as  his  voice  could  be  heard,  his  words 
could  be  distinguished.  In  short,  his  speaking  was  exquisite 
vocal  music.  An  accurate  ear  could  distinguish,  as  he  went 
along,  commas,  semi-colons,  colons,  full  stops,  exclamation 
and  interrogation  points,  all  in  their  proper  places.  In  advert- 
ing to  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  overruling  agency  of 
Providence  in  the  affairs  of  man,  no  minister  of  the  gospel  could 
raise  his  eyes  to  Heaven  with  a  look  more  impressively  rever- 
ential. If  the  reader  will  look  at  Hamlet's  advice  to  the 
players,  and  conceive  it  to  be  punctually  followed  to  the  letter, 
Shakspeare  will  give  him  a  better  idea  of  Randolph's  oratory 
than  he  can  derive  from  any  other  source.  He  seemed  to  have 
discarded  from  his  vocabulary  most  of  those  sonorous  ses- 
quipedalia  verba,  which  enter  so  largely  into  the  staple  of 
modern  oratory,  and  to  have  trimmed  down  his  language  to  the 
nudest  possible  simplicity  consistent  with  strength.  When 
he  had  gotten  fully  warmed  with  the  subject,  all  idea  of  any- 


180         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

thing  nearer  to  perfection  in  eloquence  was  held  in  utter  abey- 
ance, and,  when  he  concluded,  all  felt  that  they  had  never 
heard  the  like  before."1 

And  these  are  the  recollections  of  Dr.  C.  H.  Jordan,  a 
resident  of  Halifax  County,  Va.,  who,  after  saying  that 
Randolph  had  the  longest  fingers  that  he  had  ever  seen, 
goes  on  as  follows: 

' '  His  head  was  not  very  large,  but  was  symmetrical  in  the 
highest  degree.  His  eyes  were  brilliant  beyond  description, 
indicating  to  a  thoughtful  observer  a  brain  of  the  highest 
order.  No  one  could  look  into  them  without  having  this  truth 
so  indelibly  impressed  upon  his  own  mind  that  Time's  busy 
Fingers  may  strive  in  vain  to  efface  the  impression.  His  eye, 
his  forefinger  and  his  foot  were  the  members  used  in  gesticu- 
lation; and,  in  impressing  a  solemn  truth,  a  warning,  or  a 
proposition  to  which  he  wished  to  call  the  attention  of  his 
audience  particularly,  he  could  use  his  foot  with  singular  and 
thrilling  effect.  The  ring  of  the  slight  patting  of  his  foot  was 
in  perfect  accord  with  the  clear  musical  intonations  of  that 
voice  which  belonged  only  to  Mr.  Randolph.  In  his  appeals 
to  High  Heaven,  the  God  of  the  Universe,  the  Final  Judge  of  all 
the  Earth,  with  his  eyes  turned  heavenward,  and  that  'long 
bony  finger'  pointing  to  the  skies,  both  gradually  lowering  as 
the  appeal  or  invocation  closed,  the  moral  effect  was  so  thrilling 
that  every  man  left  the  scene  with  (for  the  time  at  least)  a 
better  heart  than  he  carried  there. 

"The 'long  bony  finger'  really  appeared,  when  used  in  gesticu- 
lation, to  have  no  bone  in  it ;  for,  when  it  had  accomplished 
what  it  had  been  called  into  action  for,  it  would  fall  over  on  the 
back  of  his  hand,  almost  as  limp  as  a  string,  as  if,  having  done 
its  work,  it  sought  repose." 

Dr.  Jordan  then  passes  to  the  remarkable  speech  de- 
livered by  Randolph  at  Halifax  Court  House  in  the  spring 
of  1827: 

1  Bouldin,  55. 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  181 

"He  came  to  breast  the  flood  then  rolling  on  from  the 
western  portion  of  the  State  for  a  convention.  In  spite  of  all 
his  efforts,  however,  the  stream  increased,  until  it  found  tem- 
porary rest  in  the  convention  of  1829.  It  had  been  known  for 
a  long  time  and  for  many  miles  around,  that  he  would  be  there 
upon  that  occasion,  and  would  address  the  people  on  that 
question.  The  time  drew  nigh;  the  people  everywhere  were 
talking  about  it ;  expectation  ran  high.  The  day  arrived  and 
the  crowd  was  immense,  the  largest  I  ever  saw  at  a  country 
gathering,  variously  estimated  at  from  six  to  ten  thousand, 
representing  all  the  bordering  counties  in  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina. 

"As  the  hour  approached,  every  countenance  beamed  with 
anticipation,  or  was  grave  with  anxiety ;  for  the  weather  was  a 
little  inauspicious,  and  Mr.  Randolph's  health  was  bad.  It 
was  known  that  he  had  reached  Judge  Leigh's,  but  fears  were 
entertained  that  he  might  be  deterred  by  the  weather.  About 
10  o'clock,  however,  the  thin  clouds  vanished,  and,  about  11, 
news  passed  like  an  electric  current  through  the  vast  multitude 
that  he  was  coming.  In  an  instant,  the  crowd  began  moving 
slowly  and  noiselessly  towards  the  upper  tavern.  Scarcely  had 
they  reached  the  summit  of  the  slope  between  the  court-house 
and  the  tavern,  when  they  saw  him  coming  on  horseback,  his 
carriage  in  the  rear,  driven  by  one  of  his  servants.  As  he  drew 
near,  the  crowd  simultaneously  divided  to  each  side  of  the 
street,  making  a  broad  avenue  along  which  he  passed,  hat  in 
hand,  bowing  gracefully  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  until  he 
reached  the  lower  tavern.  The  people,  with  uncovered  heads, 
silently  returned  the  graceful  salutation.  As  he  passed  on  to 
the  lower  tavern,  the  multitude  followed  in  profound  silence, 
not  a  shout  nor  a  word  being  heard.  Alighting  and  going  in 
for  a  few  moments,  he  soon  reappeared,  crossed  the  'street, 
ascended  the  steps  leading  over  to  the  court-house,  and 
began." 

Here  follows  a  resume  by  Dr.  Jordan  of  the  topics  on 
which  the  speech  descanted,  including  the  agitation  which 
was  under  way  for  a  change  in  the  suffrage  prescribed  by 
the  existing  constitution  of  Virginia. 


1 82         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

At  one  point,  declares  Dr.  Jordan,  he  drew  a  striking  and 
vivid  picture  of  "the  Old  Ship  of  State"  sailing  amongst 
the  breakers,  "and,  with  extended  arms  and  eyes  raised  to 
Heaven,  he  threw  his  body  forward  (as  if  to  catch  her), 
crying  as  he  did  so  in  a  half -imploring,  half -confident 
tone,  'God  save  the  Old  Ship!'"  "It  was, "  Dr.  Jordan 
says,  "the  most  solemn,  the  most  impressive  gesture  I 
ever  saw  from  any  human  being ;  and  so  powerful  was  the 
impression  made,  that  the  whole  multitude,  many  with 
extended  arms,  seemed  to  move  involuntarily  forward,  as 
if  to  help  save  the  sinking  ship. " 

From  this  point,  Randolph  passed  on  to  other  topics, 
which  Dr.  Jordan  recalled  without  difficulty  after  the 
lapse  of  forty  years;  so  lasting  had  been  the  impression 
made  upon  his  mind  by  the  speech;  and,  finally,  Randolph 
concluded  by  warning  his  auditors  against  changes  in  the 
Federal  Constitution,  under  which  they  had  lived  and 
enjoyed  all  the  blessings  of  a  free  and  happy  people. 

"  Mind, gentlemen,"  Dr.  Jordan  remembers  him  to  have  said , 
"how  you  touch  it;  how  you  set  about  with  innovation.  Once 
gone,  you  may  never  restore  it.  Revolutions  never  go  back, 
but  on  and  on  they  roll;  no  returning  tide  brings  repose;  no 
bow  of  promise  spans  their  dark  horizon.  On  and  on  they  go, 
until  all  is  swallowed  up  in  the  abyss  of  anarehy  and  ruin ! " 

"  During  the  long  and  entertaining  speech,"  Dr.  Jordan  says, 
"every  man  of  both  races,  seemed  bound  to  the  earth  on  which 
he  stood;  not  one  moved." 

"The  Convention,  however,  was  called;  Mr.  Randolph  was 
elected  to  it;  served  with  characteristic  fidelity,  and  returned 
to  Halifax  in  1829  [1830]  to  give  an  account  of  his  stewardship. 
By  his  arduous  labors  in  that  body,  his  health  had  suffered 
greatly;  he  was  too  feeble  to  speak  out  doors,  and  the  county 
court,  then  in  session,  tendered  him  the  court-house,  which  he 
gratefully  accepted.  As  he  moved  up  to  the  bench,  it  was 
apparent  to  every  one  that  he  lacked  the  physical  ability  to 
entertain  the  people  as  he  had  done  on  the  previous  occasion. 
Taking  his  stand  on  the  county  court  bench,  and  supporting 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  183 

himself  with  one  hand  on  the  railing,  and  the  other  on  his  cane, 
he  began  by  returning  his  thanks  in  a  polite  and  graceful  man- 
ner to  the  worshipful  court  for  their  kindness  in  suspending 
their  business  to  accommodate  one  who  needed  so  much  their 
consideration.  He  told  them  it  must  be  plain  to  all  that  it  was 
the  last  speech  he  should  ever  make  in  Halifax.  He  gave  a 
succinct  statement  of  all  the  various  alterations  (he  would  not 
call  them  amendments)  proposed  to  the  Constitution,  and 
advised  the  people  to  vote  against  them." 

Randolph's  voice,  we  are  told  by  Dr.  Jordan,  was 
uncommonly  shrill,  "but  was  of  that  soft,  flute-like  charac- 
ter that  always  elicited  admiration."  Feeble  as  he  was 
for  nearly  his  whole  life,  he  could,  Dr.  Jordan  further  de- 
clares, always  so  modulate  it  as  to  make  every  member 
of  the  largest  assemblies  distinctly  hear  every  word 
that  he  uttered,  and  that  without  the  least  strain  on  his 
vocal  or  respiratory  organs. * 

A  timely  supplement  to  these  recollections  is  a  narrative 
by  Col.  Thomas  S.  Flournoy,  who,  when  a  lad,  with  his 
father  spent  a  night  at  Roanoke  on  the  eve  of  the  first 
speech  at  Halifax  Court  House  described  by  Dr.  Jordan. 

"My  father,"  this  narrative  says,  "inquired  after  Mr. 
Randolph's  health.  His  reply  was:  'John,  I  am  dying;  I  shall 
not  live  through  the  night.' 

1 '  My  father  informed  him  that  we  were  on  our  way  to  Halifax 
court.  He  requested  us  to  say  to  the  people  on  Monday, 
court  day,  that  he  was  no  longer  a  candidate  for  the  Conven- 
tion; that  he  did  not  expect  to  live  through  the  night,  certainly 
not  till  the  meeting  of  the  Convention. 

"He  soon  began  to  discuss  the  questions  of  reform  and  the 
proposed  changes  in  the  Constitution.  Becoming  excited,  he 
seemed  to  forget  that  he  was  a  'dying  man.'  In  a  short  time, 
we  were  invited  to  tea,  and,  when  we  returned  to  his  room,  we 
found  him  again  in  a  'dying'  condition;  but,  as  before,  he  soon 
began  to  discuss  the  subject  of  the  Convention ;  and,  becoming 

1  Bouldin,  57. 


184         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

more  and  more  animated,  he  rose  up  in  bed — my  father  and 
myself  being  the  only  auditors — and  delivered  one  of  the  most 
interesting  speeches,  in  conversational  style,  that  it  was  ever 
my  good  fortune  to  hear,  occupying  the  time,  from  half -past 
eight  until  midnight. 

"The  next  morning,  immediately  after  breakfast,  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph sent  for  us  again.  We  found  him  again  in  a  'dying' 
condition.  He  stated  to  us  that  he  was  satisfied  that  he  would 
not  live  through  the  day,  and  repeated  his  request  that  my 
father  would  have  it  announced  to  the  people  of  Halifax  that 
he  declined  being  a  candidate  for  the  Convention.  Once  more 
he  became  animated,  while  discussing  the  Convention,  and 
kept  us  till  10  o'clock  at  his  house.  When  we  were  about  to 
start,  he  took  solemn  leave  of  us,  saying:  'In  all  probability 
you  will  never  see  me  again. ' 

"Before  we  reached  Clark's  Ferry,  five  miles  distant,  I  heard 
some  one  coming  on  horseback,  pushing  to  overtake  us,  which 
proved  to  be  Mr.  Randolph,  with  Johnny  in  a  sulky  following. 

"We  traveled  on  together  until  we  came  to  the  road  leading 
to  Judge  Leigh's.  Mr.  Randolph  then  left  us,  to  spend  the 
night  with  Judge  Leigh.  The  next  morning,  Monday,  he  rode 
nine  miles  to  court,  where  an  immense  crowd  of  people  had 
assembled  to  hear  him.  He  addressed  them  in  the  open  air  on 
the  subject  of  the  Convention  in  a  strain  of  argument  and 
sarcastic  eloquence  rarely  equalled  by  any  one."1 

Most  vivid  of  all  are  these  Reminiscences  of  James  M. 
Whittle,  a  gifted  lawyer  of  Pittsylvania  County,  Virginia: 

"At  March  Term,  1 821,  of  Prince  Edward  County  Court,  it 
was  expected  that  Mr.  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  would  be 
present,  on  his  way  home  from  Washington  city,  on  the  close 
of  the  then  recent  session  of  Congress.  I  was  then  a  boy  at 
school  in  the  neighborhood — in  my  sixteenth  year.  The 
universal  expectation  of  this  event,  as  usual,  induced  a  general 
desire  among  the  people  to  look  upon  this  strange  man,  as 
much  so  to  those  who  had  seen  him  from  his  youth  up,  [and] 
to  his  constituents,  whom  he  had  represented  in  Congress  for 

1  Bouldin,  62. 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  185 

more  than  twenty  years,  as  to  those  who  had  derived  their 
impressions  of  him  from  the  tongue  of  rumor  alone.  It  was 
near  the  time  of  the  Congressional  Election,  for  which  he 
stood  a  candidate;  and,  in  the  session  just  ended,  had  been 
settled,  as  was  supposed,  the  'Missouri  Question,'  after  [the] 
convulsive  struggles  of  two  sessions.  The  crowd  found  at 
court  was  much  larger  than  usual,  and  throbbing  with  anxiety 
to  see — hoping  to  hear — a  man,  so  extraordinary  in  all  respects, 
that  a  promiscuous  mingling  with  my  race,  in  many  differing 
phases,  in  the  long  years,  which  have  since  rolled  away,  has 
failed  to  furnish  me  with  a  suggestion — much  less  a  likeness — 
of  him. 

''In  a  short  time,  after  reaching  the  court-house,  groups  of 
people  were  seen  hurrying  to  a  spot  down  the  road  some 
hundred  yards  off.  Joining  the  throng,  I  followed  on,  and  dis- 
covered a  dense  crowd  surrounding  a  person  in  a  sulky,  drawn 
by  a  gray  horse,  and,  behind  it,  a  negro  seated  on  another  of 
the  same  color,  apparently  its  match.  The  heads  of  these 
animals  were  lifted  high  above  the  spectators,  and  looked  down 
upon  them  with  disdainful  pride.  On  approaching,  it  was 
observed  that  the  sulky  and  harness  were  deep  black,  with 
brilliant  plated  mountings,  the  shafts  bent  to  a  painful  seg- 
ment of  a  circle,  the  horses  of  the  best  keep,  as  doubtless  they 
were  of  the  highest  blood.  The  servant,  who  was  of  the 
profoundest  sable,  carried  a  high  black  portmanteau  behind 
him,  and  was  attired  in  clothing  of  the  same  hue.  Quite  a 
strong  contrast — possibly  designed — was  exhibited  between 
the  masses  of  intense  darkness  and  the  plating,  the  horses,  the 
teeth  and  shirt  collar  of  the  servant.  The  order  of  the  whole 
equipage  was  complete.  The  tenant  of  the  sulky  was  as  frail  a 
man  as  I  have  ever  seen.  He  was  conversing  pleasantly  with 
the  people. 

"I  heard  nothing  he  said.  He  soon  bowed  gracefully  to 
the  crowd,  which  gave  way  before  him,  and  he  passed  on;  it 
following  him.  The  throng  increased  as  he  proceeded  to  an 
old-fashioned  Virginia  inn  near  the  court-house,  by  which  time 
it  was  swollen  by  the  addition  of  most  of  the  persons  on  the 
ground,  and  became  a  dense  mass.  A  twitch  was  felt  by  some 
of  the  spectators  at  observing  so  delicate  a  man  at  the  mercy  of 


1 86         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

apparently  so  terrific  a  horse,  which  seemed  to  have  its  driver 
completely  in  its  power,  but  which  he  managed  with  entire 
composure.  Mr.  Randolph  alighted  with  a  feeble  step,  passed 
through  the  porch  of  the  inn  into  a  passage,  followed  by  a 
crowd,  and  disappeared  within  a  room,  the  door  of  which  was 
immediately  closed.  The  people  remained  before  the  door  of 
the  inn,  awaiting  his  reappearance,  without  noise  or  confusion. 
After  lolling  awhile,  Mr.  Randolph  came  out  and  proceeded 
toward  the  court-house.  The  crowd  followed — keeping  a 
respectful  distance ;  by  his  side,  walked  some  of  his  elderly  and 
prominent  constituents,  with  whom  he  conversed  familiarly 
on  the  way.  It  happened  to  me  to  have  a  position  from  which 
I  could  discern  his  form  and  action.  He  was  the  merest 
skeleton  of  a  man;  any  boy  of  fifteen  could,  likely,  have 
mastered  him.  His  extreme  emaciation  may  have  magnified 
his  apparent  height,  which  was  about  six  feet.  There  seemed 
to  be  a  want  of  action  about  his  knees,  which  were  somewhat 
in-turned.  He  drew  them  up  in  walking,  and  did  not  throw 
his  feet  boldly  forward.  More  than  the  usual  amount  of  the 
bottom  of  the  feet  was  seen  as  he  moved,  and  he  placed  these 
directly  forward  as  the  Indians  do:  On  reaching  the  court- 
house pale,  he  stopped  and  conversed  with  a  good  many  people, 
when  a  lawyer  came  up  and  introduced  one  of  his  brethren  to 
Mr.  Randolph.  The  latter  passed  through  the  introduction 
with  commanding  dignity  and  grace.  Having  passed  over  the 
steps  within,  the  court-house  yard,  some  of  his  constituents 
solicited  him  to  speak  to  the  people ;  this  he  seemed  reluctant 
to  do,  but,  after  some  importunity  he  consented,  and  retired 
to  a  bench  near  by,  put  his  elbows  about  his  knees,  inserted 
his  head  between  his  hands  and  seemed  to  be  in  profound 
meditation  for  a  few  moments.  In  this  position,  the  want  of 
proportion  between  the  length  of  his  body  and  of  his  lower 
limbs  was  striking,  so  much  so  that  his  knees  seemed  to 
intrude  themselves  into  his  face.  He  then  approached  the 
steps  with  a  languid' and  infirm  tread,  ascended  them,  took  off 
his  hat,  and  made  his  bow  to  his  audience  in  the  most  impres- 
sive and  majestic  manner  that  can  be  conceived.  It  may  be 
doubted  whether  there  lives  in  America  a  man  who  can  do  this 
as  he  did  it.     His  countenance  and  manner  were  solemn — 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  187 

funereal.  Subsequent  information  enabled  me  to  account  for 
what  would  seem  to  have  been  without  occasion.  He  had 
just  emerged  from  a  contest  in  Congress,  running  through  two 
sessions,  into  which  he  had  thrown  his  whole  power;  the  result 
of  which  had  filled  him  with  apprehensions  of  the  ruin  of  the 
Union,  and,  from  the  rebound  of  the  loosened  tension,  he  was 
left  sick  and  solemn.  The  outer  man  was  now  fully  presented 
to  those  before  him.  He  was  evidently  a  great  sufferer  from 
disease,  and,  likely,  the  sturdy  working  of  his  impatient 
intellect  had  strained  too  severely  the  feeble  case  which  con- 
tained it.  He  appeared  to  be  the  Englishman  and  Indian 
mixed ;  the  latter  assuming  the  outer,  the  former  the  larger, 
part  of  the  inner,  man.  His  dress  was  all  English — all  over. 
His  hat  was  black;  his  coat  was  blue,  with  brilliant  metallic 
buttons  and  velvet  collar;  his  breeches  and  vest  drab,  with 
fair-topped  English  boots  and  massive  silver  spurs — likely 
they  were  ancestral;  his  watch  ribbon  sustained  a  group  of 
small  seals — heirlooms,  it  may  be,  from  times  beyond  Crom- 
well. His  age  must  have  been  about  forty-three ;  his  hair  was 
bright  brown,  straight,  not  perceptibly  gray,  thrown  back 
from  his  forehead  and  tied  into  a  queue,  neither  long  nor  thick. 
His  complexion  was  swarthy;  his  face  beardless,  full,  round 
and  plump;  his  eye  hazel,  brilliant,  inquisitive,  proud;  his 
mouth  was  of  delicate  cast,  well  suited  to  a  small  head  and 
face,  filled  with  exquisite  teeth,  well  kept  as  they  could  be; 
his  lips  painted,  as  it  were,  with  indigo,  indicating  days  of 
suffering  and  nights  of  torturing  pain.  His  hands  were  as  fair 
and  delicate  as  any  girl's.  Every  part  of  his  dress  and  person 
was  evidently  accustomed  to  the  utmost  care. 

"His  face  was  the  most  beautiful  and  attractive  to  me  I 
had  almost  ever  seen.  There  was  no  acerbity  about  it  that 
day,  his  manner  was  calm  and  bland,  though  sustained  by  a 
graceful  and  lofty  dignity.  It  was  apprehended  that  a  body 
so  frail  encased  a  group  of  shattered  and  tremulous  nerves,  and 
that  the  prominence  of  his  position,  and  what  was  expected  of 
him,  might  put  these  in  an  ague  of  agitation.  Though  he  was 
as  much  excited  as  a  speaker  could  well  be,  yet  he  did  not 
betray  his  emotion  by  any  quivering  of  lip,  tremor  of  a  nerve, 
or  hurry  of  a  word.     He  seemed  in  this,  as  in  most  other 


1 88    John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

respects,  to  differ  from  all  other  men.  He  was  calm,  slow  and 
solemn  throughout  his  address.  The  text  of  it,  as  has  been 
intimated,  was  the  'Missouri  Compromise,'  and  he  expended 
not  more  than  fifteen  minutes  in  its  delivery.  His  manner 
was  deliberate  beyond  any  speaker  I  have  ever  heard.  This 
so  differed  from  my  expectation  of  him,  as  to  dispel  the  ideal  of 
tempestuous  rapidity,  which  his  cynic  and  impassioned  repu- 
tation had  inspired.  It  was  obvious,  however,  that  the  supreme 
mastery  which  he  had  over  himself  was  essential  to  the  deadly 
aim  of  his  arrow,  and  the  fatal  mixing  of  the  poison  in  which 
he  dipped  it.  He  stood  firm  in  his  position,  his  action  and 
grace  seemed  to  be  from  the  knee  up.  His  voice  was  that  of  a 
well-toned  flageolet,  the  key  conversational,  though  swelled  to 
its  utmost  compass.  The  grandeur  of  his  mien  and  his  im- 
pressive salutation  may  have  composed  his  audience  into  the 
deep  silence  which  prevailed,  but  the  uttering  a  few  words  dis- 
closed a  power  of  engaging  attention  which  I  have  met  with  in 
no  other  man — his  articulation.  Without  this,  it  is  hard  to 
conceive  how,  in  the  open  air,  he  could  have  been  so  distinctly 
heard  by  so  large  a  mass.  He  was  greatly  aided  too  by  his 
self-possession,  as  in  his  feeble  state  it  must  have  been  essential 
to  command  every  faculty  and  every  art  which  could  contri- 
bute to  the  result  desired.  Not  only  every  word  and  syllable, 
but  it  seemed  that  every  letter  of  every  word  in  every  syllable, 
was  distinctly  sounded  (there  was  a  perceptible  interval,  it 
appeared,  between  each  of  his  words,  as  they  dropped  one  by 
one  from  his  lips) ;  and  that  he  had  supplied  himself  with  a 
given  quantum  of  speech  before  he  commenced,  determined  by 
its  judicious  use  to  accomplish  a  proposed  effect.  .  .  . 

"I  did  not  comprehend  the  subject  he  was  discussing,  nor 
know  even  its  leading  facts;  but  he  dwelt  chiefly  on  the  dis- 
solution of  the  Union  as  the  effect  of  the  compromise;  and  here 
Roscius  did  well  act  his  part.  As  if  startled  by  the  bursting 
asunder  of  the  materials  of  some  massive  building,  in  which  he 
was,  he  drew  up  his  shoulders,  his  head  seemed  to  sink  between 
them,  his  bust  was  bent  forward,  and  his  face  filled  with  horror. 
His  concluding  words:  'We  fought  manfully  the  good  fight, 
and  we  are  beaten,'  seem  inadequate  to  any  oratorical  effect; 
but  Roscius  took  them  up,  and  equipped  them  for  their 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  189 

work.  The  speaker  must  allude  to  the  faithful  valor  of  the 
combat — how  'manfully'  it  was  fought.  Here  the  fever- 
parched  lips  were  compressed,  the  finger  pointed  to  the  skies 
and,  bowing  in  sad  but  lofty  recognition  of  his  fate,  and  with  e 
countenance  hung  with  pictures  of  anxiety,  came  the  words 
— 'We  are  beaten';  and  he  retired."1 

When  the  Virginia  Convention  of  ,1829-30  adjourned, 
the  first  act  of  Randolph  was  to  make  this  entry  in  his  1830 
Journal:  "  Convention  dissolved.  La  us  Deo."2  And  his 
next  was  to  render  an  account  of  his  stewardship  to  his 
constituents  at  Charlotte  Court  House  on  court-day,  in 
the  month  of  April,  1830,  and  we  have  good  reason  to 
believe  that  his  speech  on  this  occasion  was  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  of  his  whole  career.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Wm. 
S.  Plumer  declared  that  his  judgment,  after  the  lapse  of 
nearly  forty-seven  years,  was  that  it  was  one  of  the  most 
effective  speeches  that  he  had  ever  heard.  "It  was 
conclusive, "  he  affirmed.  "No  one  asked  any  questions. 
The  old  men  wept.  "3  Speaking,  in  the  course  of  the  ad- 
dress, of  the  trust  that  had  been  committed  to  him  by  his 
constituents,  after  referring  to  himself  characteristically 
as  being  full  of  bruises  and  putrefying  sores  from  the  crown 
of  his  head  to  the  soles  of  his  feet,  and  solemnly  asking, 
"People  of  Charlotte,  which  of  you  is  without  sin?"  he 
exclaimed:  "Take  it  back!  Take  it  back!"  with  such  a 
dramatic  gesture,  as  if  he  were  rolling  a  great  stone  from 
his  breast,  that  one  of  his  auditors  afterwards  described 
himself  as  instinctively  recoiling  in  fear  for  his  personal 
safety.4  While  Randolph  was  speaking,  a  piece  of  paper 
on  which  he  had  jotted  some  notes,  slipped  from  his  fingers, 
and  fluttered  down  unnoticed  by  the  throng  to  the  feet  of 
young  Jacob  Michaux,  who  quietly  planted  his  foot  on  it 
with  a  view  to  preserving  it  as  a  souvenir,  but  so  com- 
pletely was  his  attention  diverted  from  it  by  the  sway  of 

1  Bouldin,  64.  a  Va.  Hist.  Soc.  s  Bouldin,  169. 

4  Id.,  170. 


190         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Randolph's  eloquence  that  he  forgot  all  about  irt  until  the 
meeting  had  dispersed  and  he  was  a  mile  away  from  the 
scene. l 

This  time  the  dominant  note  of  Randolph's  address 
was  pathos.  On  another  occasion,  one  of  his  auditors, 
powerless  any  longer  to  repress  his  compassion  when 
Randolph,  to  use  one  of  his  own  expressions,  was  giving 
someone  a  "sack  full  of  sair  bones,"2  cried  out,  "Stop! 
Stop !     Mr.  Randolph,  I  would  not  treat  a  dog  so.  " 3 

Nor  are  we  at  a  loss  to  know  just  what  Randolph  was  on 
the  hustings  during  the  last  years  of  his  life,  when  he  was 
the  object  of  an  almost  morbid  public  curiosity;  partly 
because  of  the  eccentricities  and  excesses,  which  made  him 
a  kind  of  raree  show,  and  partly  because  of  the  garrulous, 
yet  sparkling,  stream  of  improvisation  which  he  was  still 
capable  of  pouring  out  without  stint,  despite  a  pathetically 
diseased  body  and  mind.  Among  his  auditors,  after  he 
returned  from  Russia,  was,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Rev.  John 
S.  Kirkpatrick,  (a)  who  has  also  sketched  his  personal 
appearance  for  us  in  these  words : 

"The  first  time  I  saw  him  was  at  Prince  Edward  C.  H., 
November,  1831.  I  was  a  student  at  Hampden-Sidney 
College,  a  mile  and  a  half  distant  from  the  Court  House.  It 
being  what  was  then  known  as  County  Court  Day,  occurring 
once  in  each  month,  the  students,  by  usage,  rather  than  by 
formal  law,  had  permission  to  spend  the  day,  with  all  the  other 
citizens  of  the  County,  including  the  members  of  the  Faculty, 
in  the  Court-House  Yard.  Not  knowing  that  Mr.  Randolph 
would  be  there,  or  that  anything  of  general  interest  was  con- 
templated, I  went  to  the  place  merely  to  show  respect  to  a 
time-honored  usage,  the  more  conscientiously,  because  I  thus 
honored  and  helped  to  perpetuate  the  prescriptive  monthly 
holiday.  When  I  reached  the  place,  about  eleven  o'clock,  Mr. 
Randolph  was  then  speaking,  but  I  do  not  think  he  had  been 
speaking  longer  than  ten  or  fifteen  minutes.     I  remained  in 

1  Marion  Harland's  Autobiography,  317. 

2  Garland,  v.  2,  159.  3  Bouldin,  95. 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  191 

the  Court  House  where  the  meeting  was  held,  standing  on  my 
feet,  from  1 1  o'clock  until  sunset,  all  the  while,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  twenty  to  thirty  minutes,  which  were  occupied  by  two 
other  gentlemen  in  some  personal  explanations;  all  the  while 
listening  to  Mr.  Randolph. 

"When,  after  some  effort,  I  obtained  a  position  which  gave 
me  a  view  of  him,  I  saw  an  old  man,  very  feeble,  with  a  mini- 
mum of  flesh,  just  enough  to  authorize  you  to  affirm  that  it  was 
not  a  skeleton  or  mummy  you  were  looking  at ;  the  skin  of  the 
face  wearing  that  special  hue  into  which  the  soft,  roseate 
complexion  of  the  young  woman  is  often  changed  by  time  and 
exposure ;  of  medium  height,  yet  seeming  tall  from  the  extreme 
slenderness  of  the  figure;  sitting  in  the  chair  appropriated  to 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  Court;  a  friend  seated  on  each 
side  of  him  to  assist  him  in  rising  when,  for  a  change  of  position, 
or  in  the  flush  of  unusual  excitement  from  speaking,  he  would 
stand  for  two  or  three  minutes ;  having  a  small  table  nearly  in 
front  of  him,  within  easy  reach,  on  which  were  placed  four 
bottles,  of  the  ordinary  size  of  'black  bottles' ;  two  of  them 
closely  covered  with  buckskin,  and  two  with  green  baize, 
flanked  by  as  many  glasses — some  wine-glasses,  and  others 
ordinary  tumblers.  His  features  were  regular  and  delicately 
shaped;  the  forehead  low,  so  as  to  need  no  banging  to  conceal 
the  towering  intellect ;  the  chin  long  and  the  more  pointed  by 
the  want  of  flesh.  His  hair,  which  was  of  the  special  shade  of 
black  I  have  often  noticed  in  the  hair  of  our  American  Indians 
(he  was  proud  of  his  alleged  descent  from  the  Princess  Poca- 
hontas), was  softened  by  intermingled  threads  of  silver  gray; 
it  was  parted  in  the  middle  and  was  long  enough  to  fall  on  his 
shoulders.  His  chin  was  as  innocent  of  a  covering  as  when  on 
that  memorable  day  in  the  porch  of  the  old  Tavern  at  Char- 
lotte C.  H.  he  was  derided  by  the  admirers  of  Patrick  Henry  as 
the  beardless  boy.  The  most  striking  feature  was  the  eye; 
and  that  is  simply  indescribable.  It  was  dark ;  to  me  it  seemed 
deeply  black;  and  yet  Mr.  Garland,  his  most  accurate  bio- 
grapher, says  it  was  of  dark  hazel  color.  The  eyes  were  small, 
and  the  muscles  and  ligaments  so  disposed  around  the  balls 
as  to  cause  the  eyes  to  appear  circular  or  nearly  so.  But, 
although  the  aspect  was  not  fierce,  nor  otherwise  unpleasant, 


192         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

how  penetrating  the  glance  from  those  twinkling  orbs !  They 
seemed  to  look  through  you  into  your  very  soul,  and  to  read 
your  thoughts  and  inmost  feelings.  Then  they  were  so  rapid 
in  their  motion,  it  was  as  though  they  were  turned  on  you,  and 
on  all  in  every  part  of  the  room  at  the  same  instant.  There 
was  no  escape  from  their  ubiquitous  scouting.  I  have  never 
seen  eyes  in  which  there  was  so  marvelous  power — that  had  in 
them  so  incisive  oratory.  And  yet  the  eyes  were  hardly  equal 
in  potency  to  the  voice.  That  was  clear,  ringing,  shrill,  pierc- 
ing; still,  not  harsh  nor  rasping;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  smooth, 
melodious,  musically  charming.  It  was,  to  use  the  terms  of 
the  music-books,  set  on  the  key  of  the  female  voice,  an  octave 
higher  than  that  of  the  male ;  the  key  so  effectively  adapted  to 
the  purpose  of  scolding  that  some  who  possess  it  seem  to  feel 
it  would  be  a  neglect  of  opportunity  not  to  employ  it  in  its 
appropriate  work. 

"On  the  two  occasions  when  I  heard  Mr.  Randolph  in  public 
speeches,  he  never  raised  his  voice  above  the  conversational 
tone;  yet  he  was  heard  in  every  part  of  the  large  room  by 
every  person  present,  and  would  have  been  heard,  if  the  room 
and  the  assembly  had  been  four  times  as  large.  With  most 
speakers  there  is  what  I  will  venture  to  call  a  partial  separation 
or  want  of  perfect  coalescence,  between  the  sound  of  the  voice 
and  the  articulated  word.  With  him,  all  the  sound  was  ab- 
sorbed and  embodied  in  the  word;  and  you  got  the  word  as  it 
were  without  the  sound. 

"Much  has  been  said  of  his  long,  bony  forefinger  that  was 
so  potent  a  weapon  of  his  oratory.  The  finger  was  not  ab- 
normally long;  only  its  extreme  tenuity  made  it  appear  so. 
He  did  use  it  much,  and  most  tellingly;  I  never  saw  him  use 
any  other  gesture.  When  he  would  raise  his  hand,  all  the 
fingers  closed  except  that  historic  forefinger,  and  he  would 
shoot  an  arrowy  word  of  sarcasm  or  irony  from  its  point  with 
the  full  impulse  of  his  elastic  voice.  If  the  victim  did  not 
writhe  when  the  bolt  struck  him,  it  was  because  he  wore  an 
armor  of  triple  brass,  either  of  stolid  insensibility  or  else  of 
conscious  integrity.  No  one,  who  knew  anything  personally  of 
Mr.  Randolph,  but  felt  he  would  have  understood  little  or 
nothing,  if  he  had  not  known  the  physical  man." 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  193 

The  personal  attacks  made  by  Randolph  on  this  occa- 
sion on  Judge  Bouldin  and  Dr.  Crump  we  have  already 
narrated  as  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  narrates  them.  After  re- 
calling them,  his  reminiscences  continue  as  follows : 

"What,  may  be  asked,  was  Mr.  Randolph  speaking  about, 
the  rest  of  the  time?  If  the  question  were,  what  was  he  not 
speaking  about,  I  might  be  bold  enough  to  essay  an  answer 
that  should,  in  the  main,  be  responsive  thereto ;  but  not  to  the 
question,  as  it  stands,  unless  you  will  allow  me  to  put  the 
answer  in  the  hackneyed :  De  omnibus  rebus  et  quibusdam  aliis. 
For  the  most  part,  his  remarks  followed  one  another  on  no 
other  principle  governing  them  than  that  of  involuntary 
suggestion.  They  seemed  to  run  riot,  without  any  act  of  the 
will  to  control  the  selection,  the  order,  or  the  limits.  Let  me 
give  you  an  example :  Once,  and  once  only,  he  entered  into  a 
formal  argument  in  support  of  a  proposition  he  enunciated. 
It  was  to  show  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  United  States 
Bank.  He  laid  down  some  premises  with  precision,  and  began, 
but  had  just  begun  to  reason  from  them,  when  he  found,  or 
made,  occasion  to  employ  an  illustration.  This  was  one  I 
have  often  heard  since,  but,  being  then  new  to  me,  I  remember 
it;  the  story  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  and  the  two  openings,  one  big 
and  the  other  little,  side  by  side,  which  he  ordered  to  be  made 
in  the  bottom  of  the  door  of  his  room,  for  the  ingress  and  egress 
of  a  favorite  cat  and  her  kitten.  He  declared,  with  apparent 
self-satisfaction,  that  Sir  Isaac,  profound  philosopher  as  he  was 
reputed  to  be,  did  not  know  that  a  hole  large  enough  for  the 
passing  in  and  out  of  the  cat  would  be  large  enough,  and  not  too 
large,  for  a  similar  use  by  the  kitten.  He  dropped  his  argument 
against  the  bank,  mounted  the  illustration  from  Sir  Isaac,  ran 
a  tilt  against  philosophers,  one  and  all,  against  the  institutions 
of  learning  in  which,  and  the  systems  of  instruction  under 
which,  they  were  reared;  dealing  his  blows  right  and  left;  one 
of  them  striking  Hampden-Sidney  College  hard  by,  its  learned 
professors  and  unlearned  students;  thus  rampaging  in  the 
boundless  profusion  of  figures  belonging  to  invective  rhetoric, 
until  some  fresh  object,  crossing  the  field  of  his  imagina- 
tion, tempted  him  to  a  new  encounter,  whether  in  unhorsing 

VOL.  II— 13 


194         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

knights,  routing  armies,  storming  castles,  or  boxing  with 
windmills. 

"So  he  went  on  from  hour  to  hour,  a  'freelance,'  challenging 
all  comers.  Public  measures  were  alluded  to,  but  never  dis- 
cussed ;  public  men  were  named,  sometimes  denounced  in  terms 
of  bitterness,  sometimes  gibbeted  with  ridicule,  but  never  any 
of  them  commended  out  and  out,  except  Andrew  Jackson  and 
Nat  Macon,  of  North  Carolina.  Alas!  on  the  other  occasion 
when  I  heard  him,  one  year  later,  Andrew  Jackson  was  struck 
from  the  short  roll,  and  Nat  Macon  stood  there  alone.  .  .  . 

"I  must  tell  you  more  particularly  how  he  disposed  of  Chief 
Justice  Marshall,  the  manner  of  it  is  so  characteristic  of  the 
orator  and  so  illustrates  the  feature  of  his  oratory  last  men- 
tioned; its  fitful  zigzagging  hither  and  thither,  verging  on 
incoherency.  He  had,  with  a  continuity  in  the  tenor  of  his 
remarks,  quite  unusual  with  him  that  day,  exposed  and 
deplored  what  he  was  pleased  to  style  the  decay  of  his  beloved 
Virginia.  He  spoke  with  great  plainness  of  the  extravagance 
of  the  people,  those  of  his  own  District  included,  in  their 
house  furnishings,  their  table  supplies,  their  dress,  equipages, 
and  everything  on  which  money  could  be  expended ;  how  they 
were  rearing  their  sons  in  idleness,  and  their  daughters  in 
fashionable  frivolities;  and  how,  as  the  consequence,  they  were 
sinking  more  deeply  and  hopelessly  in  debt,  and  were 
deteriorating  in  moral  worth.  His  tone  was  dolorous  and 
extremely  despondent.  It  was  as  though  he  wielded  the  pater- 
nal rod,  and  had  many  doubts  of  its  remedial  efficacy.  At  the 
close  of  the  jeremiad,  he  remarked  that  it  gave  him  no  pleasure, 
but  much  pain,  to  speak  thus,  nor  was  it  his  purpose  to  give 
them  pain,  but  to  benefit  them  by  pointing  out  to  them  their 
faults  and  their  dangers.  'Just  as  a  surgeon,'  he  proceeded, 
'performs  an  operation,  not  to  inflict  suffering,  but  to  relieve 
a  malady.  Dr.  Jackson,  of  Philadelphia,  has  lately  performed 
a  critical  operation  on  the  honored  Chief  Justice  of  the  country. 
You  all  know  it  was  no  part  of  his  wish  to  inflict  a  single  pang, 
but  that  his  sole  design  was  to  alleviate  suffering,  and  preserve 
the  valuable  life  of  his  subject.  And  I  am  glad  that  Dr.  Jack- 
son succeeded  in  the  operation, — that  he  has  restored  the 
Chief  Justice  to  his  health,  to  his  friends,  to  his  country,  and  to 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  195 

his  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
where  God  knows  he  ought  never  to  have  been  put.  He  is  a 
great  man  and  a  good  man ;  no  greater  or  better  man  has  ever 
lived  in  our  country,  and  yet,  if  he  should  be  Chief  Justice 
thirty  years  longer,  he  will  construe  all  our  liberties  away 
from  us.'  He  did  not  permit  Hampden-Sidney  College  to 
escape  with  the  one  pass  at  it  which  has  been  alluded  to.  He 
returned  to  the  charge,  although  this  time  the  aim  was  less 
at  the  College  than  at  the  Theological  Seminary,  which  stands 
not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  it.  Speaking  of  himself, 
as  he  frequently  did  through  the  day,  just  then  of  the  self- 
denials  he  had  been  compelled  to  exercise  since  he  had  at- 
tained his  legal  majority,  he  stated  that,  when  he  came  into 
the  possession  of  his  patrimony,  he  found  it  involved  in  debt 
to  the  extent  of  nineteen  shillings  in  the  pound.  To  save  the 
property,  which  had  descended  to  him  as  a  sacred  trust  from 
his  ancestors,  he  had  worked  hard  and  lived  poor.  At  last, 
he  had  succeeded  in  the  great  aim  of  his  life.  'During  the 
sitting  of  the  late  Virginia  Convention,'  he  went  on  to  say, 
'I  paid  the  last  farthing  of  the  debt,  and  got  a  receipt  discharg- 
ing me  from  the  last  obligation  imposed  by  it — a  paper  which 
I  would  not  exchange  for  a  diploma  from  any  of  your  boasted 
colleges,  not  even  for  one  from  your  great  Hampden-Sidney 
over  there;  no,  not  if  that  were  backed  up  by  one  from  your 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  where  you  have  a  set  of  young 
men  lying  in  the  shade  enjoying  themselves,  whilst  their 
agents  are  traversing  the  country  begging  money  to  support 
them  in  their  idleness  t  And,  attuning  his  voice  to  its  keenest 
pitch  of  sarcastic  virulence,  he  thrilled  out :  'And  these  claim 
to  be,  par  excellence,  the  followers  of  our  Saviour,  who  never 
wanted  money  but  once  in  his  life,  and  then  He  got  it  out  of  a 
fish's  mouth. ' " 

The  next  time  that  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  heard  Randolph 
was  at  Charlotte  Court  House  more  than  a  year  after  he 
had  heard  him  at  Prince  Edward  Court  House.  It  was 
on  the  occasion  when  Randolph  brought  forward  his 
resolutions,  condemning  the  Nullification  Proclamation 
of  Andrew  Jackson ;  and  this  was  what  Dr.  Kirkpatrick 


196         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

has  to  say  in  regard  to  the  speech  delivered  by  Randolph 
then: 

"He  was  in  dead  earnest  now;  and,  having  an  object  and  an 
antagonist,  his  speech,  although  largely  discursive  and  episodi- 
cal, as  were  all  his  speeches,  had  far  more  connection  between 
its  topics  and  unity  of  purpose  than  the  former  one.  He  began 
speaking  about  n  o'clock,  and  did  not  leave  the  room  until 
after  nightfall.  A  part  of  the  time,  say  one  hour  in  all,  was 
taken  up  with  the  formalities  of  appointing  a  committee  to 
draught  resolutions,  and  of  voting  on  the  paper  which  was 
presented;  Mr.  Randolph,  I  may  interpolate,  framed  the 
resolutions  with  his  own  hand,  and  did  the  major  part  of  the 
voting.  The  rest  of  the  time  he  was  speaking,  or,  at  least, 
talking,  sitting,  as  on  the  former  occasion,  because  too  feeble 
to  stand,  with  his  supporters,  his  body  supporters,  I  mean,  at 
his  side;  the  principal  one  of  them  being  his  half-brother,  Ex- 
Governor  Beverley  Tucker,  then  of  Missouri,  and  with  the  in- 
dispensable bottles  of  medicine,  (there  were  only  three  of  them 
this  time)  on  a  table  within  his  reach.  He  was  even  more 
attenuated  in  flesh  and  helpless  as  to  motion  than  when  I  first 
saw  him;  but  his  quivering  eye  had  lost  nothing  of  its  nimble- 
ness  and  fire,  and  his  voice  none  of  its  marvelous  properties — 
in  him  alone  not  incompatible  with  each  other — of  resonant 
shrillness  and  bewitching  melody.  Again,  I  must  decline  any 
attempted  analysis  or  compendium  of  his  speech.  It  was 
controllingly  personal,  personal  in  both  aspects  of  the  term, 
as  relating  to  himself,  and  as  relating  to  other  individuals. 
That  was  always  a  characteristic  of  his  public  addresses.  He 
made  every  apology  he  could  well  do  for  the  implied  treachery 
of  'Andrew  Jackson,  Esq.'  (he  never  called  him  Squire  Jackson) 
to  his  former  principles,  and  to  the  party  to  which  he  owed 
his  elevation  to  the  presidency.  The  explanation  tendered 
was  that  Jackson  had  permitted  a  set  of  men,  holding  subordi- 
nate positions  in  and  around  the  White  House,  to  acquire  an 
undue  and  corrupting  influence  over  his  judgment,  and 
prejudices,  by  flattery,  subserviency,  and  other  arts  of  the 
sycophant.  To  this  set  he  applied  the  adhesive,  blistering 
nickname,  'Kitchen  Cabinet,'  afterward  extensively  adopted, 


Randolph  on  the  Hustings  197 

but  that  day,  as  I  suppose,  first  heard.  He  averred  very 
confidently  that  Jackson  did  not  write  the  Proclamation; 
and  here  his  exact  words  without  mutilation,  retrenchment,  or 
softening  down,  must  be  used ;  else  the  whole  effect  will  be  lost. 
They  are  engraved  on  my  memory;  I  have  only  to  copy  the 
inscription:  'Jackson  did  not  write  that  Proclamation.  Not 
that  he  does  not  possess  the  requisite  intellectual  ability,  but 
that  he  has  not  the  literary  culture.  I  know  who  did  write  it, 
and  I  will  prove  to  you  I  am  right.  If  you  please,  I  will  put 
the  proof  in  the  form  of  a  syllogism,  thus!  The  man  who 
wrote  that  Proclamation  wields  a  pen  such  as  no  man  in  the 
United  States  but  himself  can  wield;  Edward  Livingston  of 
Louisiana,  the  present  Secretary  of  State,  wields  a  pen  such  as 
no  man  in  the  United  States  but  himself  can  wield;  therefore, 
Edward  Livingston  wrote  the  Proclamation.  Fellow-citizens, 
he  is  a  man  of  splendid  abilities,  but  utterly  corrupt.  He 
shines  and  stinks  like  rotten  mackerel  by  moonlight. ' "  (a) 

And  this  is  the  description  given  us  by  Wm.  M.  Moseley, 
of  Danville,  Virginia,  of  a  later  speech  delivered  by  Ran- 
dolph : 

"The  last  public  speech  of  Mr.  Randolph  was  delivered  at 
Buckingham  Court-house  in  the  year  1833,  he  then  being  on  his 
way  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  died  shortly  after.  He  was 
travelling  by  private  conveyance,  accompanied  by  his  two 
favorite  servants,  Juba  and  John.  His  expected  arrival  had 
been  previously  announced,  and,  it  being  the  regular  monthly 
term  of  the  county  court,  as  might  have  been  expected,  the 
attendance  was  unusually  large,  most  of  the  old  citizens  of  the 
county  being  prompted  by  a  desire  to  see  their  former  represen- 
tative in  Congress  once  more,  and  to  hear  him  speak,  perhaps 
for  the  last  time.  Those  who  had  never  seen  him,  but  who 
had  heard  of  his  reputation  as  a  speaker,  determined  to  avail 
themselves  of  this  opportunity  of  seeing  and  hearing  one  of 
whom  so  much  had  been  said. 

"He  reached  the  village  at  about  eleven  o'clock  a.m.,  by 
which  time  a  large  concourse  of  people  had  assembled  upon  the 
court  yard,  and  along  the  principal  street,  all  anxiously  looking 


198         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

for  the  arrival  of  this  distinguished  personage:  ...  He  was 
immediately  conducted  to  the  court-house  and  occupied  the 
judge's  seat,  from  which,  in  a  sitting  posture,  after  the  large 
court-room  had  become  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  deliver  a  speech,  in  the  making  of  which  he  seemed  to 
have  had  no  special  object  other  than  that  of  giving  his  opinion 
as  to  matters  and  things  in  general.  Public  men  and  public 
measures  of  the  past  as  well  as  of  the  present  seemed  to  be 
passing  in  review  before  him,  and  for  each  of  whom  he  seemed 
to  have  some  unkind  remembrance.  His  whole  speech,  if  such 
it  might  be  called,  evinced  an  unhappy  state  of  mind,  if  not  a 
disordered  intellect.  No  class  and  no  profession  escaped  his 
bitter  invective  and  withering  sarcasm.  Nothing  either  in 
Church  or  State  seemed  to  be  progressing  according  to  his 
liking. 

"At  the  close  of  his  disconnected  harangue,  but  few  even  of 
his  old  constituents  ventured  to  approach  him  with  anything 
like  familiarity;  not  knowing  how  such  advances  might  be 
received."1 

^ouldin,  160,  161. 


CHAPTER  VII 

General  Observations  on  Randolph  as  an  Orator 

Before  passing  from  this  branch  of  our  subject,  the 
reader  may  pardon  us  for  making  a  few  observations  of 
our  own  on  Randolph  as  an  orator,  suggested  by  close 
familiarity  with  his  printed  words.  First,  let  us  say  that 
the  reports  of  his  Congressional  speeches  must,  in  many 
instances,  be  far  from  accurate.  Their  fidelity,  we  know, 
was  frequently  impeached  by  him.  But  what  we  are 
mainly  concerned  about  is  their  failure  to  justify  the  idea 
which  has  come  down  to  us  that  his  chief  weapons  in 
debate  were  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping-knife.  These 
reports,  as  we  have  seen,  reveal  some  witty  thrusts,  some 
withering  sarcasms,  and  some  bitter  personalities.  We 
say  witty  thrusts  only  because  Randolph  was  rarely,  if 
ever,  humorous ;  but  we  cannot  see  that  he  habitually  so 
far  transcended  the  ordinary  moderation  of  debate  as  to 
be  justly  placed,  as  he  has  so  often  been,  in  the  same 
savage  class  as  Powhatan  or  Opechancanough.  Either 
much  of  the  acerbity  of  his  Congressional  speeches  has 
been  sweetened  by  judicious  revision,  or  the  terrifying 
effect,  so  often  attributed  to  his  eloquence,  must  have 
been  very  much  intensified  by  the  rapt  attention  which  he 
usually  commanded,  his  dramatic  manner,  and  the  pecu- 
liar physical  apparatus  by  which  his  rhetorical  effects 
were  produced;  that  is  to  say:  the  tall  skeleton  figure,  so 
suggestive  of  Death  and  his  dart ;  the  strange  voice,  usually 
as  musical  as  a  flute  but  as  shrill  at  times,  when  rasped  by 

199 


\  * 


200         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

uncommon  excitement,  as  that  of  a  pigeon-hawk  starting 
off  full-tilt  after  his  panic-stricken  quarry,  and  the  lean, 
javelin-like  fore-finger,  which  Von  Hoist  says  was  the  ter- 
ror of  all  the  little  and  sinful  spirits  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. '  Extraordinary  powers  of  sarcasm  and  invec- 
tive he  unquestionably  had,  irrespective  of  these  personal 
characteristics,  and  they  were  sometimes,  as  in  the  Vir- 
ginia Convention  of  1829-30,  unwarrantably  abused,  to  be 
sure.  But  it  is  only  fair  to  him  to  say  that  they  were 
generally  wreaked  upon  depravity,  cant,  conceit  or,  incom- 
petence. 

Sawyer,  as  we  have  seen,  speaks  of  Randolph's  remark- 
able powers  of  retribution  as  if  they  never  pushed  his  usual 
courtesy  in  debate  aside  unless  called  into  play  by  some 
real  provocation.  This  idea,  however,  must  be  adopted 
with  very  decided  qualifications;  as  witness  his  general 
attitude  towards  Henry  Clay  down  to  the  time  of  his  duel 
with  him,  and  afterwards,  and  his  supercilious  treatment 
of  Chapman  Johnson  in  the  Virginia  Convention,  (a) 
But  the  idea  is  sufficiently  supported  by  the  facts  to  sug- 
gest some  modification  of  the  traditional  view  of  Randolph 
as  a  mere  malignant  Sagittarius. 

His  Blihl  and  Black  George  attack  upon  Clay  was 
matched  by  utterances  of  his  equally  severe.  When 
Richard  Rush  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  he  said:  "Never  were  abilities  so  much 
below  mediocrity  so  well  rewarded;  no,  not  when  Caligu- 
la's horse  was  made  Consul."2  It  is  not  surprising  that 
Rush  should  have  been  stung  by  this  remark  into  publish- 
ing the  essay  on  Randolph,  signed  "Julius,"  which  for 
black,  undiluted  bile  hardly  has  its  fellow.  Dulcified  a 
little  by  an  occasional  compliment,  it  would  have  been  a 
truly  telling  satire. 

Of  an  ambitious  man,  with  little  native  ability,  Ran- 
dolph said  that  his  mind  was  like  the  lands  at  the  head- 

1  Constitutional  History  of  U.  S.,  1750-1832,  p.  334.  2  Bouldin,  317. 


Randolph  as  an  Orator  201 

waters  of  the  Monongahela ;  naturally  poor  and  made  still 
poorer  by  excessive  cultivation.1 

In  the  book  by  Adlai  E.  Stevenson,  entitled,  Something 
of  Men  I  Have  Known,  we  find  this  story  about  Randolph : 

"A  colleague  from  'The  Valley'  probably  remembered  him 
well  to  the  last.  That  colleague,  recently  elected  to  fill  a 
vacancy,  caused  by  the  death  of  a  member  of  long  service, 
signalized  his  entrance  into  the  House  by  an  unprovoked 
attack  upon  Mr.  Randolph.  The  latter,  from  his  seat  nearby, 
listened  with  apparent  unconcern  to  the  fierce  personal  assault. 
To  the  surprise  of  all,  no  immediate  reply  was  made  to  the 
speech,  and  the  new  member  flattered  himself,  no  doubt,  that 
the  'grim  sage'  was  for  once  completely  unhorsed.  A  few  days 
later,  however,  Randolph,  while  discussing  a  bill  of  local 
importance,  casually  remarked:  'This  bill,  Mr.  Speaker,  lost 
its  ablest  advocate  in  the  death  of  my  lamented  colleague, 
whose  seat  is  still  vacant."2 

A  similar  story  is  told  by  W.  H.  Sparks: 

"I  remember,  upon  one  occasion,  pending  the  debate  upon 
the  Missouri  question,  and  when  Mr.  Randolph  was  in  the 
habit  of  almost  daily  addressing  the  House,  that  a  Mr.  Beecher, 
of  Ohio,  who  was  very  impatient  with  Randolph's  tirades, 
would,  in  the  lengthy  pauses  made  by  him,  rise  from  his  place 
and  move  the  previous  question.  The  Speaker  would  reply : 
'The  member  from  Virginia  has  the  floor.'  The  first  and 
second  interruption  was  not  noticed  by  Randolph,  but,  upon 
the  repetition  a  third  time,  he  slowly  lifted  his  head  from 
contemplating  his  notes,  and  said:  'Mr.  Speaker,  in  the 
Netherlands,  a  man  of  small  capacity,  with  bits  of  wood  and 
leather,  will,  in  a  few  moments,  construct  a  toy  that,  with  the 
pressure  of  the  finger  and  thumb,  will  cry,  ' '  Cuckoo !  Cuckoo !" 
With  less  of  ingenuity,  and  with  inferior  materials,  the  people 
of  Ohio  have  made  a  toy  that  will,  without  much  pressure,  cry, 
"Previous  Question,  Mr.  Speaker!  Previous  question,  Mr. 
Speaker!" — at  the  same  time  designating  Beecher  by  pointing 

1  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.  a  P.  391. 


202         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

at  him  with  his  long  skeleton-like  finger.  In  a  moment,  the 
House  was  convulsed  with  laughter,  and  I  doubt  if  Beecher 
ever  survived  the  sarcasm."1 

Of  Philip  P.  Barbour,  who  was  a  close  reasoner,  and  his 
brother  James  Barbour,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  too 
much  of  a  declaimer,  Randolph  once  said  that  Phil,  could 
split  a  hair  but  that  Jim  could  not  hit  a  barn  door. 2  But 
this  was  not  so  pointed  as  the  couplet  which  some  wag 
wrote  upon  the  walls  of  the  House: 

"Two  Barbours  to  shave  our  Congress  long  did  try, 
One  shaves  with  froth;  the  other  shaves  dry."3 

Governor  James  H.  Pleasants,  Randolph  asserted  on 
one  occasion,  was  like  some  of  his  (Randolph's)  blooded 
horses :  "too  weak  for  the  plow,  and  too  slow  for  the  turf. " 4 
(a) 

After  the  political  tergiversation  of  Samuel  Dexter,  of 
Massachusetts,  Randolph  termed  him,  "Mr.  Ambi- Dex- 
ter."* 

Never  did  a  man  have  a  cleverer  gift  of  minting  phrases 
that  passed  into  genera  circulation. 

Benjamin  Hardin,  of  Kentucky,  a  vigorous  but  unpol- 
ished speaker,  was  "a  carving  knife  whetted  on  a  brick- 
bat."6 

The  wavering  Edmund  Randolph  was  "the  chameleon 
on  the  aspen,  always  trembling,  always  changing."7 

Of  Robert  Wright  and  John  Rea  (Ray)  he  said  that  the 
House  exhibited  two  anomalies :  "  A  Wright  always  wrong ; 
and  a  Ray  without  light. " 8 

1  The  Memories  of  50  Yrs.,  by  Wm.  H.  Sparks,  237. 

2  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

3  The  Memories  of  50  Yrs.,  by  W.  H.  Sparks,  233. 

«  Bryan  MSS.  s  Life  of  Quincy,  352. 

6  Wm.  Fitzhugh  Gordon,  by  Armistead  C.  Gordon,  278,  Loughborough 
MSS. 

»  Life  of  Thos.  Jefferson,  by  Tucker,  v.  I,  501  (note). 
»  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  an  Orator  203 

The  politic  and  secretive  Van  Buren,  Randolph  said, 
"rowed  to  his  object  with  muffled  oars."1  (a) 

Of  a  cautious  statesman,  he  said  that,  under  his  direc- 
tion, the  Ship  of  State  might  never  take  a  prize,  but  it 
would  probably  never  become  one. 2 

Benton's  four-day  speech,  he  observed,  consumed  one 
day  more  than  the  French  Revolution  (of  1830). 3 

Yes,  Thomas  Ritchie  (the  distinguished  editor  of  the 
Richmond  Enquirer)  did  have  seven  principles,  but  they 
were  the  5  loaves  and  the  two  fishes. 4 

"Clay's  eye  is  on  the  Presidency;  and  my  eye  is  on 
him."* 

Turning  away  from  a  lady  who  had  been  pouring  her 
sympathy  with  the  struggling  Greeks  into  his  ear,  Ran- 
dolph pointed  to  a  group  of  ragged  little  negroes  near  the 
steps  of  her  home  and  exclaimed:  "Madam,  the  Greeks 
are  at  your  door ! " 6 — words  that  soon  winged  their  way  to 
every  part  of  the  United  States. 

Referring  to  the  naval  strength  of  England,  and  to 
Madison's  pamphlet  on  neutral  rights,  he  said:  "Against 
800  ships  in  commission  we  enter  the  lists  with  a  three- 
shilling  pamphlet. " 7 

Other  epigrams  of  his  were  these:  "The  bad  blood  will 
show  in  some  part  of  the  four-mile  heat.  "8 

"An  English  noble  has  but  one  son,  all  the  rest  are 
bastards."9 

"England  is  Elysium  for  the  rich;  Tartarus  for  the 
poor."10 

"I  am  an  aristocrat;  I  love  liberty,  I  hate  equality."11 

"Asking  one  of  the  States  to  surrender  part  of  her  sov- 

1  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.  a  Ibid.  ■  Ibid. 

4  Reminiscences  of  J.  R.,  by  Robt.  L.  Dabney,  Union  Seminary  Mag.,  v. 
6  (1894-5),  14-21.       Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

s  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.  6  Bouldin,  113. 

»  Memoirs  of  Wm.  Wirt,  by  J.  P.  Kennedy,  v.  1,  328. 

8  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.  » Id.  10  Id. 

"Id. 


204         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

ereignty  is  like  asking  a  lady  to  surrender  part  of  her 
chastity."1 
—     "  New  Orleans  is  the  key  to  our  strong-box. " 2 

"The  three  degrees  of  comparison — begging,  borrowing, 
and  stealing."3 
^    "A  rat  hole  will  let  in  the  ocean."4 

"It  is  a  turnstyle;  it  is  in  everybody's  way  but  it  stops 
no  one."5 

"Poverty,  that  nurse  of  genius,  though  she  sometimes 
overlays  it."6 

"  Dogmatism  is  puppyism  matured"  ;7 — but  is  not  this 
older  than  Randolph? 

"■  Stick  to  a  friend  a  little  in  the  wrong. " 8 

"That  most  delicious  of  privileges — spending  other 
people's  money."9 

His  violent  prepossessions  in  favor  of  the  Virginian  viva 
voce  mode  of  voting  hurried  him  into  the  assertion  that  the 
ballot  box  was  Pandora's  box. I0 
'x,    "Denouncing  me!    That  is  strange.     I  never  did  him 
a  favor."11 

"  No  man  was  ever  satisfied  to  be  half  a  king. "  * 2 

The  Northern  Democrats  with  Southern  principles  were 
"doughfaces";  another  phrase  which  was  soon  on  the  tip 
of  every  tongue  in  the  country.13 

Clever,  too,  was  his  saying:  "There  must  be  something 
for  the  shilling  gallery  as  well  as  the  Pit. "  M 

Turnbull's  painting  of  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  in  which  the  human  leg  has  such  inordinate 

I  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.  2  A.  of  C,  1805-7,  353. 

3  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.         4  Debates  of  Va.  Conv.,  1829-30,  319. 

s  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.  6  J.  R.'s  Diary. 

*  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.         8  Id.  9  Id.  *°  Id. 

II  Something  of  Men  I  have  Known,  by  Adlai  E.  Stevenson,  391. 

12  Letter  to  Monroe,  Sept.  16,  1806,  Monroe  Papers,  Libr.  Cong.,  v.  II. 
*i  McMaster's  Hist,  of  U.  S.,  v.  4,  591. 

J4  Letter  to  J.  H.  Nicholson,  Bizarre,  Dec.  4,  1809,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr. 
Consr. 


Randolph  as  an  Orator  205 

prominence,  became  known  far  and  wide  by  the  name  that 
he  gave  it :  "  shin- piece.  •'* 

A  portion  of  the  architecture  of  the  Senate  Chamber  he 
ridiculed  as  "corn  stalk  columns  and  corn-cob  capitals. " 2" 

But,  after  all,  Randolph's  best  epigram  was  this  golden 
sentence :  ' '  Life  is  not  so  important  as  the  duties  of  life. " 3 

A  good  pendant  to  it  is  that  other  pithy  observation  of 
his :  ' '  We  all  know  our  duty  better  than  we  discharge  it. " 
Nor  should  we  overlook  two  other  weighty  utterances  of 
his,  notable  for  their  sententious  conciseness,  if  for  nothing 
else:  "Time  is  at  once  the  most  valuable  and  the  most 
perishable  of  all  our  possessions."  "All  of  us  have  two 
educations;  one  which  we  receive  from  others;  another, 
and  the  most  valuable,  which  we  give  ourselves. " 

The  stamp  on  his  phrases  was  regarded  with  so  much 
popular  favor  that  his  mintage,  it  must  be  confessed,  was 
sometimes  given  a  fictitious  value.  Rather  overstrained 
rhodomontade  has  always  seemed  to  us  to  be  his  famous 
vaunt  that  the  Minute  Men  of  Culpeper  County,  Virginia, 
who  acquitted  themselves  so  gallantly  during  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution  "were  raised  in  a  minute,  armed  in  a  min- 
ute, marched  in  a  minute,  fought  in  a  minute,  and  van- 
quished in  a  minute. "  It  is  hard  to  transform  either  the 
organization,  the  march  or  the  victory  of  a  military  force 
into  the  "Cynthia  of  a  minute.  "4 

At  times,  Randolph's  wit  could  even  overcome  the 
surliness  of  a  foreign  tongue.  Not  so  good  as  Dean 
Swift's  inimitable,  "0  Mantua  nimium  vicina  CremonaeV 
when  he  saw  a  violin  swept  from  a  table  by  a  lady's  dress, 
and  yet  not  bad,  was  Randolph's  rejoinder  to  Samuel  W. 
Dana  in  the  House :   ' '  Timeo  Danaos  et  dona  ferentes. ' ' 

Some  Congressional  orators  have  excelled  Randolph  in 

1  Register  of  Debates,  1827-28,  v.  4,  part  1,  942. 

2  Life  of  Rufus  King,  ed.,  by  Chas.  R.  King,  v.  6,  168.       (note). 
»  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

4  Hist.  Cols,  of  Va.,  by  Howe,  237. 


206         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

depth  of  research,  in  sweep  of  vision  and  sympathy,  in 
thoroughness  of  exposition,  and  in  capacity  for  closely 
knit  and  long-sustained  trains  of  reasoning ;  but  which  one 
of  them  has  ever  outshone  him  in  those  bright  fields  over 
which  the  human  spirit  sparkles  or  flames  in  its  kindling 
moments?  Ingenuity,  Wit,  Fancy,  Imagination,  Elo- 
quence, Intuitive  Sagacity,  and  occasionally,  a  rare  gift 
of  Vaticination  light  up  the  drab  and  commonplace 
Congressional  background  of  his  speeches  as  the  rays  of 
the  sun  reflected  from  some  glassy  or  metallic  surface  are 
sometimes  seen  to  light  up  a  sullen  hillside.  To  read  the 
speeches  of  Randolph's  earlier  fellow  Congressmen,  which 
for  the  most  part  are  now  as  lifeless  as  burnt-out  fuses, 
and  then  to  turn  to  one  of  his  speeches  is  like  what  it  for- 
merly was  to  sit  in  a  theatre  at  night  and  to  have  all  the 
gas  jets  in  it,  from  dome  to  pit,  suddenly  lifted  up  the 
fraction  of  an  inch  higher.  Whatever  else  Randolph  may 
be,  he  is  to  his  present  reader,  as  he  was  to  his  contempo- 
rary auditor,  always  interesting.  The  moment  he  appears 
before  the  curtain  the  orchestra  strikes  up  and  the  move- 
ment from  beginning  to  end  is  allegro.  He  uttered 
many  immoderate  and  even  some  bigoted  words,  and 
occasionally  he  uttered  a  shallow  one,  though  nothing  can 
be  truer  than  the  claim  so  frequently  made  that  robust 
common  sense  was  the  real  basis  of  his  intellectual  charac- 
ter. The  Reverend  Dr.  Conrad  Speece,  of  Virginia,  used 
to  say  that  he  would  rather  hear  the  nonsense  of  John 
Randolph  than  the  sense  of  any  other  man;  and  even 
Randolph's  wit,  to  use  a  fine  general  definition  of  wit  by 
Alphonse  Karr,  was  often  only  "reason  armed."  But, 
when  he  rose  to  speak  in  the  House,  his  hearers  had  no 
inclination  except  to  sit  mute  and  to  give  themselves  up  to 
a  rhetorical  spell  which  made  them  feel  as  if  they  were 
listening  to  some  unique  being,  whose  classic  eloquence, 
freed  from  all  pedantry  by  the  breath  of  the  dewy  fields 
and  forests  of  the  plantation  and  the  fuller  knowledge  of 


Randolph  as  an  Orator  207 

men  and  man's  estate  which  comes  from  daily  contact 
with  human  beings  and  human  affairs,  had  been  formed 
not  in  the  ordinary  school  of  Congressional  declamation, 
but  in  some  school  where  the  open  face  of  Nature,  the 
agora  and  the  Academy  had  each  been  a  preceptress. 
Randolph's  speeches  in  Congress  were  frequently  gar- 
nished with  apt  quotations  from  Latin  and  English  poetry 
and  allusions  to  such  Homeric  heroes  as  Nestor,  Achilles, 
and  Hector ;  indeed  with  references  to  almost  every  prov- 
ince of  human  learning,  for  his  memory  retained  impres- 
sions as  faithfully  as  a  baked  tile.  \  His  diction,  unstudied 
as  it  was,  though  sometimes  in  his  later  years  encumbered 
with  too  many  parentheses,  was  eminently  scholarly,  and 
at  times  even  lofty,  and  was  always  not  only  pure,  nervous, 
and  correct,  but  finished  almost  ad  unguem.  No  speech, 
however  impressive  at  the  time,  ever  lives  unless  it  is  good 
literature ;  and  the  charm  of  reading  whatever  Randolph 
spoke  or  wrote  is  essentially  a  literary  charm.  But,  so  far 
as  we  are  aware,  there  is  not  the  slightest  evidence  to  show 
that  any  member  of  Congress  ever  sincerely  objected  to 
his  speeches  because  they  were  accompanied  by  Latin  or 
English  quotations,  or  on  the  ground  that  they  were 
scholastic  in  any  respect  j  The  attitude  of  Congress 
towards  them  appears  to  have  been  that  of  the  character 
in  "The  Elder  Brother"  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  who 
said: 

"Though  I  can  speak  no  Greek,  I  love  the  sound  on't, 
It  goes  so  thundering  as  it  conjured  devils." 

.(fit  enjoyed  them  and  drank  them  in  with  keen  eagerness, 
perhaps  because  it  approved  Randolph's  own  saying  that 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  hitch  up  a  colt  with  a  dull  horse.  If 
they  had  been  the  speeches  of  a  pedant  or  a  mere  scholar, 
this,  of  course,  would  not  have  been  the  case.  Deliberative 
assemblies,  even  those  composed  to  a  great  extent  of  highly 
educated  men,  soon  tire  of  that  kind  of  a  speaker.     But 


208         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Latin  and  English  quotations,  and  the  display  of  many 
kinds  of  knowledge,  of  which  the  average  Congressman 
was  ignorant,  and  really  had  no  great  need,  did  not  give 
a  member  of  the  House  a  distaste  for  Randolph's  oratory 
because  these  things  he  felt  instinctively  were  but  a  part 
of  that  almost  preternatural  facility  with  which  Randolph 
could  for  hours  at  a  time,  with  as  much  ease  as  water  runs 
out  of  a  cup,  or  the  wind  moves  along  its  trackless  path- 
way, give  utterance  to  a  host  of  fresh  pictorial  thoughts, 
expressed  with  too  much  consummate  readiness  and  har- 
mony to  leave  the  slightest  doubt  behind  them  as  to  the 
ability  of  the  speaker  to  carry,  without  difficulty,  the 
whole  weight  of  his  burden,  however  various.     Randolph's 
learning,  like  all  the  other  elements  which  entered  into  his 
liquid  speech,  was  held  in  infusion  too  completely  to  have 
a  foreign  flavor,   (a)     The  truth  is  that  his  literary  accom- 
plishments were,  as  they  should  have  been,  a  merely  sub- 
sidiary feature  of  his  character  as  an  orator  and  a  states- 
man; and  in  this  position  they  were  kept,  aside  from  still 
more  important  features  of  that  character,  by  his  extra- 
ordinary prominence  as  a  wealthy  land-  and  slave-holder, 
his  high  social  station,  his  familiarity  with  the  world  of 
action,  as  well  as  of  books,  and  the  extent  to  which  his 
mind   was   saturated   with   reflections   and   illustrations 
drawn  from  the  great  living  volume  of  nature  in  Virginia. 
To  few  men  in  the  public  life  of  England  or  of  our  own 
country  have  instructive  apothegms  or  wise  maxims,  prov- 
erbs, and  sayings  derived  from  the  collective  wisdom  of 
humanity,  expressing  itself  on  the  street  and  in  the  farm- 
house, been  more  serviceable  in  the  propagation  of  their 
ideas  than  they  were  to  Randolph.     They  were  but  suc- 
cinct formulae,   for  rules  of  conduct  worked  out  by  his 
own  practical  intelligence,  which  rarely  'ost  contact  with 
actuality. 

/  One  of  the  most  attractive  traits  of  his  oratory  was  the 
promptitude  with  which  he  seized  upon  some  rural  fact  or 


Randolph  as  an  Orator  209 

natural  phenomenon  for  the  purpose  of  giving  point  to 
some  conception  or  argument  of  his.  An  example  of  this 
on  the  hustings  is  mentioned  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  S.  Lacy  in 
his  Early  Recollections  of  John  Randolph. 

"He  was  at  the  time  alluded  to  speaking  with  calmness  and 
earnestness  too,  deeply  absorbed  in  his  subject  and,  from  the 
quiet  and  fixed  attention  of  the  people,  they  were  deeply  inter- 
ested also.  He  was  in  the  act  of  stating  that,  if  certain  things 
were  done,  'such  an  event  would  follow  as  inevitably' — and 
casting  up  his  eye,  as  if  to  seize  upon  some  appropriate  illus- 
tration, a  leaf  from  the  tree  over  him  came  twirling  down  be- 
fore his  face,  and,  following  it  with  his  finger  in  its  fall  to  the 
ground,  he  added — 'as  the  power  of  gravitation.'  If  he  had 
studied  a  month  for  an  illustration,  to  suit  his  purpose  precisely, 
he  could  not  have  selected  one  more  appropriate.  It  seemed 
to  strike  everyone  with  an  agreeable  surprise.  This,  however, 
is  only  one  out  of  scores  of  similar  instances."1  (a) 

Another  story  of  the  same  sort  is  found  in  a  letter  from 
Timothy  Pickering  to  Rufus  King:  "John  Randolph," 
he  says,  "observing  my  townsman,  Crowninshield,  quite 
fierce  for  Gregg's  Resolution,  said  to  one  of  my  friends  in 
the  House  that  'he  (Crowninshield)  was  like  a  hog  swim- 
ming over  a  river — who  would  cut  his  own  throat. ' " 2 

On  another  occasion,  discussing  the  regular  army,  he 
said:  "  If  ever  we  are  to  have  a  respectable  regular  force, 
we  must,  to  use  a  phrase  common  in  our  new  settled 
country,  'begin  again  from  the  stump.'"3  In  the  econ- 
omy of  such  a  country  as  Southside  Virginia  stumps  were 
a  standing  offense  to  proper  tilth,  and,  left  in  the  beds  of 
new-made  roads,  sometimes  spiced  travel  with  no  little 
risk ;  so  it  is  natural  that  Randolph  should  have  returned 
to  them  a  second  time  in  debate.  The  road  from  the 
Crimea  to  Byzantium  had  proved  a  "stumpy"  one  for 

1  Union  Seminary  Mag.,  v.  5  (1893-94),  P-  1-10. 

2  Feb.  13, 1806,  Life  of  Rufus  King,  ed.,  by  Chas.  R.  King,  v.  4, 494. 

3  A.  of  C,  1809-10,  v.  1,  62. 

vol.  11— 14 


210         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Russia,  he  said. l     On  another  occasion,  illustrating  the 
sense  of  impunity,  he  exclaimed : 

"  If  you  want  mischievous  stock  on  your  farm  or  plantation, 
you  must  keep  bad  fences;  if  you  would  have  roguish  hogs, 
cows  and  horses,  keep  bad  fences.  Those,  who  would  not 
otherwise  have  ventured  to  jump  over  a  straw,  will  in  that 
way  soon  learn  to  jump,  as  we  say  in  the  Southern  Country, 
over  ten  rails  and  a  rider."2 


The  embargo  without  a  time  limitation  was  a  "horse 
medicine."3  Who  that  ever  witnessed  the  hit-or-miss, 
kill-or-cure,  methods  of  a  rural  veterinarian  can  be  at 
any  loss  to  understand  just  what  Randolph  meant?  The 
amazing  thing  is  that  speeches  so  faultless  in  syntax  and 
expression,  and  so  crowded  with  glistening  similes  and 
metaphors  and  pointed,  and,  at  times,  poetical,  phrases, 
should  have  been  thrown  off  by  him  wholly  without  verbal 
preparation.  In  the  course  of  a  debate  in  the  House,  he 
spoke  of  himself  as  accustomed  to  meditate  much  on  his 
opinions,  and  not  at  all  on  the  language  that  conveyed 
them;4  and,  in  another  debate,  he  declared  that  he  had 
never  been  able  to  make  what  was  called  "a  regular 
speech. "  (a)  Everything  appeared  to  undergo  a  kind  of 
"sea-change"  in  his  mind;  passing  into  it  in  some  prosaic, 
familiar  form,  and  issuing  from  it  in  some  vivid  and  highly 
original  one.  "That  simple  rule,"  he  once  declared,  in 
regard  to  a  parliamentary  rule  relating  to  the  motion  to 
reconsider,  "might  satisfy  the  most  lynx-eyed  duenna 
anxious  to  restrain  the  wanton  excursions  of  debate."5 

Or  take  this  example :  "But  how  cruel  it  is  when  the  cup 
of  fruition  is,  as  it  were,  at  the  lips  of  the  panting  expectant 
for  this  House,  for  the  Committee  of  Claims — that  Rhada- 

*A.ofC.,  1823-24,  v.  1,  1 183.  M.  of  C,  1815-16,  v.  1,  945. 

*A.of  C,  1809-10,  v.  1,  105.  4  A.  of  C,  1821-22,  v.  1,  943. 

*A.  of  C,  1815-16,  v.  1,  698. 


Randolph  as  an  Orator  211 

manthan  Committee — to  dash  it  from  the  parched  lips  of 
these  thirsty  patriots!"1 
Or  take  this  example : 

M  It  was  as  much  as  old  Nestor,  with  trusty  Sthenelus  by  his 
side,  and  all  the  train  could  do  to  arrest  those  fiery  hot- 
headed steeds  who  were  hurrying  the  state  carriage  down  the 
precipice  of  French  alliance."2 

And  when  was  any  other  Congressman  ever  known  to 
frame  such  a  sentence  as  this : 

"Miserable  indeed  would  be  the  condition  of  oppressed 
humanity,  if  the  sweet  pliability  of  man's  spirit  could  not  now 
and  then  turn  its  gaze  from  the  sombre  events  of  life  and  relax 
into  a  smile."3 

The  simplest,  the  most  uninspiring,  subject  had  a  way 
of  picturing  itself  in  boldly  figurative  language  when 
heated  by  his  imagination:  "The  moment  this  bill  be- 
comes a  law,"  he  announced  on  one  occasion,  "you  will 
hear  the  flap  of  the  ominous  wings  of  the  Treasury  poun- 
cing upon  your  table  with  projects  of  land  tax,  excise, 
hearth  tax,  window  tax. " 4 

However  diffuse  and  vagrant  his  discourse  might  be  as 
a  whole,  his  individual  sentences  were  usually  concise 
and  sententious  to  an  eminent  degree,  as  when  he  said: 
"You  may  cover  whole  skins  of  parchment  with  limita- 
tions but  power  alone  can  limit  power."5 

"The  vermin  of  contract,"  "the  besom  of  innovation," 
"Backstairs  influence,"  "the  pages  of  the  water-closet," 
are  but  some  of  the  derisive  expressions  which  clung  like 
burrs  to  the  memory  of  his  contemporaries.  Diplomats 
he  defined  as  "privileged  spies." 

1  A.  of  C,  1816-17,  v.  2,  388.  3  A.  of  C,  1809-1810,  v.  1,  150. 

*A.  of  C,  1807-08,  v.  2,  2048.  4  A.  of  C,  1811-12,  v.  1,  775. 

s  A.  of  C,  1811 — 12,  v.  1,  744. 


212         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

When  was  the  truth,  of  which  we  have  almost  lost  sight 
in  this  day  of  the  initiative  and  referendum,  more  point- 
edly stated  than  by  Randolph  ? 

11  Every  feature  of  our  Governments,  both  State  and  Federal, 
prove  that  the  people  were  sensible  of  the  necessity  of  restrain- 
ing as  well  the  headlong  impetuosity  of  the  multitude  as  the 
inordinate  ambition  of  the  few.  Where  such  restraint  is  not 
imposed  there  is  no  genuine  liberty."1 

And  when  was  the  difference  between  the  scope  of  real 
executive  oversight  on  a  large  scale  and  that  of  narrow 
routine  training  brought  out  more  distinctly  than  it  was  in 
these  words  directed  against  Crowninshield :  (a) 

"There  were  two  sorts  of  experience — that  of  an  enlarged, 
liberal,  reflecting  mind,  possessing  powers  of  high  discrimina- 
tion, capable  of  comparing  effects  in  all  their  various  relations 
to  each  other,  and  a  little  petty,  personal  experience,  extending 
to  a  few  matters  of  insignificant  detail.  Because  a  man  had 
served  on  board  a  merchant  vessel,  whether  in  the  forecastle  or 
the  cabin,  did  that  entitle  him  to  talk  magisterially  on  systems 
of  naval  defense  ?  Or  because  he  could  box  the  compass  was 
he  better  calculated  for  the  head  of  an  admiralty  than  John 
Lord  Spencer,  who  was  probably  destitute  of  that  elegant 
accomplishment,  but  who,  because  he  was  a  statesman  and 
not  because  he  was  an  able-bodied  seaman,  had  conducted  the 
naval  affairs  of  a  country  with  a  success  and  glory  that  might 
be  equalled  but  never  could  be  surpassed."2 

Nor  could  political  philosophy  ever  hope  to  be  attired 
in  a  more  winning  dress  than  it  is  in  these  words  used  by 
Randolph  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829-30  on  the 
proposition  to  discard  property  as  a  principle  to  be  taken 
into  account  in  fixing  upon  the  proper  basis  for  the  suf- 
frage : 

1  A.  of  C,  1807-08,  v.  1,  941.  2  A.  of  C,  1807-08,  v.  i,  1169. 


Randolph  as  an  Orator  213 

"It  is  the  first  time  in  my  life  that  I  ever  heard  of  a  govern- 
ment which  was  to  divorce  property  from  power,  yet  this  is 
seriously  and  soberly  proposed  to  us.  Sir,  I  know  it  is  practi- 
cable, but  it  can  be  done  only  by  a  violent  divulsion  as  in 
France — but  the  moment  you  have  separated  the  two  that 
very  moment  property  will  go  in  search  of  power  and  power 
in  search  of  property.  'Male  and  female  created  he  them,' 
and  the  two  sexes  do  not  more  certainly,  nor  by  a  more  unerr- 
ing law,  gravitate  to  each  other  than  power  and  property."1  (a) 


t: 


The  truth  of  what  we  have  so  far  said  about  Randolph 
as  an  orator  is  generally  allowed;  but  it  is  often  asserted 
that  his  speeches  were  at  times  unduly  prolix  and  digres- 
sive and  therefore  deficient  in  the  best  quality  of  a  good 
speech;  that  is,  relevancy  to  the  point  at  issue;  and  not 
infrequently  these  criticisms,  as  we  have  seen,  assume  the 
form  of  a  flat  asseveration  that  Randolph's  mind  was 
lacking  in  logical  power. 

In  weighing  the  force  of  these  views,  a  broad  distinction 
must  be  taken  between  Randolph  in  the  earlier  stages  of 
his  political  career  and  Randolph  in  its  latter.  At  no  time 
in  his  life  were  his  speeches  cast  in  the  ordinary  mould  of 
formal,  standard  logic ;  for,  at  no  time  in  his  life,  it  is  be- 
lieved, did  he  rely  upon  anything  but  the  vivida  vis  of  his 
own  quick,  fertile  mind  for  the  garb  of  his  spoken  words. 
Even  in  his  earlier  speeches,  there  is  often  a  lack  in  the 
chain  of  his  thoughts  of  that  closely  linked  concatenation 
which  is  found  even  in  the  efforts  of  commonplace  but 
more  conventional  speakers.  In  his  finest  speeches,  such 
as  those  on  Gregg's  Resolution,  there  are  lacunae,  missing 
stitches,  here  and  there,  and  then  passion,  as  in  his  Yazoo 
speeches,  is  often  so  perfectly  fused  with  argument  that 
argument  appears  to  lose,  to  no  little  extent,  its  own 
severe,  sharply  defined  character,  (b)  But  to  assert  that, 
even  when  Randolph's  mind  was  not  in  a  shattered  con- 
dition, his  speeches  gave  no  evidence  of  real  logical  power, 

1  Debates,  319. 


214         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

is  to  disregard  altogether  the  reports  of  his  speeches  in  the 
records  of  Congress.  These  reports  will  show  that,  at 
times,  he  not  only  reasoned  consecutively  and  most  co- 
gently but,  at  times,  most  ingeniously  and  subtly.)  It  was 
an  observation  of  Calhoun,  one  of  the  acutest  of  -men,  that 
it  was  an  error  to  suppose  that  Randolph  was  deficient 
in  reasoning  capacity.  Upon  a  single  point,  he  said, 
Randolph  reasoned  admirably ;  it  was  only  when  he  came 
to  deal  with  a  combination  of  points  that  his  ratiocination 
fell  short1;  and  there  is  some  truth  in  this  judgment;  for 
Randolph  was  endowed  with  what  has  been  happily  called 
"a  single-track  mind."  John  Wickham  also  had  some- 
thing to  say  on  the  subject : 

"If  the  enemies  of  Mr.  Randolph  mean  to  say  that  he  can 
not,  or  at  least  does  not,  build  up  an  argument,  brick  by  brick, 
as  an  architect  puts  up  a  house,  they  are  probably  correct.  But 
as  the  object  of  all  argument  is  to  carry  a  point,  and,  as  he 
must  be  considered  the  ablest  reasoner  who  makes  the  most 
decided  impression,  he  must  be  a  very  rash  man  who  should 
refuse  to  accord  to  Mr.  Randolph  reasoning  powers  of  a  very 
high  order."2 


B 


Be  this  as  it  may,  there  was  never  a  time  in  Randolph's 
life,  whether  before  his  intellect  became  gravely  suscep- 
tible to  derangement,  or  afterwards,  when  he  did  not  pos- 
sess, to  a  remarkable  degree,  the  faculty  of  reasoning 
soundly  by  flashes  of  intuition;  of  reaching  the  correct 
conclusion  by  a  leap  instead  of  by  a  step-ladder.  Few 
men,  too,  have  equalled  him  in  the  faculty  of  condensing 
laborious  processes  of  argumentation  into  a  pithy  state- 
ment or  a  felicitous  figure  of  speech.  On  this  subject, 
there  are  some  weighty  sentences  in  ~The  Party  Leaders  of 
Joseph  G.  Baldwin,  who  lived  near  enough  to  Randolph's 

1  "Sketches  of  the  Va.  Convention  of  1829-30,"  by  Hugh  R.  Pleasants, 
So.  Lit.  Mess.,  v.  17,  302. 

3  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 


Randolph  as  an  Orator  215 

time  to  make  him  little  less  than  an  original  authority  on 
the  subject  of  Randolph : 

"But  most  largely  developed  of  all  his  faculties,  probably, 
was  his  quick,  clear  and  deep  comprehension.  His  finely- 
toned  and  penetrative  intellect  possessed  an  acumen,  a  per- 
spicuity which  was  as  quick  and  vivid  as  lightning.  His 
conclusions  did  not  wait  upon  long  and  labored  inductions; 
his  mind,  as  by  an  instinctive  insight,  darted  at  once  upon  the 
core  of  the  subject,  and  sprang  with  an  electric  leap  upon  the 
conclusion.  He  started  where  most  reasoners  end.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  he  was  deficient  in  argumentative 
power.  He  was  as  fertile  of  argumentation  as  most  speakers ; 
he  was  only  deficient  in  argumentative  forms.  His  statements 
were  so  clear,  so  simplified,  and  so  vivid  that  they  saved  him 
much  of  the  necessity  of  laborious  processes  of  ratiocination. 
Much  that  looked  like  declamation  was  only  illustration  or 
another  form  of  argument."1' 

But,  unquestionably,  Randolph's  latter  day  speeches, 
even  before  his  mental  powers  became  permanently  im- 
paired, were  inferior  in  point  of  logical  coherency  to  his 
earlier  ones.  Brilliant  and  far-sighted  as  was  his  leading 
speech  on  the  tariff  in  1824,  in  it  can  yet  be  observed 
indications  of  the  mental  relaxation  which,  at  times, 
rendered  his  subsequent  speeches  so  diffuse  and  rambling. 
During  his  Senatorial  career,  his  growing  tendency  towards 
feverish  loquacity  and  aimless  wanderings,  aggravated  by 
an  indubitable  access  of  positive  mental  infirmity,  reached 
its  extreme  limit,  so  far  as  Congress  was  concerned;  and, 
notwithstanding  the  gleams  of  wit,  wisdom,  and  instructive 
knowledge,  by  which  even  his  longest  and  most  multi- 
farious discourses  in  the  Senate  were  relieved,  and  the 
savage  force,  with  which  they  sank  their  teeth  at  times, 
into  the  flank  of  the  Adams  administration,  his  speeches 
during  his  Senatorial  career  were  serious  impediments  to 
the  orderly  and  dispatchful  transaction  of  the  public  busi- 

» p.  268. 


216         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

ness,  and  even  had  a  decided  effect  in  defeating  his  re- 
election to  the  Senate.j  It  will  not  do,  however,  to  attach 
too  much  importance  to  the  fact  that  Randolph's  speeches 
in  Congress  were  not  always  pertinent  to  the  pending 
subject  of  debate.  He  often  used  the  text  furnished  by 
it  merely  as  a  hook  on  which  to  hang  his  convictions  about 
current  political  issues.  As  a  speech  on  Retrenchment 
and  Reform,  his  speech  on  that  subject  in  the  House  is  a 
very  irrelevant  one,  but,  as  an  eulogy  of  Andrew  Jackson, 
and  an  attack  on  John  Quincy  Adams,  it  is  a  masterpiece. 
Singular  to  say,  to  anyone,  who  is  not  familiar  with  the 
peculiar  manner  in  which  the  recurrences  of  Randolph's 
dementia  manifested  themselves,  his  speeches  in  the  Vir- 
ginia Convention  of  1829-30  were  not  only  brief  but 
conspicuously  terse  and  pointed.  They  too  are  marked  by 
little  or  no  studied  reasoning ;  indeed  by  little  reasoning  of 
any  kind,  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  his  policy  in 
the  Convention  was  not  to  open  up  or  discuss  any  question 
new  or  old,  but  simply  to  insist  doggedly  and  scornfully 
upon  the  strength  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole's  maxim,  quieta 
non  mover e,  that  the  existing  constitution  of  Virginia 
should  undergo  no  substantial  change.  After  the  ad- 
journment of  the  Convention,  Randolph  never  spoke  in 
any  deliberative  body  again ;  and  it  will  not  do  to  test  the 
merits  of  his  subsequent  speeches  on  the  hustings  by  the 
standards  prescribed  by  parliamentary  oratory.  [Tin  the 
last  stages  of  his  political  activity,  even  when  he  was  in  a 
mental  state  to  be  taken  seriously  at  all,  he  was  not  merely 
an  orator;  he  was  a  theatrical  show,  a  circus  as  well. 
Thousands  of  people  thronged  to  hear  him  on  court  day, 
not  so  much  to  be  instructed  as  to  be  startled  and  enter- 
tained, and  the  avidity,  with  which  they  devoured  every- 
thing that  he  said,  reacted  unfavorably  upon  his  oratorical 
gifts,  already  deeply  affected  by  his  general  loss  of  mental 
force  and  balance.  He  became  arrogant,  overbearing, 
garrulous,  extravagant,  abusive,  and  resolved  still  to  sit, 


Randolph  as  an  Orator  217 

even  if  he  no  longer  had  the  strength  to  stand,  before  the 
footlights.  Finally,  we  see  Randolph  at  Buckingham 
Court  House,  as  Moseley  described  him — a  decrepit,  mo- 
rose, crack-brained  old  man,  but  little  removed  from  the 
stage  of  human  existence  when  we  are  told  by  Jacques  that 
we  are  "  sans  teeth,  sans  eyes,  sans  taste,  sans  everything, " 
or,  as  he  described  himself,  "a  poor,  half -crazy,  moon- 
struck South-sider.  "x  But,  perhaps,  we  have  engaged  in 
an  unprofitable  task  in  subjecting  Randolph  as  an  orator 
to  ordinary  principles  of  criticism  at  all.  His  charm  as  a 
speaker  consisted  largely  in  the  fact  that  his  elocution  and 
matter  were  both  so  peculiaily  original  as  to  render  him 
absolutely  unique.  Theie  is  no  other  orator  with  whom 
we  can  compare  him.  He  is  the  only  member  of  his 
species,  and  to  him  might  be  applied  what  the  New 
England  countryman  said  of  that  other  brilliant  creature, 
Rufus  Choate.  Contrasting  Choate  with  Webster,  he 
said :  "Webster  is  like  everybody  else,  except  that  there  is 
more  of  him;  but  whoever  saw  anybody  like  Rufus 
Choate?" 

1  Letter  to  J.  R.  Bryan  and  wife,  Aug.  i,  1830,  Bryan  MSS. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Randolph  as  a  Statesman 

v  Randolph's  position  as  an  orator  is  assured,  but  his 
position  as  a  statesman  is  by  no  means  so  certain.  Indeed, 
if  he  is  judged  by  present  standards  of  American  states- 
manship, it  is  difficult  for  anyone  except  a  student  of  his- 
tory to  think  of  him  as  a  statesman  at  all;  so  completely 
lost  beyond  all  possibility  of  redemption  are  most  of  the 
causes  for  which  he  strove.  There  was  nothing  conti- 
nental ;  nothing  truly  national,  about  him.  It  will  not  do 
to  apply  to  him  as  a  statesman  our  current  tests — an 
open-minded  construction  of  the  Federal  Constitution; 
devotion  to  the  ideal  of  national  unityj  faith  in  our  ex- 
panding population,  wealth  and  power?  sensibility  to  the 
military  and  naval  needs,  developed  by  the  mutual  pro- 
pinquity of  all  parts  of  the  earth,  brought  about  by  the 
steamship,  the  steam-car,  and  the  aeroplane;  the  awaken- 
ing sense  of  international  community,  which  is  slowly 
leading  to  the  sober  fulfillment  of  Tennyson's  radiant 
dream  of  the  Parliament  of  Man  and  the  Federation  of 
the  World,  and  freedom  from  all  the  sectional  and  class 
prepossessions  and  prejudices  which  do  so  much  to  cramp 
and  blur  the!,  outlook  which  should  belong  to  the  true 
statesman.  Tried  by  these  tests,  Randolph  is  not  entitled 
to  the  place  which  has  been  given  him  in  the  series  of  lives, 
published  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.,  under  the  title  of 
American  Statesmen^ 
When  construing  the  powers  of  the  general  government 

218 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  219 

under  the  Federal  Constitution,  he  approached  that 
instrument  in  a  spirit  as  nice  and  exacting  as  that  of  Shy- 
lock  when  construing  the  words  of  his  bond:  "  'Tis  not 
so  nominated  in  the  bond,"  was  as  far  as  he  could  be 
induced  to  go.  Members  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
as  we  have  seen,  he  deemed  representatives  of  the  States 
and  not  of  the  nation.  He  denied  the  power  of  the  Federal 
Government  to  establish  a  national  bank,  or  national 
highways,  or  to  enact  an  impost  measure  with  any  element 
of  protection  in  it.  He  was  so  jealous  of  any  attempt  on 
its  part  to  assert  authority  over  the  waters  of  the  Potomac 
River  that  even  Jefferson  was  compelled  to  dismiss  his 
fine-spun  refinements  as  ■ '  metaphysical. ' '  The  act  organ- 
izing a  provisional  government  for  the  colony  of  Virginia 
in  1652  concluded:  [_"God  save  the  commonwealth  of 
England  and  this  country  of  Virginia!"1  Transpose  the 
members  of  this  sentence  and  it  not  inaptly  voices  Ran- 
dolph's political  allegiance  J  The  State  of  Virginia,  then 
England,  and  then  what  he  called,  V  the  good  old  thirteen 
United  States,"2  exclusive  of  Virginia,  was  perhaps  the 
order  in  which  his  local  attachments  ranged  themselves. 
(a)  Except  so  far  as  the  Southern  States,  other  than 
Virginia,  were  bound  to  Virginia  by  similar  institutions 
and  pursuits,  he  seems  to  have  cared  as  little  about  them 
as  he  did  about  the  Middle  or  Eastern  States.  In  many 
respects,  his  social  characteristics  and  tastes  were  better 
suited  to  England  than  to  the  crudity  of  our  early  national 
existence.  To  him  it  was  the  maternal  and  a  riper  Vir- 
ginia. Indeed,  near  the  close  of  his  life,  his  disaffection 
even  with  his  native  commonwealth  was  so  strong  that  Dr. 
Ethelbert  Algernon  Coleman,  after  visiting  him  at  Roa- 
noke, made  this  entry  in  his  unpublished  diary,  on  Oct. 
20,  1832 :  "  From  his  continual  abuse  of  this  country  and 
its  levelling  principles,  and  from  the  exalted  terms,  in 

1  Hist,  of  Va.,  by  Chas.  Campbell,  223. 
*A.qfC,  1815-16,534. 


220         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

which  he  speaks  of  England  and  its  society  and  institu- 
tions, one  would  certainly  conclude  him  to  be  a  tory." 
These,  however,  were  but  the  outgivings  of  a  soul  so  sick 
from  both  physical  and  mental  causes  as  to  be  incapable 
any  longer  of  finding  tranquillity  and  contentment  any- 
where. It  is  true  that  even  in  healthier  moments  Ran- 
dolph often  decried  Virginia,  but,  in  this  respect,  he 
resembles  Dr.  Johnson,  who  disparaged  Goldsmith  himself 
but  would  not  allow  anyone  else  to  do  so.  The  intense 
sympathy  which  he  usually  manifested  with  the  Irish  in 
their  desire  for  a  larger  measure  of  political  well-being,  the 
fond  veneration  which  he  entertained  for  the  character  of 
Washington,  the  pride  which  he  took  in  our  Revolutionary 
achievements,  the  satisfaction  which  he  derived  from  the 
popular  as  well  as  the  aristocratic  side  of  the  old  Virginia 
civil  polity,  show  that,  after  all,  Virginia  was  more  con- 
genial with  his  predilections  than  England,  even  though 
he  did  exclaim  at  times  that  there  never  had  and  never 
would  be  such  a  country  as  England,  or  such  a  boot-and- 
shoemaker  as  Hoby,  of  London,  or  insisted  that  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Established  Church  of  England.  For  noth- 
ing can  be  beter  avouched  than  his  constant,  fervid,  and 
impassioned  affection  for  Virginia.  "When  I  speak  of 
my  country,"  he  wrote  to  Key  on  Sept.  7,  1818,  "I  mean 
the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia."1 

"I  confess,"  he  said,  when  the  Apportionment  Bill  of  1822 
brought  out  the  fact  that  Virginia  was  slipping  back  in  the 
scale  of  population,  "that  I  have  (and  I  am  not  at  all  ashamed 
to  own  it)  an  hereditary  attachment  to  the  State  which  gave 
me  birth.  I  shall  act  upon  it  as  long  as  I  act  on  this  floor 
or  anywhere  else;  I  shall  feel  it  when  I  am  no  longer  capable 
of  action  anywhere,  but  I  beg  gentlemen  to  bear  in  mind  that, 
if  we  feel  the  throes  and  agonies,  which  gentlemen  seem  to 
impute  to  us  at  the  recollection  of  our  departing  power,  why, 
Sir,  there  is  something  in  fallen  greatness,  though  it  be  in  the 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  103. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  221 

person  of  a  despot;  something,  to  enlist  the  passions  and 
feelings  of  men  even  against  their  reason.  Bonaparte  himself 
has  had  those  who  sympathized  with  him.  But,  if  such  be 
our  condition,  if  we  really  are  so  extremely  sensitive  on  this 
subject,  do  not  gentlemen  recollect  the  application  of  another 
received  maxim  in  relation  to  sudden — I  will  not  say  upstart — 
elevation — that  some  who  are  once  set  on  horseback  know  not 

and  care  not  which  way  they  shall  ride 

"I  have  found  the  gentleman  from  New  York  always  agree- 
able and  polite  in  his  deportment ;  I  feel  for  him  every  sort  of 
deference,  but  I  beg  him  to  recollect  an  old  motto  that  always 
occurs  to  me  at  the  approach  of  everything  in  the  shape  of  an 
attack  upon  my  country.     It  is:   Nemo  me  impune  lacessit. "* 

In  another  debate  on  the  same  subject,  he  even  declared 
that  he  had  rather  take  the  chance  of  war  with  the  Holy 
Alliance  of  Europe  than  lose  one  representative  on  the 
floor  of  the  House  from  Virginia.2  On  another  occasion 
he  said: 

"  Whatever  is  to  be  the  fate  of  this  bill,  whether  this  splendid 
project  [surveys  for  roads  and  canals]  shall  or  shall  not  go  into 
operation  now  or  be  reserved  for  the  new  reign,  the  approach 
of  which  is  hailed  with  so  much  pleasure,  my  place  must  be 
either  in  the  obscurity  of  private  life  or  in  the  thankless  and 
profitless  employment  of  attempting  to  uphold  the  rights  of 
the  States  and  of  the  people  so  long  as  I  can  stand — more 
especially  the  rights  of  my  native  State,  the  land  of  my  sires, 
which,  although  I  be  among  the  least  worthy  or  least  favored 
of  her  sons,  and,  although  she  may  allot  to  me  a  stepson's  por- 
tion, I  will  uphold  so  long  as  I  live."3 

Despite  the  appellation  of  " The  Hannibal  of  the  West" 
which  he  gave  to  George  Rogers  Clark,  and  the  expedition 
of  the  two  Virginians,  William  Clark  and  Meriwether 
Lewis,  which  has  been  recently  commemorated  by  a  singu- 

*  A.  of  C,  1821-22,  v.  1, 903.  2  A.  of  €.,  Id.,  v.  i,  946. 

3  4.  of  C,  1823-24,  v.  1,  1310. 


222         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

larly  beautiful  monument  at  Charlottesville,  Randolph 
regarded  with  no  little  distrust  our  westward  expansion. 

"When  I  hear, "  he  said  in  the  debate  on  the  Apportionment 
Bill  of  1822,  "of  settlements  at  the  Council  Bluffs,  and  of  bills 
for  taking  possession  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  I 
turn  not  a  deaf  ear  but  an  ear  of  a  different  sort  to  the  sad 
vaticinations  of  what  is  to  happen  in  the  length  of  time, 
believing,  as  I  do,  that  no  Government,  extending  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  can  be  fit  to  govern  me  or  those  whom 
I  represent.  There  is  death  in  the  pot,  compound  it  how  you 
will.  No  such  government  can  exist  because  it  must  want  the 
common  feeling  and  common  interest  with  the  governed  which 
is  indispensable  to  its  existence."1 

This  pinched  view  of  our  national  destiny  was  not  due  to 
a  lack  of  kindling  imagination,  for  with  that  faculty  he 
was  richly  endowed ;  but  to  the  fear  of  the  menace  to  the 
political  supremacy  of  Virginia  and  what  it  guarded  which 
lurked  in  every  westward  extension  of  our  national  empire. 
This  comes  out  very  clearly  in  what  he  prophetically  said 
on  another  occasion,  when  he  was  referring  to  the  act  by 
which  the  Northwest  Territory  was  ceded  by  Virginia  to 
the  Union. 

"But,  by  that  act,  the  great  river  Ohio,  in  itself  a  natural 
limit — not  a  line  drawn  by  your  surveyors  who  at  the  time  did 
not  dare  to  go  over  and  chop  with  a  tomahawk  a  line  in  the 
vast  forests,  then  imaginary  states — that  natural  limit  is  made 
(I  speak  in  the  spirit  of  foresight)  the  permanent  and  unfading 
line  of  future  division,  if  not  in  the  Government,  in  the  councils, 
of  the  Country."2 

Indeed,  to  such  a  pitch  was  his  alarm  aroused  by  what 
was  taking  place  in  the  West,  that  he  was  ready  to  regret 
one  of  the  most  creditable  episodes  in  his  entire  career; 
that  is,  the  part  he  took  in  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana. 

1  A.  of  C,  1821-22,  v.  1,  820.  M.  of  c,  1821-22,  v.  1,  942. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  223 

"I  for  one,"  he  exclaimed  in  the  same  speech,  "although 
forewarned,  was  not  forearmed.  If  I  had  been,  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  declaring  that  I  would  have  said  to  the  imperial 
Dejanira  of  modern  times — take  back  your  fatal  present!  I 
would  have  staked  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  on 
the  sword,  and  we  must  have  gained  it. MI 

Not  only  did  Randolph  pride  himself  upon  not  having 
voted  for  but  one  amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution, 
but  he  declared  that  he  had  never  voted  in  favor  of  the 
admission  of  any  state  into  the  Union. 2  "The  children  of 
the  second  marriage,"  he  once  declared,  " should  not 
sweep  away  the  whole  estate.  "3 

How  hostile  he  was  to  most  measures,  looking  to  our 
national  defence,  we  have  already  seen.  He  began  his 
political  career  by  terming  our  regular  soldiery  "rag-a- 
muffins,"  and  from  that  time  to  the  end  of  his  political 
career,  it  was  for  him  an  object  of  fierce  vituperation. 
At  one  time,  he  seems  to  have  recognized  the  fact  that  the 
maintenance  of  a  small  regular  army  for  such  purposes  as 
the  protection  of  New  Orleans,  the  chastisement  of  the 
Indians,  or  the  repulse  of  Canadian  incursions  was  neces- 
sary4; but,  beyond  these  limited  purposes,  the  professional 
soldier  was  anathema  maranatha  to  him.  In  fact,  he  once 
said  that  there  was  a  time,  and  he  wished  he  might  live  to 
see  it  again,  when  the  legislators  of  the  country  outnum- 
bered the  rank  and  file  of  the  army  and  the  officers  to 
boot. s  Once,  alluding  to  the  professional  soldier,  he  even 
poured  out  his  scorn  in  words  like  these:  " I  do  say  that  I 
never  see  one  of  those  useless  drones  in  livery  crawling  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  that  my  gorge  does  not  rise — that  I  do 
not  feel  sick.  I  see  no  reason  why  we  should  not  maintain 
sturdy  beggars  in  rags  as  well  as  beggars  of  another  de- 

1  A.  of  C,  1821-22,  v.  1,  943. 

2  Reg.  of  Debates,  1825-26,  v.  2,  Part  1,  354. 

3  A.  of  C,  1816-17,  v.  2,  467.  4  A.  of  C,  1811-12,  v.  i;  422. 
sA.ofC,  1821-22,  v.  1,819. 


224         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

scription  in  tinsel. " '  His  support  of  the  navy,  to  say  the 
least,  was  very  illiberal. 2  It  is  a  gratification,  however,  to 
realize  that,  in  course  of  time,  his  eyes  were  opened  to  the 
vital  importance  of  a  strong  fleet  to  our  safety.  ' 'Not  that 
he  denied,"  he  is  reported  as  saying  in  the  debate  on 
Commercial  Intercourse  in  1817,  "that,  if  this  country 
was  to  be  defended  against  a  great  maritime  power,  it 
must  be  by^a  fleet;  on  that  point  he  had  not  the  slightest 
doubt/'3  (But  again  we  must  remind  the  reader  that,  in 
his  opposition  to  a  considerable  aimy  and  navy,  Randolph 
was  probably  the  mouthpiece  of  a  vast  majority  of  his 
fellow-countrymen.  His  power  to  express  his  feelings 
with  declamatory  energy  was  simply  superior  to  theirs. 
Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  Randolph  worked  out  for 
himself  what  he  conceived  to  be  a  good  alternative  system 
of  national  defence  for  the  United  States.  In  season  and 
out  of  season,  he  insisted  that  every  able-bodied  man  in 
the  land  should  be  armed,  and  it  was  a  part  of  his  defensive 
scheme  also  that  our  coasts  should  be  defended  by  mobile 
batteries.     In  one  of  his  earlier  speeches,  he  said : 

"He  wished  to  see  the  public  treasure  employed  in  putting 
arms  into  the  hands  of  all  who  were  capable  of  bearing  them, 
and  in  providing  heavy  artillery;  not  in  the  erection  of  a  naval 
force  which,  whether  great  or  small,  unless  it  too  could  retreat 
beyond  the  mountains,  must  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
If  they  wanted  a  force  that  should  combine  strength  with 
simplicity,  ready  at  all  times  for  the  public  protection,  they 
had  such  a  force  amply  in  their  power.  "4 

Properly  enlarged  and  extended,  Randolph's  idea  of 
arming  the  entire  militia  of  the  country  was  eminently 
sound,  and  could  readily  have  been  developed  into  the 

1  A.  of  C,  1809-10,  v.  2,  1980. 

2  A.  of  C,  1808-09,  v.  3,  1348;  1809-10,  v.  2,  1612;  1809-10,  v.  2,  1994; 
1809-10,  v.  2,  2015;  1807-08,  v.  1,  829. 

3  A.  of  C,  1816-17,  v.  2,  830.       4  A.  of  C,  1807-08,  v.  1,  1 169. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  225 

system  of  universal  military  training  which,  it  is  now 
generally  conceded,  is  the  true  military  ideal  for  our 
country;  and,  if  his  idea  of  flying  coast-batteries  is  no 
longer  practicable,  perhaps  it  is  only  because  it  has  been 
rendered  obsolete  by  the  tremendous  power  and  range  of 
modern  naval  ordnance,  which  he  could  not  well  antici- 
pate. Nor  can  any  of  the  convictions  held  by  Randolph 
in  regard  to  the  national  defence  be  set  down  to  a  lack  of 
intrepidity  or  to  mere  besotted  pacifism,  such  as  was  so 
common  in  the  United  States  on  the  eve  of  the  recent 
World  War.  His  heart  was  a  brave  one,  and  never  was 
there,  a  head  in  which  less  inane  enthusiasm  was  lodged. 
(a)  As  his  stand  with  regard  to  Spanish  encroachments 
at  the  time  of  his  break  with  the  Jefferson  administration 
demonstrated,  he  was  quick  enough  to  fly  at  any  cock  that 
trespassed  upon  our  own  barn-yard.  His  theory  simply 
was  that  the  policy  of  non-entanglement  with  European 
discord  had  come  down  to  us  as  a  wise  tradition  of  policy ; 
that,  happily  for  us,  the  Atlantic  interposed  a  wide  and 
impassable  fosse  between  us  and  the  Old  World ;  and  that, 
if  we  would  only  safe-guard  our  coasts  with  a  well-armed 
citizenry  and  proper  trains  of  artillery,  there  would  be  no 
occasion  for  our  incurring  the  burden  and  peril  of  great 
military  and  naval  armaments.  Europe  was  then  really 
3,000  miles  away  from  us,  and  men  and  munitions  of  war 
could  be  transported  to  our  shores  only  in  squads  and 
driblets.  But,  when  the  Leopard  made  the  Chesapeake  the 
subject  of  its  wanton  outrage,  Randolph,  as  we  have  seen, 
flamed  up  into  burning  resentment.  He  was  for  vindi- 
cating the  violated  honor  of  the  country  instanter,  and, 
afterwards  reverting  to  the  incident,  he  said:  "We  spoke 
of  war  if  reparation  were  denied,  and  I  do  trust  in  God  that 
Quebec  would  have  been  in  ashes  if  Great  Britain  had 
avowed  the  attack."1  "It,"  he  said,  referring  to  the 
language  of  Talleyrand,  in  opposing  our  boundary  claims 

1  A.  of  C,  1807-8,  v.  2,  2034. 

VOL.  II — IS 


226         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

in  regard  to  Florida,  "will  ring  in  my  ears  with  that  of  Mr. 
Champagny,  and  with  the  thunder  of  the  guns  of  the 
Leopard,  as  long  as  I  live."1 

A  strong  spirit  of  international  sympathy  could  hardly 
have  been  expected  of  Randolph,  because  it  is  only  since 
his  day  that  such  a  thing  as  a  real  international  conscious- 
ness can  be  said  to  have  come  into  being.  It  was  natural 
that  he  should  have  felt  in  his  time,  as  the  wise  statesmen 
who  preceded  him  had  felt,  that,  the  less  we  allowed 
the  concerns  of  our  national  life  to  become  interlaced  with 
those  of  the  jarring  nations  of  Europe,  the  better.  Ran- 
dolph's powers  of  observation  and  reflection  were,  of 
course,  hobbled  by  many  more  or  less  imperious  predilec- 
tions and  prejudices.  He  was  a  member  of  the  ancient 
landed  aristocracy  of  Virginia,  and  he  found  it  difficult  in 
many  respects  to  rid  himself  of  its  social  bias  and  peculiar 
conceptions.  Fee  tails,  primogeniture,  and  the  freehold 
suffrage  were  all  hallowed  by  a  certain  sort  of  sanctity  in 
his  eyes,  and  shut  off  from  them  that  larger  vision  of  uni- 
versal suffrage,  universally  educated,  which  is  the  ideal  of 
our  own  time;  like  the  North  Pole  before  Peary,  often 
despaired  of  but  never  renounced.  Randolph  was  also 
strongly  swayed  by  sectional  influences,  but  not  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  prevent  him  from  forming  friendly  personal 
connections  with  more  than  one  Northern  member  of 
Congress.  He  found  the  same  difficulty  in  understanding 
the  New  England  character  that  the  New  England er 
found  in  understanding  the  Virginian  character,  and  no 
greater,  so  far  as  we  can  see;  forming  our  opinion  from 
hasty  judgments  about  "Yankees,"  which  we  find  here 
and  there,  in  his  letters,  and  the  reservations  which  such 
men  as  Josiah  Quincy  and  Elijah  H.  Mills,  of  Massachu- 
setts, preserved  in  their  friendly  social  intercourse  with 
him.  (a)  He  told  Josiah  Quincy  on  one  occasion  that  he 
never  intended  to  set  his  foot  on  the  farther  bank  of  the 

1  A,  of  C,  1807-08,  v.  2,  2031. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  227 

Hudson,  but  that  if  he  did,  Quincy's  house  was  the  first 
that  he  would  enter.  L(b) 

"I  was  born  in  allegiance  to  George  III.;  the  Bishop  of 
London  (Terrick)  was  my  diocesan,"  he  once  wrote  to  Key. 
"My  ancestors  threw  off  the  oppressive  yoke  of  the  mother 
country,  but  they  never  made  me  subject  to  New  England  in 
matters  spiritual  or  temporal;  neither  do  I  mean  to  become 
so  voluntarily."2 

Randolph's  failure  to  get  along  with  the  Northern  Demo- 
crats in  the  House  during  the  Jefferson  administration, 
was  largely  responsible  for  his  fall  from  leadership ;  and  it 
was  only  through  the  diplomatic  brokerage  of  Van  Buren, 
"rowing  to  his  object  with  muffled  oars,"  that  he  was 
brought  into  harmony  with  them  again. 
^But,  as  a  statesman,  Randolph  is  to  be  judged  by  no  such 
latter-day  tests.  He  was  a  public  man  of  the  early  19th, 
and  not  of  the  20th,  century ;  and  there  are  statesmen  of  lost 
as  well  as  of  won  causes.  If,  for  no  other  reason,  his  posi- 
tion as  a  statesman  is  secure,  first,  because  he  was  the  "un- 
usual phenomenon"  of  the  House  (to  use  a  term  borrowed 
from  John  Adams),3  during  the  brief  dewy  era  of  frugal- 
ity, retrenchment,  and  reform,  and  new-born  Republican 
principles  which  made  Jefferson  as  nearly  an  universally 
popular  Messiah  as  the  diversities  of  human  convictions 
and  sympathies  will  ever  permit  any  man  to  be ;  secondly, 
because  his  searching  common  sense,  eloquence  and  incor- 
ruptible integrity,  even  in  opposition,  scotched  many  an 
ill-digested  and  pernicious  measure,  and  thirdly,  because 
he  fully  deserved  the  tribute  paid  to  him  by  the  resolu- 
tions, adopted  at  Prince  Edward  Court  House  a  few  weeks 
after  his  death,  which  ran  in  these  words :  "  Resolved  that 
in  his  death,  we  deplore  the  loss  of  the  most  intelligent, 

1  Life  of  Quincy,  267.  2  Sept.  25,  1818,  Garland,  v.  2,  103. 

3  Letter  to  Rush,  June  22,  1806,  Old  Family  Letters,  100. 


228         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  most  consistent,  and  the  most  intrepid,  advocate  of  the 
Rights  and  Sovereignty  of  the  States.  '• J 

During  the  period  when  the  sarcastic  eloquence  of 
Randolph  reigned  pre-eminent  over  the  deliberations  of 
the  Federal  Representatives  (to  borrow  again  from  John 
Adams)2  he  performed  with  conspicuous  success  all  the 
tasks  imposed  upon  him  as  a  statesman  in  the  committee 
room  and  in  the  conference  chamber  of  the  President. 
Sawyer  tells  us  that  he  was  the  confidential  friend  of 
Jefferson  from  1801  until  his  breach  with  him  in  1806; 
and,  during  this  time,  conducted  himself  as  the  privileged 
and  almost  exclusive  champion  of  executive  policy  on  the 
floor  of  the  House. 3  By  Benton  we  are  told  that,  when- 
ever Randolph  arrived  in  Washington,  at  the  beginning  of 
a  session  of  Congress,  he  found  awaiting  him  an  invitation 
from  Jefferson  to  dine  with  him  at  the  White  House  the 
next  day;  so  that  they  could  fully  discuss  together  the 
business  of  the  session.  Many  years  after  this  period, 
Randolph  said  on  the  floor  of  the  House  that,  "when  he 
was  intimate  with  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  he  had 
been  let  into  their  secrets,  and,  perhaps,  too  deeply  into 
them. " 4  (a)  George  Tucker  states  that,  as  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  Randolph  was  "over- 
bearing and  dictatorial  with  his  associates — self-willed 
and  impracticable  with  the  Executive."5  The  first  of 
these  charges,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  is  supported  by  no 
evidence.  We  have  already  seen  how  eager  Randolph's 
colleagues  on  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  were  in 
1806  to  restore  him  to  its  Chairmanship.  In  one  of  his 
letters  to  Jefferson,  too,  at  any  rate,  he  manifested,  as  the 
reader  has  already  learned,  a  keen  desire  to  disabuse  the 
mind  of  Jefferson  of  the  possible  impression  that  he  had 
meant  a  reproach  to  him.     Nor,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  is 

"  Clerk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Prince  Edw.  Ct.  House,  Va. 

8  Works,  v.  1,  203.  3  Pp.  24  &  25. 

*  A.  of  C,  1815-16,  v.  1,  727,  s  Life  of  Jefferson,  v.  2.  206. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  229 

there  any  evidence  to  support  the  charge  made  against 
Randolph  by  Tucker  that  he  did  not  have  the  business 
habits,  or  knowledge  of  details,  or  powers  of  expounding 
what  was  intricate  or  obscure,  which  his  position  in  the 
House  sometimes  required.1  The  Annals  of  Congress 
show  that  he  was  very  industrious  and  systematic  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties,  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Ways  and  Means,  or  as  chairman  or  member  of  other 
committees,  on  which  he  served  during  the  administration 
of  Jefferson.  On  one  occasion,  Samuel  Smith,  who  had 
been  a  business  man  of  long  experience  and  high  standing, 
before  he  became  a  member  of  the  House,  expressed  his 
astonishment  at  the  readiness  with  which  Randolph,  as 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  ex- 
plained an  obscure  and  intricate  matter.2  Sawyer  also 
speaks  of  Randolph's  promptitude,  as  Chairman  of  that 
Committee,  in  making  all  the  necessary  explanations  on 
all  points  on  which  objections  were  raised  from  any  quarter 
of  the  House.  In  1 8 19,  Randolph  made  unchallenged  the 
statement  that,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  administra- 
tion of  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  expenditures  of  the  Govern- 
ment had  been  generally  within  the  appropriations,  and 
that  no  sum  appropriated  to  one  object  had  ever  been 
diverted  to  another.3  But  what  could  so  conclusively 
evince  the  merits  of  Randolph,  as  the  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  as  the  marked  reluctance 
with  which,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Albert  Gallatin 
saw  the  man,  who  had  been  his  right  arm  in  protecting 
the  revenues  of  the  country,  displaced  by  a  man  who 
shortly  afterwards  himself  felt  constrained  to  pay  a  com- 
pliment to  the  transparent  clearness  with  which  Ran- 
dolph always  presented  any  subject  to  which  he  might 
address  himself  on  the  floor  of  the  House?4  (a)  Nor  will 
the  idea  that  Randolph's  political  career  was  wholly 

1  Life  of  Jefferson,  v.  2,  207.  2  A.  of  C,  1802-03,  631. 

1  A.  of  C,  1819-20,  v.  1,  817.  4  A.  of  C,  1808-9,  v.  3,  716. 


230         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

devoid  of  constructive  suggestions  bear  examination. 
His  recommendation,  while  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ways  and  Means,  of  the  House,  that  a  public 
printer  be  appointed  to  do  the  printing  work  of  the  Gov- 
ernment proved  a  beneficent  reform  when  carried  into 
effect.  To  Randolph  also  Sawyer  accredits  "the  substi- 
tution under  the  appropriate  heads  of  specific,  instead  of 
general  and  indefinite,  appropriations."1  He  also  se- 
cured the  enactment  of  a  standing  appropriation  of 
$200,000  for  arming  the  militia. 2 

Another  notable  reform  suggested  by  him  was  the 
abolition  of  flogging  in  the  army.  This  subject  is  men- 
tioned in  one  of  his  letters  to  Andrew  Jackson,  in  which  he 
endeavored  to  enlist  the  sympathy  of  Jackson  in  favor  of 
the  abolition  of  the  lash  in  the  navy  as  well. 

"I  will  take  leave,"  Randolph  said,  "to  call  your  attention 
to  another  subject.  I  mean  our  naval  discipline.  At  my 
instance,  the  punishment  of  the  lash  was  abolished  in  the 
army;  and,  if  I  were  in  Congress,  I  should  feel  myself  con- 
strained to  bring  forward  a  similar  motion  in  regard  to  the  navy. 
I  know  that  common  sailors  are  a  very  different  class  of  men 
from  our  militiamen,  and  will  bear  what  the  spirit  of  these  last 
cannot  brook;  but  the  scenes,  which  I  witnessed  on  board  the 
Concord,  were  so  revolting  that  I  made  up  my  mind  never  to 
take  passage  again  on  board  of  a  vessel  of  war — at  least  with  a 
newly-shipped  crew.  The  men  were  raw;  some  of  them 
landsmen;  most  of  them  fishermen  (not  whalemen — they  are 
the  best  of  seamen) ,  utterly  ignorant  of  the  rigging  or  manage- 
ment of  a  square-rigged  vessel.  The  midshipmen  had  to  show 
them  the  various  ropes,  etc.,  the  very  names  of  which 
they  were  ignorant  of,  and  knew  not  where  to  look  for 
them;  the  Lieutenants  were  worn  down,  performing  not  their 
own  proper  duties  only,  but  those  of  the  Midshipmen  also,  who 
in  turn  were  discharging  the  duties  of  all  able-bodied  seamen. 
Punishment  by  putting  in  irons,  and  by  the  colt,  was  continu- 

•  P.  44-  2  P.  44. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  231 

ally  going  on.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  cat  was  used  or 
not,  as  I  always  retreated  to  my  stateroom  to  avoid  the  odious 
spectacle  which  surprised  and  shocked  my  negro  slaves.  In 
seven  years,  the  same  quantity  of  punishment  could  not  be 
distributed  among  the  same  number  of  slaves  as  was  inflicted 
in  a  voyage  of  three  weeks  from  Hampton  Roads  to  Ports- 
mouth. What  was  done  afterwards,  I  know  not,  having  been 
confined  to  my  room  and  chiefly  to  my  bed  during  the  voyage 
from  England  to  Cronstadt."1 

The  Federal  Sub-Treasury  idea  has  been  said  to  have 
been  conceived  by  Wm.  Fitzhugh  Gordon,  of  Virginia, 
when  a  member  of  Congress  from  Virginia,  during  the 
session  of  1834-5, 2  but  the  idea  would  seem  to  have  been 
first  formed  by  Randolph,  though  to  Gordon  is  unquestion- 
ably due  the  credit  of  first  making  it  a  matter  of  practical 
moment.  In  a  letter  to  Thomas  H.  Benton,  dated  Dec. 
12,  1829,  Randolph  said: 

"You  will  search  in  vain  'Congressional  History'  for  the 
project  mentioned  by  Hall,  to  whom  I  spoke  of  it  more  than 
once.  It  was  a  creature  of  my  own  device — shown  only  to 
two  friends,  one  of  whom  is  long  since  dead,  but  never  brought 
forward  in  public. 

"Soon  after  Mr.  Jefferson's  accession,  looking  forward  to  the 
termination  of  the  United  States  Bank,  and  being  much  op- 
posed to  that  or  any  similar  institution,  I  turned  my  thoughts 
to  the  subject,  and  devised  a  plan,  which,  as  I  conceived,  would 
supply  all  the  duties  and  offices  of  the  United  States  Bank,  so 
far  as  Government  was  concerned.  It  is  obvious  that  the  dis- 
counting of  private  paper  has  no  connection  with  the  transfer 
of  public  monies,  or  a  sound  paper  currency.  My  plan  was  to 
make  the  great  custom-houses  branches  of  our  great  national 
bank  of  deposit — a  sort  of  loan  office,  if  you  will.  Upon  the 
deposits  and  monies,  received  for  duties,  Treasury  notes, 
receivable  in  all  taxes,  etc.  of  the  United  States  to  issue.     The 

1  Oct.  24,  1 83 1,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Wm.  F.  Gordon,  by  Gordon,  226,  229. 


232         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

details  you  can  easily  conceive.  The  whole  under  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  and  other  great  officers  of  the  State.  At 
the  time  I  speak  of,  the  land  offices  were  not  in  receipt  of 
sufficient  sums  to  make  their  depositories  similar  to  the  great 
custom  houses,  but,  whenever  large  dues  to  government  were 
payable,  the  plan  would  be  extended.  This  would  give  one 
description  of  paper,  bottomed  upon  substantial  capital,  and, 
whensoever  Government  might  stand  in  need  of  a  few  millions, 
instead  of  borrowing  their  own  money  from  a  knot  of  brokers 
on  the  credit  of  said  brokers,  it  might,  under  proper  restrictions, 
issue  its  own  paper  in  anticipation  of  future  revenues  or  taxes 
to  be  laid;  such  notes  to  be  cancelled  within  a  given  time." '(a) 

If  Randolph  did  not  originate  or  sponsor  more  construc- 
tive ideas  than  he  did,  it  should  be  remembered  that  it 
was  partly,  at  any  rate,  because,  for  far  the  greater  part  of 
his  career,  he  sustained  a  relation  of  detachment  from  the 
party  agencies  by  which  such  ideas  are  usually  originated 
and  carried  into  execution. 

The  principles,  upon  which  the  first  administration  of 
Jefferson  was  conducted,  are  set  forth  by  Randolph  in  his 
speech  in  the  House  on  Jan.  13,  1813. 

"Is  it  necessary  for  me  at  this  time  of  day,"  he  said,  "to 
make  a  declaration  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party  ? 
Is  it  possible  that  such  a  declaration  could  be  deemed  orthodox 
when  proceeding  from  lips  so  unholy  as  those  of  an  excommuni- 
cant  from  that  church  ?  It  is  not  necessary.  These  principles 
are  on  record;  they  are  engraved  upon  it  indelibly  by  the  press 
and  will  live  as  long  as  the  art  of  printing  is  suffered  to  exist. 
It  is  not  for  any  man  at  this  day  to  undertake  to  change  them; 
it  is  not  for  any  man,  who  then  professed  them,  by  any  guise 
or  circumlocution  to  conceal  apostacy  from  them;  for  they 
are  there — there  in  the  book.  What  are  they?  They  have 
been  delivered  to  you  by  my  honorable  colleague.  What  are 
they  ?  Love  of  peace,  hatred  of  offensive  war,  jealousy  of  the 
State  Governments  towards  the  General  Government  and  of 

1  Jackson  Papers,  v.  74,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  233 

the  influence  of  the  Executive  Government  over  the  co-ordi- 
nate branches  of  that  Government ;  a  dread  of  standing  armies ; 
a  loathing  of  public  debt,  taxes  and  excises;  tenderness  for  the 
liberty  of  the  citizen;  jealousy,  Argus-eyed  jealousy  of  the 
patronage  of  the  President."1 

"This  Masked  Monarchy — for  such  our  Government 
is, "  was  one  of  his  utterances  and  it  well  summed  up  his 
general  attitude  towards  the  Federal  authority. 2 
(  To  all  the  Republican  principles  to  which  Randolph 
pledged  his  early  faith,  he  remained  unswervingly  faithful 
during  his  entire  political  life,  first  of  all,  because  he 
earnestly  believed  in  them,  and  had  practised  them  when 
he  was  the  leader  of  the  House ;  and  secondly,  because,  after 
he  ceased  to  be  the  leader  of  the  House,  he  was  never  again 
cogently  required  by  circumstances  to  reconcile  political 
abstractions  with  the  despotic  exigencies  of  political 
administration. 

In  or  out  of  office,  however,  Randolph,  as  a  public  man, 
was  governed  by  motives  as  pure  and  as  disinterested  as 
any  to  which  an  American  statesman  has  ever  responded.^ 
Morse,  one  of  the  last  biographers  of  Jefferson,  reaches  the 
conclusion  that,  in  abandoning  the  Jefferson  administra- 
tion, Randolph  was  influenced  by  thoroughly  conscien- 
tious motives.  Indeed,  he  even  thinks  that  Randolph 
can  be  set  down  as  a  political  purist3;  and  his  opinions  are 
in  harmony  with  what  was  thought  of  Randolph  by  many 
of  his  own  contemporaries.  "On  all  private  claims,  or 
where  his  judgment  was  not  warped  by  party  spirit,  he 
voted  without  fear,  favor,  or  affection,"  says  Sawyer.4 
And  then  Sawyer  tells  us,  by  way  of  illustration,  how 
Randolph,  on  one  occasion,  was  lifted  in  a  crippled  condi- 
tion into  the  house  of  Philip  Barton  Key  at  Georgetown, 
and  spent  about  a  month  there  under  the  tender  care  of 
his  family,  and  yet  shortly  afterwards,  when  Key's  title  to 

1  A.  of  C,  1812-13,  v.  3,  782.  2  A.  of  C,  1816-17,  v.  2,  323. 

$  Amer.  Statesmen  Series,  278.  4  P.  32. 


234         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

a  seat  in  the  House  was  contested,  rose  in  the  House  and, 
after  warmly  expressing  his  obligations  to  Key  for  his 
kindness,  declared  that  he  felt  bound,  under  the  circum- 
stances, to  vote  in  favor  of  the  contestant.  ■ 

One  of  the  most  valuable  witnesses  that  we  have  to  the 
character  of  Randolph  is  Thomas  H.  Benton,  who  knew 
him  well.  In  his  chapter  in  his  Thirty  Years'  View,  on 
Randolph,  he  pays  him  this  remarkable  tribute: 

"His  parliamentary  life  was  resplendent  in  talent — elevated 
in  moral  tone — always  moving  on  the  lofty  lines  of  honor  and 
patriotism  and  scorning  everything  mean  and  selfish.  He  was 
the  indignant  enemy  of  personal  and  plunder  legislation,  and 
the  very  scourge  of  intrigue  and  corruption.  He  reverenced 
an  honest  man  in  the  humblest  garb,  and  scorned  the  dishonest, 
though  plated  with  gold."2 

If  anything,  Randolph  was  too  independent  in  his  bear- 
ing with  respect  to  office  and  its  advantages.  In  a  letter 
to  his  stepfather,  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  a  report 
that  some  appointment  was  to  be  offered  to  him  was 
totally  destitute  of  foundation,  adding : 

"  I  believe  there  must  have  been  displayed  in  my  demeanor 
throughout  my  intercourse  with  every  branch  of  the  executive 
somewhat  of  that  independence  which  I  have  always  felt  of 
their  favor.  There  is  no  fear,  believe  me,  that  a  person  of  this 
description  shall  be  importuned  to  accept  appointments  when 
so  many  capable  persons  really  want  them."3 

No  member  of  Congress  ever  soiled  his  hands  less  with 
the  abuses  of  patronage.  There  is  a  trace  of  the  old- 
fashioned  inflation  of  speech,  which  we  find  in  some  of  his 
early  letters,  in  these  comments  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
Nicholson  on  executive  patronage:  "It  is  this  monster 
which  threatens  our  destruction.      .     .     .     Will  men  pre- 

1  P.  32.  2  P.  474-  3  Dec.  26,  1 801,  Lucas  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  235 

fer  the  loaves  and  fishes  of  the  hour  to  the  glory  of  rejuve- 
nating their  country  or  of  restoring  to  our  manners  and 
our  language  the  nervous  tone  of  independence."1  He 
had  nothing  but  disdain,  he  said  in  a  letter  to  Monroe,  for 
those  " soi-disant"  Republicans  who  panted  for  military 
command  and  the  emoluments  of  contracts. 2  In  a  later 
letter  to  Nicholson,  he  replies  to  certain  remarks  of 
Nicholson  on  the  mode  in  which  men  were  brought  for- 
ward to  public  notice  by  saying :  "  To  me  the  tendency  of 
the  power  of  appointment  to  office  (no  matter  to  what 
individual  it  be  trusted)  to  debauch  the  nation  and 
to  create  a  low,  dirty,  time-serving  spirit  is  a  much  more 
serious  evil."3  The  disinterested  principles,  which  John 
Taylor,  of  Caroline,  championed,  and  the  men  who  pos- 
sessed them,  Randolph  thought  could  not  be  too  much 
insisted  on  as  the  only  bond  of  union  among  Republicans. 4 
Nor  were  these  mere  empty  professions.  As  strict  as  his 
code  of  political  ethics  was,  he  can  be  truly  said  to  have 
lived  up  to  it  as  nearly  as  a  man  can  ever  be  expected  to 
live  up  to  a  rigorous  code  of  any  sort;  and  it  is  a  very 
pleasant  thing  to  anyone  who  detests  spoils  politics  to 
feel  that,  despite  the  fact  that  Randolph  was  almost 
entirely  cut  off  during  the  greater  part  of  his  political  life, 
by  reason  of  his  political  independence,  from  the  use  of 
political  patronage,  his  standing  with  his  constituents 
remained  essentially  unimpaired.  But  he  was  fully  cogni- 
zant of  its  power  under  ordinary  conditions.  "I  know," 
he  said  on  one  occasion,  "that  we  can  not  give  to  those  who 
apply  for  offices  equal  to  their  expectations;  and  I  also 
know  that  with  one  bone  I  can  call  500  dogs."5 

It  is  the  habit  of  most  writers  about  Randolph  to  speak 


,x  Oct.  1,  1 80 1,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Jan.  3,  1803,  Libr.  Cong. 

3  April  21,  1804,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 
«  Letter  to  Monroe,  June  15,  1803,  Libr.  Cong, 
s  Reminiscences  of  Ben.  Perley  Poore,  v.  1,  355. 


236         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

of  his  severance  from  the  Jefferson  administration  as  if  it 
doomed  him  to  entire  political  destruction;  but  the  force 
of  this  view  is  lost  upon  us.  There  were  many  chances 
against  Randolph  ever  reaching  the  Presidency  under  any 
circumstances,  and,  after  all,  as  great  and  lasting  fame, 
perhaps,  can  be  acquired  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
as  in  the  Presidential  Cabinet.  His  fame  would  certainly 
not  have  been  greater,  we  imagine,  if  he  had  been  Gover- 
nor of  Virginia,  and  the  only  time  that  he  ever  really  lost 
reputation  was  when  he  was  on  his  mission  to  Russia, 
unless  it  were  during  his  term  as  a  Senator  when  he  was 
occasionally  irresponsible.  From  the  time  that  he  ended 
his  connection  with  the  Jefferson  administration  until  he 
declined  re-election  to  the  House  in  1829,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  his  temporary  occultation  during  the  War  of  18 12, 
and  the  term  that  he  declined  in  181 7,  he  had  a  seat  in 
Congress ;  and,  even  when  he  was  in  the  Senate,  notwith- 
standing his  run-down  mental  condition  at  times,  he 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  over  the  course  of  federal 
legislation  and  the  fate  of  the  Adams  administration. 

It  is  true  that  Randolph  did  not  have  the  party  backing, 
which  often  adds  so  much  to  the  usefulness  of  a  member 
of  the  House.  It  could  not  be  expected  of  him,  he  said  in 
1807,  "that  he  should  sink  into  that  vile  and  supple  thing, 
an  humble  follower,  a  pliant  tool  of  a  majority  and  tacitly 
disavow  the  principles  for  which  he  had  contended  two 
years  before."1  Later,  he  spoke  of  himself  as  ua  desul- 
tory kind  of  partisan  acting  on  his  own  impulses;2"  and 
still  later  as  "a  feeble  isolated  individual."3  This  lan- 
guage, it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  was,  in  a  measure, 
conventional  like  his  memorable  words  on  another  occa- 
sion, when,  apologizing  for  the  extent  to  which  he  had 
taxed  the  attention  of  the  House,  he  said:  "I  ask  its 
patience,  its  pardon,  and  its  pity."4  Finally,  his  freedom 

1  A.  of  C,  1807-08,  v.  1,  850.  aA.of  C,  1809-10,  v.  1,  149. 

3  A.  of  C,  1815-16,  v.  i,  533.  4  A.  of  C,  1812-13,  v.  3,  785. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  237 

from  formal  allegiance  to  party  sat  upon  him  so  naturally 
that  he  spoke  of  it  as  carelessly  and  amiably  as  he  did  on 
one  occasion  of  the  class  of  old  bachelors  of  which  he  de- 
clared that  he  was  a  most  unfortunate  member.1  For 
instance,  in  1820,  he  disclaimed  any  intention  of  speaking 
of  the  Monroe  administration;  "for  he  knew,"  he  said, 
"perhaps  less  of  them  than  any  man  in  the  nation."2 
And,  on  a  later  occasion,  his  nonchalance  was  still  more 
pronounced;  for,  in  a  debate  on  the  contingent  expenses 
of  the  House,  he  is  reported  to  have  used  these  words: 

"They  had  made  him  for  the  first  time  in  20  years  a  present 
at  this  session  of  a  knife;  and  he  believed  he  should  carry  it 
home  as  spolia  opima  and  hand  it  down  as  a  trophy  of  his 
public  service  of  some  20  years,  nearly  14  of  which — just 
double  the  time,  that  Jacob  had  served  for  Rachel — had  been 
spent  in  opposition  to  what  is  called  Government ;  for  he  com- 
menced his  political  apprenticeship  in  the  ranks  of  opposition 
and,  could  he  add  14  more  to  them,  he  supposed  some  political 
Laban  would  double  his  servitude  and  condemn  him  to  toil  in 
the  barren  field  of  opposition;  for  he  despaired  of  seeing  any 
man  elected  President  whose  conduct  he  should  entirely  approve. 
He  should  never  be  in  favor  at  court,  as  he  had  somehow  as 
great  an  alacrity  at  getting  into  a  minority  as  honest  Jack  Fal- 
staff  had  at  sinking.  It  was  perhaps  the  place  he  was  best 
fitted  for,  Mr.  Randolph  said,  as  he  had  not  strength  to 
encounter  the  details  and  drudgery  of  business;  habit  had 
rendered  it  familiar  to  him;  and,  after  all,  it  was  not  without 
its  sweets  as  well  as  its  bitters,  since  it  involved  the  glorious 
privilege  of  finding  fault — one  very  dear  to  the  depraved 
condition  of  human  nature."3 

Randolph  jested  in  this  way  about  his  independence  of 
party  because  he  could  well  afford  to  do  so,  with  his 
constituents  so  solidly  arrayed  behind  him  and  so  inalien- 
ably devoted  to  him  that  even  John  Quincy  Adams  was 

1  A.  of  C,  1821-22,  v.  1,  823.  a  A.  of  C,  1819-20,  v.  1, 1068. 

*  A.  of  C,  1819-20,  v.  2,  1465. 


238         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

compelled  to  admit  the  fact  to  the  extent  of  saying  that 
they  seemed  to  be  as  much  enamored  with  him  as  Titania 
was  with  the  ass'  head  of  Bottom. * 

But  anyone  who  formed  the  opinion  that,  when  Ran- 
dolph abjured  party  ties,  he  became,  in  the  language  of 
the  English  ballad,  a  "lone  and  banished  man,"  a  mere 
party  outlaw,  would  be  gravely  at  fault.  After  he  severed 
his  connection  with  the  Democratic  Party,  he  not  only  hung 
about  its  flanks,  and,  at  times,  threw  its  columns  into 
serious  disorder,  but,  at  times,  he  even  induced  its  repre- 
sentatives in  the  House  to  desert  their  own  acknowledged 
leaders  and  to  fall  in  behind  his  dancing  crest  as  it  gal- 
lantly rose  and  fell  with  the  waves  of  parliamentary  strife. 
And,  even  after  the  standard  of  the  Democratic  Party  had 
passed  into  such  masterful  hands  as  those  of  Calhoun, 
Clay,  and  Lowndes,  and  the  patriotic  impulses  of  the 
country  had  become  fervently  enlisted  in  behalf  of  the 
War  of  1 8 12,  his  influence  was  still  great  enough  to  mus- 
ter some  15  democratic  votes  in  opposition  to  the  declara- 
tion of  war.  Subsequently,  when  the  issue  of  State  sov- 
ereignty had  become  more  and  more  prominent  with  the 
crusade  against  Southern  slavery,  and  tariff,  internal 
improvement,  and  other  political  issues  had  become  more 
and  more  drawn  to  it,  like  so  many  straws  and  leaves  to 
a  whirlwind,  he  was  soon  recognized  as  the  ablest  and  most 
resourceful  advocate  of  the  State-Rights  creed,  which  the 
ingenious  intellect  of  Calhoun  afterwards  made  subtler 
but,  if  anything,  weaker. 

The  truth  is  that,  throughout  Randolph's  political 
career,  after  he  had  thrown  aside  the  reins  of  party  leader- 
ship in  the  House,  he  was  always  so  successful  in  almost 
every  great  debate,  in  which  he  took  part,  in  mustering  a 
considerable  body  of  supporters  behind  him  that  his 
influence  nearly  acquired  the  dignity  of  that  of  an  organ- 
ized third  party. 

1  Memoirs,  v.  8,  328. 


-< 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  239 

We  have  already  said  enough  to  convey  to  the  mind  of 
the  reader  the  fact  that  jealousy  of  power  in  all  its  forms 
was  the  index  to  his  political  life;  jealousy  of  the  Execu- 
tive; jealousy  of  the  Judiciary;  jealousy  even  of  "King 
Numbers"  himself^  If  he  was  not  jealous  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, it  was  only  because  he  deemed  its  power,  if  anything, 
too  effectively  counterpoised  by  that  of  the  Executive  and 
Judiciary.  He  did,  however,  have  a  marked  contempt, 
half  serious,  half  humorous,  for  the  itch  of  legislation 
which  loads  up  the  American  Statute  Book  with  so  many 
crude  and  superfluous  laws.  On  this  subject,  he  is  thus 
reported  as  speaking  on  one  occasion  in  the  House : 

"We  see  about  November — about  the  time  the  fogs  set  in — 
men  enough  assembled  in  the  various  Legislatures,  General 
and  State,  to  make  a  regiment;  then  the  legislative  maggot 
begins  to  bite ;  then  exists  the  rage  to  make  new  and  repeal  old 
laws.  I  do  not  think  we  would  find  ourselves  at  all  worse  off 
if  no  law  of  a  general  nature  had  been  passed  by  either  General 
or  State  Governments  for  10  or  12  years  last  past.  Like  Mr. 
Jefferson,  I  am  averse  to  too  much  regulation — averse  to 
making  the  extreme  medicine  of  the  Constitution  our  daily 
food."1 

On  another  occasion,  the  general  bias  with  which  Ran- 
dolph approached  every  exercise  of  governmental  author- 
ity, found  expression  in  these  terse  and  felicitous  words: 
11  Ours  is  not  a  government  of  confidence.  It  is  a  govern- 
ment of  diffidence  and  of  suspicion,  and  it  is  only  by  being 
suspicious  that  it  can  remain  a  free  government. " 2 

Even  his  devotion  to  State  Sovereignty  and  his  hostility 
to  professional  soldiers  and  excise-men  were  but  manifes- 
tations of  the  same  intense  dread  of  perverted  power.  In 
one  of  his  letters  to  his  friend  Edward  Booker,  he  said: 

"It  [the  side  espoused  by  Randolph]  is  the  rights  of  the 

States  against  Federal  encroachment;  it  is  the  liberty  of  the 

1  A.  of  C,  1815-16,  v.  1,  1132.  2  A.  of  C,  1807-08,  v.  1,  1345. 


240         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

citizen  (subject,  if  you  please)  against  all  encroachment,  State 
or  Federal;  that  is  and  ever  has  been  my  creed.  I  challenge 
any  man  to  put  his  ringer  upon  any  vote  or  act  of  mine  that 
contravenes  it,  or  to  show  the  vote  given  by  me  which  tends  to 
abridge  the  rights  of  the  States,  the  franchises  of  the  citizen,  or 
even  to  add  to  his  burthens  in  any  shape;  of  personal  service 
or  of  contribution  to  the  public  purse."1 

Except,  he  added,  the  Mediterranean  Fund  which  was 
a  fund  created  for  a  limited  time  and  a  specific  object. 

In  the  case  of  regular  soldiers  and  excise-men,  his 
impatience  with  governmental  restraints  sometimes  es- 
caped in  such  surcharged  phrases  as  to  take  him  for  the 
time  being  out  of  the  sphere  of  responsible  statesmanship; 
as,  when  urged  by  his  maxim  that  a  standing  army  is  the 
death  by  which  all  republics  have  died,2  he  defined  a 
regular  soldier  as  a  slave  who  sells  himself  to  be  shot  at 
for  6  pence  a  day3;  or,  as  when  his  morbid  antipathy  to 
Executive  intrusion  into  personal  privacy  caused  him  to 
denounce  an  excise-man  as  "  a  hell  hound  of  tyranny. " 4  (a) 

In  passing  judgment  upon  such  extreme  language  as 
these  last  words,  we  must  remember  that  Randolph's 
political  education,  as  boy  and  man,  ran  back  to  the  first 
struggle  between  the  Federalists  and  the  anti-Federalists, 
and  that  abomination  of  excise  taxes  as  well  as  standing 
armies  was  one  of  the  conspicuous  features  of  the  political 
thought  and  feelings  of  that  time. 

As  for  the  principle  of  State  Sovereignty,  we  must  also 
remember  that,  for  many  years  of  our  earlier  political  his- 
tory, it  was  as  ardently  cherished  by  the  Northern  as  the 
Southern  States  of  the  Union.  Henry  Adams,  in  his  John 
Randolph,  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  right  of  a  State  to 
interpose  in  the  case  of  a  deliberate,  palpable,  and  danger- 
ous exercise  by  the  Federal  Government  of  powers,  not 

1  Georgetown,  Feb.  9,  1816,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  A.  of  C,  1807-08,  v.  2,  1908. 

a  Id.,  p.  1825.  4  A.  of  C,  1823-24,  v.  2,  2365. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  241 

granted  to  it  by  the  Federal  Constitution  (the  very  lan- 
guage of  James  Madison  in  the  Virginia  Resolutions  of 
1798),  was  "for  many  years  the  undisputed  faith  of  avast 
majority  of  the  American  people. "  ■  Nor  was  John  Ran- 
dolph more  of  a  rhapsodist  in  hymning  the  glory  of  Vir- 
ginia than  Josiah  Quincy  was  in  hymning  that  of  Massa- 
chusetts; (a)  but  the  difference  between  Randolph  and 
most  of  his  State-Rights  contemporaries  is  that  he  was 
always  prepared  to  defend  his  State-Rights  convictions 
with  force.  Such  was  his  position  during  the  period  of 
the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,  which  he  once  called  the 
Reign  of  Terror,  when,  if  his  belief  was  well-founded, 
Virginia  went  so  far  as  to  establish  an  armory  for  the 
purpose  of  resisting,  if  necessary,  Federalist  tyranny. 
Such,  too,  was  his  position  when  he  said  of  the  Tariff  Bill 
of  1824: 

"It  marks  us  out  as  the  victims  of  a  worse  than  Egyptian 
bondage;  it  is  a  barter  of  so  much  of  our  rights,  of  so  much  of 
the  fruits  of  our  labor  for  political  power  to  be  transferred  to 
other  hands.  It  ought  to  be  met,  and  I  trust  it  will  be  met,  in 
the  Southern  country  as  was  the  Stamp  Act,  and  by  all  those 
measures  which  I  will  not  detain  the  House  by  recapitulating 
which  succeeded  the  Stamp  Act,  and  produced  the  final 
breach  with  the  Mother  Country,  which  took  about  10  years 
to  bring  about,  as  I  trust,  in  my  conscience,  it  will  not  take  as 
long  to  bring  about  similar  results  from  this  measure,  should 
it  become  a  law."2 

And  such,  finally,  was  his  position,  when  Andrew  Jack- 
son threatened  to  invade  South  Carolina  as  Abraham 
Lincoln  afterwards  actually  invaded  Virginia. 

If  the  mortal  duel  between  the  North  and  the  South  had 
to  take  place,  his  idea  was  to  engage  the  former  in  it  while 
the  wind  and  the  sun  were  not  so  much  in  her  favor. 

Of  alt  the  episodes  in  Randolph's  political  career,  the 

1  P.  35-  2  A.  of  C,  1823-24,  v.  2,  2360. 

VOL.  II— 16 


242         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

one  most  open  to  attack  is  his  opposition  to  the  War  of 
1812;  but,  when  the  unreasoning  impulses  of  national 
pride  are  stifled,  it  may  well  be  asked  in  our  time  whether 
this  opposition  was  not  as  wise  as  that  which  he  asserted 
so  vigorously  to  the  series  of  restrictive  measures  which 
had  no  practical  effect  except  that  of  manacling  our  hands 
behind  our  back  while  our  enemies  were  beating  us  in  the 
face. 

The  policy  of  the  United  States  before  the  War  of  18 12 
should  have  been,  as  Randolph  contended :  to  eschew,  as 
long  as  possible,  any  active  alliance  with  either  France  or 
England,  and  especially  all  fraudulent  evasions  of  obliga- 
tions imposed  upon  us  by  our  neutrality,  but,  in  case  we 
had  to  turn  to  one  side  or  the  other,  to  escape  the  crossed 
swords  that  were  playing  in  deadly  carte  and  tierce  above 
our  heads,  to  take  our  place  beside  the  English  democracy 
rather  than  beside  the  mil'tary  despotism  of  Napoleon, 
which,  if  his  plans  had  not  miscarried  at  Boulogne,  might 
well  have  left  to  the  United  States,  as  Randolph  said  at 
the  time,  nothing  but  the  poor  privilege  of  Ulysses — that 
of  being  the  last  to  be  devoured.  If  we  had  to  become  a 
belligerent,  the  events  which  led  up  to  the  War  of  18 12 
pointed  as  unmistakably  to  the  wisdom  of  an  entente  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  as  did  the 
events,  which  led  up  to  the  recent  World  War,  when 
another  monster  was  seeking  to  set  up  another  Moloch. 
Great  Britain  did  not  have  the  general  feeling  of  respect 
and  good  will  for  the  United  States  then  that  she  had  on 
the  eve  of  the  great  World  War ;  that  is  true  enough.  Nor 
did  the  American  people,  as  a  whole,  have  as  much  good 
feeling  for  England  then  as  they  have  now.  These  facts, 
of  course,  made  the  situation  much  less  tractable  than  it 
would  otherwise  have  been;  but,  if  the  War  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution  had  not  been  so  recent,  and  American 
gratitude  to  France  for  the  service,  rendered  by  her  to  us 
in  that  war,  and  the  influence  of  the  French  Revolution 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  243 

upon  the  temper  of  our  people  had  not  been  so  strong,  it  is 
unlikely  that  the  conduct  of  England  to  the  United  States, 
before  our  declaration  of  war  in  1812,  would  have  been 
attended  by  the  arrogant  outrages  and  the  vexatious  pre- 
tensions which  urged  on  the  war.  As  it  was,  when  our 
declaration  was  made,  the  British  Government  had  dis- 
avowed the  Chesapeake  outrage,  the  impressment  of  our 
seamen,  which  was  our  real  grievance  against  England, 
had  sunk  almost  out  of  sight,  and  the  obnoxious  Orders  of 
Council,  which  had  also  been  a  just  cause  of  national 
resentment  on  our  part  had  been  actually  revoked,  though 
not  to  our  knowledge.  Under  such  circumstances,  with 
a  little  more  patience  for  the  desperate  necessities  of  Eng- 
land in  her  struggle  not  only  for  her  own  preservation,  but 
for  that  of  human  freedom  everywhere,  including  the 
United  States;  in  other  words,  with  just  a  little  more 
reflection,  deliberation,  and  delay  we  might  have  wholly 
averted  a  war  which  might  well  be  a  source  of  almost 
unmixed  regret  to  both  England  and  us  if  it  had  not 
brought  about  the  establishment  of  the  undefended 
boundary  line  between  Canada  and  the  United  States, 
which  is  now  the  surest  pledge  of  peace  between  the  latter 
countries.  We  should  either  have  declared  war  against 
England  earlier,  or  not  at  all ;  and  that  Randolph  should 
have  had  such  a  clear  insight  into  the  larger  significance 
of  the  contest  between  England  and  France,  which  pro- 
voked the  War  of  18 12,  and  should  have  asserted  his 
repugnance  to  that  war  so  fearlessly,  are  among  the  things, 
we  think,  that  vindicate  most  strikingly  his  sagacity  and 
foresight  as  a  statesman.  Nor  could  there  be  a  better 
illustration  of  the  rapidity  with  which  his  own  constitu- 
ents, who  rejected  him  in  18 13,  awoke,  as  the  result  of 
bitter  disillusionment,  to  the  wisdom  of  his  counsels,  than 
the  fact  that  they  forced  him  from  his  retirement  and 
re-elected  him  to  Congress  in  181 5. 

But,  in  no  respect,  was  Randolph  a  truer  statesman 


244         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

than  in  his  aversion  to  the  institution  of  negro  slavery. 
The  slave  traffic  he  simply  abhorred ;  and  there  is  little  room 
for  doubt  that,  if  he  could  have  freed  all  the  negro  slaves 
in  Virginia  under  proper  conditions  he  would  have  freed 
them.  On  one  occasion,  he  wrote  to  Wm.  Leigh  from 
Europe,  asking  him  to  remember  him,  in  the  kindest 
manner,  to  all  his  slaves  and  added,  that  he  wished  that 
!  he  could,  by  a  word,  make  them  all  white.1  It  was  no 
misconceived  enthusiasm  which  inspired  the  abolitionist 
poet,  John  G,  Whittier,  to  write  his  melodious  lines  on 
Randolph.  And  Randolph's  hostility  to  slavery  was  not 
only  founded  upon  genuine  humanitarian  impulses,  but 
upon  a  clear  statesmanlike  sense  of  the  blighting  effect 
exerted  by  slavery  upon  the  economic  welfare  of  Virginia. 
" Suppose,' '  he  once  said,  "instead  of  ceding  her  North- 
western Territory  to  Congress,  Virginia  had  at  the  peace 
of  1783  driven  every  negro  and  mulatto,  bond  or  free, 
across  the  Ohio;  would  she  now,  think  you,  be  less  popu- 
lous or  powerful  than  she  is  at  present?"2  The  report, 
which  he  rendered  in  1803,  as  the  Chairman  of  a  Commit- 
tee appointed  to  consider  a  memorial,  which  had  come  up 
to  the  House  from  Indiana,  praying  for  the  temporary 
exemption  of  that  territory  from  the  anti-slavery  pro- 
hibition in  the  Northwest  Territory  Ordinance  of  1787, 
is  one  of  the  most  notable  productions  of  his  pen.  It 
summed  up  the  conclusions  of  the  Committee  in  these 
words : 

"That  the  rapid  population  of  the  State  of  Ohio  sufficiently 
evinces,  in  the  opinion  of  your  Committee,  that  the  labor  of 
the  slave  is  not  necessary  to  promote  the  growth  and  settle- 
ment of  Colonies  in  that  region ;  that  this  labor,  demonstrably 
the  dearest  of  any,  can  only  be  employed  to  advantage  in  the 
cultivation  of  products  more  valuable  than  any  known  to  that 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Cl'k's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 
•A.  of  C,  1823-24,  v.  2,  2381. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  245 

quarter  of  the  United  States;  and  the  Committee  deem  it 
highly  dangerous  and  inexpedient  to  impair  a  provision  wisely 
calculated  to  promote  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the 
Northwestern  Country  and  to  give  strength  and  security  to 
that  extensive  frontier.  In  the  salutary  operation  of  this 
sagacious  and  benevolent  restraint,  it  is  believed  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Indiana  will  at  no  very  distant  date  find  ample 
remuneration  for  a  temporary  privation  of  labor  and 
emigration."1 

It  is  true  that  Randolph  did  not  often  give  public 
expression  to  his  disapproval  of  slavery,  and,  as  we  shall 
see,  Nancy  Randolph  once  taunted  him  with  what  she 
supposed  to  be  the  inconsistency  between  his  avowals  of 
enmity  to  it  in  private  and  his  reticence  on  the  subject  in 
public.  There  were  many  reasons,  of  course,  besides 
mere  selfish  timidity,  based  on  deference  for  a  formidable 
body  of  public  opinion,  why  he  should  not  have  been  more 
outspoken,  as  a  public  representative,  than  he  was  in  the 
announcement  of  his  anti-slavery  convictions.  Much 
besides  the  institution  of  slavery  was  involved  in  the  long 
sectional  conflict  between  the  North  and  the  South,  and 
not  a  little  is  to  be  lost  by  too  frank  admissions  in  political 
as  well  as  other  contests.  Moreover,  Randolph  was  kept 
entirely  too  busy  throughout  his  political  life  in  insisting 
upon  the  constitutional  guarantees  which  the  Federal 
Constitution  had  thrown  around  slave  property,  and  in 
guarding  the  peace  of  the  South  against  external  attack, 
to  have  much  time  left  for  promoting  the  emancipation 
of  the  negro  in  Virginia.  Nothing,  however,  could  furnish 
a  more  convincing  proof  of  the  extent,  to  which  the  move- 
ment of  the  forces  making  for  emancipation  in  Virginia, 
was  retarded  by  outside  interference,  than  the  fact  that 
Randolph  never  wavered  in  his  intent  to  emancipate  all 
his  own  slaves,  though  almost  incessantly  kept  provoked 
to  the  highest  pitch  in  his  later  years  by  encroachments 

1  Amet.  State  Papers,  Pub.  Lands,  v.  I,  146. 


246         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

on  what  he  deemed  to  be  the  constitutional  rights  of  the 
South. 

The  fragmentary  Reminiscences  of  the  Rev.  John  T. 
Clark,  an  Episcopal  Rector  of  Halifax  County,  who  knew 
Randolph  well,  is  a  document  of  the  highest  value  as  testi- 
mony to  the  nature  of  Randolph's  views  respecting 
slavery : 

"Although  in  public,  and  particularly  in  Congress,"  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Clark  says,  "Mr.  Randolph  was  the  ready  and 
fearless  defender  of  the  slaveholder,  and  would  not  yield  the 
smallest  of  his  rights  to  a  stranger  or  an  enemy,  nor  tolerate  for 
one  moment  any  interference  between  him  and  his  slaves;  (a) 
yet  never  did  he,  like  the  superficial  and  incompetent  State's 
Rights  Politicians  of  the  present  generation,  who  precipitated 
the  South  into  ruin — never  did  he  defend  slavery  in  the  ab- 
stract. Never  did  he  go  to  the  length  of  his  successors  in 
public  life,  who  rushed  in  where  wise  men,  not  to  say  anything  of 
angels — feared  to  peep,  and  claimed  for  slavery  a  divine  right. 
f  On  the  contrary,  like  Washington  and  Jefferson  and  the  other 
statesmen  of  their  day  and  character,  who  gave  Virginia  her 
reputation,  a  reputation  which  no  one  but  the  mad  empirics 
of  her  own  bosom  could  destroy,  he  looked  upon  slavery  as  an 
evil,  he  mourned  over  its  existence,  he  regretted  that  he  ever 
owned  a  slave;  and,  although,  like  almost  everybody  else  in 
his  day,  he  regarded  it  as  ineradicable,  yet  never  did  he  conceal 
in  his  private  intercourse  with  his  associates  his  heartfelt 
and  deep-seated  conviction  that  it  was  a  social,  moral  and 
political  evil.  Moreover,  he  was  always  anxious  as  to  the 
comfort  of  his  slaves;  he  often  preached  to  them  himself, 
and  sometimes  he  would  get  ministers  of  the  gospel,  in  whom 
he  had  confidence,  of  any  Church,  to  preach  to  them.  Yet, 
while  doing  this,  he  did  not  any  more  than  the  rest  of  us  see 
the  hopelessness  of  any  real  change  in  the  character  of  the  great 
body  of  slaves  while  in  slavery.  Indeed,  in  one  thing  he  was 
much  behind  many  slaveholders  who  laid  claim  to  anything 
like  his  intellect  and  experience,  but  who  were  guided  by  a 
higher  and  better  principle  than  even  genius  or  intellect  can 
give — even  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus — in  his  opposition 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  247 

to  the  Colonization  Society.  After  a  short  hesitation,  he 
settled  down  in  uniform,  if  not  bitter,  opposition  to  this  noble 
Society,  which,  amid  opposition  and  ridicule  from  so  many 
and  such  different  people  and  sections,  has  done  so  much  and 
is  still  in  the  way  of  doing  so  much  more  for  the  black  man  and 
for  Africa.  But  still,  notwithstanding  his  opposition  to  the 
Colonization  Society,  he  gave  his  dying  testimony  to  the  value 
of  freedom,  as  also  to  his  hope  and  belief  that  in  due  time 
freedom  and  its  accompanying  advantages  would  elevate  the 
race;  for  surely  a  man  of  John  Randolph's  intelligence,  to  say 
nothing  of  his  good  will  to  his  slaves,  would  not  have  emanci- 
pated 300 — ni(a) 

So  far  as  we  know,  the  only  support  that  Randolph  ever 
gave  to  the  plans  of  the  African  Colonization  Society  was 
to  attend  and  address  a  public  meeting  held  under  its 
auspices  in  the  City  of  Washington  on  December  21,  18 16, 
at  which  Henry  Clay  presided  and  spoke  with  his  usual 
force  and  fervor.  In  this  address  Randolph  said  that, 
with  a  view  to  securing  the  support  of  all  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  it  ought  to  be  made  known  that  the 
colonization  scheme  tended  to  secure  the  property  of  every 
master  to,  in,  and  over  his  slaves ;  that  it  was  a  notorious 
fact  that  the  free  negroes  were  regarded  by  every  slave- 
owner as  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  the  insecurity  and 
unprofitableness  of  slave  property;  that  they  excited 
discontent  among  their  fellow-beings;  that  they  acted  as 
channels  of  communication,  not  only  between  different 
vslaves,  but  between  slaves  of  different  districts;  and  that 
they  were  the  depositories  of  stolen  goods  and  the  pro- 
moters of  mischief.  Apart  then  from  those  higher  and 
nobler  motives  which  had  already  been  so  well  presented, 
the  slave-owner,  Randolph  declared,  was  in  a  worldly 
sense  interested  in  throwing  this  population  out  of  the 
bosom  of  the  people.  He  further  said  that,  if  a  place  for 
colonizing  the  free  negroes  and  a  mode  for  transporting 

1  Bouldin,  MSS. 


248         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

them  there  could  be  provided,  there  were  hundreds,  nay 
thousands,  of  citizens  who  would,  by  manumitting  their 
slaves,  relieve  themselves  from  the  cares  attendant  upon 
their  possession.  ■ 

It  is  manifest  that  the  object  of  these  observations  was 
to  soothe  the  misgivings  of  the  slaveholder  about  the  new 
movement  into  quiescence ;  and  it  is  equally  manifest,  we 
think,  that  the  countenance  given  to  it  by  Randolph  was 
quite  guarded.  It  was  impossible,  we  should  say,  for 
such  a  practical  mind  as  his  to  have  reposed  much  confi- 
dence at  any  time  in  such  a  visionary  enterprise  as  that  of 
the  African  Colonization  Society. 

However  this  may  be,  in  1826  he  even  refused  to  pre- 
sent a  petition  of  the  Society  to  the  Senate,  although 
entreated  to  do  so  by  Francis  Scott  Key.  His  reasons  for 
the  refusal  were  fully  presented  to  Chief  Justice  Marshall, 
and,  afterwards,  when  he  was  reporting  his  conversation 
with  the  Chief  Justice  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  he  did  so  in 
the  following  narrative  form: 

"That  I  thought  the  tendency  of  it  bad  and  mischievous; 
that  a  spirit  of  morbid  sensibility,  religious  fanaticism,  vanity, 
and  the  love  of  display,  were  the  chief  moving  causes  of  that 
society. 

"That  true  humanity  to  the  slave  was  to  make  him  do  a  fair 
day's  work,  and  to  treat  him  with  all  the  kindness  compatible 
with  due  subordination.  By  that  means,  the  master  could 
afford  to  clothe  and  feed  him  well,  and  take  care  of  him  in 
sickness  and  old  age;  while  the  morbid  sentimentalist  could 
not  do  this.  His  slave  was  unprovided  with  necessaries,  unless 
pilfered  from  his  master's  neighbors;  because  the  owner  could 
not  furnish  them  out  of  the  profits  of  the  negro's  labor — there 
being  none.  And,  at  the  master's  death,  the  poor  slaves  were 
generally  sold  for  debt  (because  the  philanthropist  had  to  go  to 
BANK,  instead  of  drawing  upon  his  crop),  and  were  dispersed 
from  Carolina  to  the  Balize;  so  that  in  the  end  the  superfine 

1  Nat'l.  Intelligencer,  Dec.  24,  18 16. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  249 

master  turned  out,  like  all  other  ultras ,  the  worst  that  could,  be 
for  the  negroes. 

"This  system  of  false  indulgence,  too,  educates  ( I  use  the  word 
in  its  strict  and  true  meaning)  all  those  pampered  menials  who, 
sooner  or  later,  find  their  way  to  some  Fulcher,  the  hand-cuffs, 
and  the  Alabama  negro  trader's  slave-chain.  How  many  such 
have  I  met  within  the  different  'conies'  (Mungo  Park)  of  slaves 
that  I  had  known  living  on  the  fat  of  the  land,  and  drest  as 
well  as  their  masters  and  mistresses.  I  wished  all  the  free  ne- 
groes removed,  with  their  own  consent,  out  of  the  slave  States 
especially,  but  that,  from  the  institution  of  the  Passover  to 
the  latest  experience  of  man,  it  would  be  found  that  no  two 
distinct  peoples  could  occupy  the  same  territory,  under  one 
government,  but  in  the  relation  of  master  and  vassal. 

"The  Exodus  of  the  Jews  was  effected  by  the  visible  and 
miraculous  interposition  of  the  hand  of  God;  and  that,  without 
the  same  miraculous  assistance,  the  Colonization  Society 
would  not  remove  the  tithe  of  the  increase  of  the  free  blacks, 
while  their  proceedings  and  talks  disturbed  the  rest  of  the 
slaves."1 

The  real  reproach  to  Randolph  in  his  relations  to 
slavery  is  that  he  should  not  have  had  more  sympathy 
with  the  powerful  movement  in  the  Virginia  Legislature 
of  1832  which  failed  in  the  House  to  carry  a  proposition 
looking  to  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery  in  Virginia  by 
only  15  votes.2  This  was  just  after  the  Nat  Turner  in- 
surrection in  Southampton  County  had  taken  place. 
Then  he  had  a  better  opportunity  than  he  ever  had  on  any 
other  occasion  in  his  life  to  deal  a  shattering  blow  at  the 
institution  which  he  cordially  disliked  in  his  heart.  But, 
if  we  can  judge  from  a  very  imperfect  report  of  his  last 
speech  at  Charlotte  Court  House,  he  was  not  in  accord 
with  the  movement ;  for  here  is  what  he  said : 

"There  is  a  meeting-house  in  this  village,  built  by  a  respect- 
able denomination.     I  never  was  in  it ;  though,  like  myself,  it  is 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  266. 

2  Va.'s  Attitude  Towards  Slavery  and  Secession,  by  B.  B.  Munford,  47. 


250         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

mouldering  away.  The  pulpit  of  that  meeting-house  was 
polluted  by  permitting  a  black  African  to  preach  in  it.  If  I 
had  been  there,  I  would  have  taken  the  uncircumcised  dog  by 
the  throat,  led  him  before  a  magistrate,  and  committed  him  to 
jail.  I  told  the  ladies,  they,  sweet  souls,  who  dressed  their 
beds  with  their  whitest  sheets,  and  uncorked  for  him  their  best 
wine,  [that  they]  were  not  far  from  having  mulatto  children. 

"I  am  no  prophet,  but  I  then  predicted  the  insurrection.  The 
insurrection  came;  was  ever  such  a  panic?  Dismay  was 
spread  through  the  country.  I  despised  it  when  it  was  here. 
To  despise  distant  danger,  is  not  true  courage,  but  to  despise 
it  when  you  have  done  all  you  could  to  avoid  it,  and  it  has 
and  would  come,  is  true  courage.  Look  at  the  conduct  of  our 
last  General  Assembly.  The  speeches  that  were  made  there 
were  little  dreamed  of.  What  kind  of  doctrine  was  preached 
on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Burgesses?  If  I  had  been  there  I 
should  have  moved  that  the  first  orator,  who  took  the  liberty 
to  advance  that  doctrine,  should  be  arrested  and  prosecuted 
by  the  State's  attorney."1 

Very  different  was  the  grave,  measured  language  in 
which  he  had  communicated  to  Nicholson,  many  years 
before,  the  facts  connected  with  the  servile  insurrection 
headed  by  the  negro,  Gabriel. 

"Rumor  has  doubtless  acquainted  you  with  an  attempt  at 
insurrection  made  by  the  slaves  of  this  State.  It  is  now 
ascertained  to  have  been  partial  and  ill  concerted,  and  has  been 
quelled  without  any  bloodshed,  but  that  which  streamed  upon 
the  scaffold.  The  executions  have  been  not  so  numerous  as 
might,  under  such  cirumstances,  have  been  expected.  The 
accused  have  exhibited  a  spirit,  which,  if  it  becomes  general, 
must  deluge  the  Southern  country  in  blood.  They  manifested 
a  sense  of  their  rights,  and  contempt  of  danger,  and  a  thirst  for 
revenge  which  portend  the  most  unhappy  consequences.  In 
this  part  of  the  community,  no  such  temper  has  been  exhibited ; 
nor  has  any  apprehension  prevailed  except  in  Richmond  and 
its  immediate  neighborhood. 

1  Bouldin,  189. 


Randolph  as  a  Statesman  251 

"A  young  negro  man,  a  blacksmith,  had  projected  the  scheme 
of  firing  the  port  of  the  city ;  taking  possession  of  the  stone 
bridge,  which  connects  the  two  quarters  of  the  town,  whilst 
the  inhabitants  were  busied  with  the  fire ;  seizing  the  treasury 
and  the  arsenal  at  the  other  extremity,  then  firing  it,  and 
making  a  general  massacre  of  the  inhabitants.  For  this  pur- 
pose, he  had  manufactured  a  number  of  rude  arms,  had 
collected  his  associates  to  the  number  of  5  to  600;  and  the 
execution  of  his  purpose  was  frustrated  only  by  a  heavy  fall 
of  rain  which  made  the  water  courses  impassable.  It  does 
not  appear  that  the  negroes  of  the  city  were  concerned  in  the 
plot.  You  have,  doubtless,  had  the  story  with  every  exag- 
geration, and  will  not  be  surprized  to  learn  that  our  federalists 
have  endeavored  to  make  an  electioneering  engine  of  it. 
Monroe  has  been  very  active.  The  quiet  of  the  capital  is 
secured  by  a  competent  military  force  and  all  danger  for  the 
present  at  an  end."1 

Josiah  Quincy,  the  son  of  the  eminent  Federalist  of  the 
same  name,  once  asked  Randolph  who  was  the  greatest 
orator  that  he  had  ever  heard;  expecting  that  he  would 
answer  "Patrick  Henry. "  But,  to  his  surprise,  the  reply 
was :  "A  slave.  She  was  a  mother,  and  her  rostrum  was 
the  auction  block. " 2  Between  his  repugnance  to  slavery, 
and  his  jealous  hostility  to  all  efforts  to  abolish  it  ab  extra, 
Randolph  was  often  visited  with  misconstruction.  "I 
have,"  he  is  reported  as  declaring  on  one  occasion,  "no 
hesitation  in  saying  slavery  is  a  curse  to  the  master.  I 
have  been  held  up,  as  any  man  will  be,  who  speaks  his 
mind  fairly  and  boldly,  as  a  blackish  sort  of  a  white  and  a 
whitish  sort  of  a  black — as  an  advocate  for  slavery  in  the 
abstract. " 3  And  that,  on  the  whole,  there  was  a  lack  of 
coherence  in  the  enunciation  of  his  public  views  about 
slavery,  cannot  be  denied. 

1  Bizarre,  Sept.  26,  1800,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Figures  of  the  Past,  by  Josiah  Quincy,  212. 

3  Niles  Reg.,  v.  6  (3d  series),  453,  Aug.  26,  1826. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Randolph  as  a  Man 

It  would  be  a  grievous  misconception  to  imagine  that 
Randolph  was  wholly  given  over  to  politics,  necessary  as 
an  occasional  escape  from  Roanoke  to  Washington  was  to 
dispel  the  melancholy  which  always  settled  down  upon 
him  when  he  was  withdrawn  for  a^  considerable  time  from 
political  and  social  excitements^  Sawyer  tells  us  that, 
outside  of  the  House,  Randolph  would  not  talk  politics; 
preferring  to  discuss  agricultural  or  other  topics. *  In  his 
Diary,  he  kept  a  minute  record  of  the  weather  and  of  his 
social  activities  and  inserted  in  it  besides  an  extraordinary 
farrago  of  memoranda  relating  to  many  other  miscellane- 
ous subjects ;  but  the  references  in  this  book  to  politics 
are  quite  meagre.  In  other  words,  Randolph  was  not  one 
of  those  bores  whose  conversation  is  wholly  subdued,  like 
the  dyer's  hand,  to  what  he  works  in;  he  was  not  a  mere 
feverish  politician;  nor  a  mere  ill-natured  satirist,  j  He 
was  a  man  of  the  world ;  a  gentleman  and  a  sportsman,  as 
well  as  a  statesman ;  an  orator,  and  a  planter.  He  had  a 
keen  zest  for  social  intercourse  with  men  and  women;  he 
entered  with  intense  sympathy  into  the  interests  and 
feelings  of  the  young ;  he  deepy  loved  some  of  his  relations ; 
he  was  almost  romantically  attached  to  his  intimate 
friends ;  he  devoured  good  books  of  all  sorts ;  he  was  never 
so  happy  as  when  travelling,  and  he  had  a  passion  for 
horses,  dogs,  and  guns. 

1  Sawyer,  45. 

252 


Randolph  as  a  Man  253 

All  the  traits  of  character  which  made  him  so  many- 
enemies,  which  led  Sergeant  to  put  James  Buchanan  on 
his  guard  against  his  friendship,1  and  Sawyer  to  declare 
too  broadly,  that  he  was  not  much  respected  as  a  politician 
or  beloved  as  a  man, 2  were  referable  to  infirmity  of  temper. 
He  was  proud,  imperious,  sensitive  as  the  aspen  leaf, 
fundamentally  Anglo-Saxon,  but  partly  Celtic.  No  one 
knew  his  shortcomings  better  than  he  himself;  for  he  had 
too  much  sound  manhood  not  to  confess  and  lament  them 
at  times.  There  was  a  touch  of  false  pride  in  his  declara- 
tion that  he  was  descended  from  a  race  which  was  never 
known  to  forsake  a  friend  or  to  forgive  a  foe. 3  And  there 
was  an  element  of  extravagant  self-disparagement  in  that 
other  declaration  of  his  made  at  a  time  when  he  was  labor- 
ing in  the  throes  of  religious  conversion,  that  his  temper 
was  naturally  impatient  of  injury  but  insatiably  vindictive 
under  insult  and  indignity. 4  (a)  But  when,  with  the  per- 
fect frankness,  which  was  one  of  the  nobler  features  of  his 
character,  he  said  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  that 
his  unprosperous  life,  as  he  called  it,  was  the  fruit  of  an 
ungovernable  temper,5  his  self -analysis  was  correct;  and 
it  was  doubtless  the  same  cause  for  self-reproach  which 
was  behind  the  remorse  that  he  exhibited  upon  his  death- 
bed— assuming  that  he  was  then  responding  to  any 
rational  impulse  at  all. 

Of  the  extraordinary  instability  of  his  temper  and  of 
its  tendency,  when  acutely  irritated,  not  to  stop  short 
even  of  aggressive  malice,  evidence  is  not  wanting.  It 
shows  that  boorish  or  tactless  words  or  conduct,  which  the 
ordinary  individual  would  resent  with  a  frigid  glance  or  a 
contemptuous  shrug  at  the  most,  were  enough  to  excite 
his  choler  to  a  high  degree.  A  very  good  illustration  of 
this  fact  is  afforded  by  an  incident  which  Jacob  Harvey 

1  Life  of  Buchanan,  by  G.  T.  Curtis,  v.  I,  29. 

2  P.  124.  3  Garland,  v.  2,  248.  4  Id.,  v.  2,  102. 
s  Id.,  V.  2.  IOI. 


254         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

has  told  us  in  his  lively  manner,  which  not  infrequently 
runs  away  with  him:  Among  the  fellow-passengers  of 
Randolph  and  himself  on  "the  Amity"  was  a  good-hum- 
ored but  coarse-fibred  Dutchman,  whose  rubs  were  soon 
drawing  electric  sparks  from  Randolph. 

"A  whist  party,"  says  Harvey,  "was  made  up;  the  Captain 
and  Mr.  Randolph  against  the  Dutchman  and  one  of  our 
Yorkshire  passengers.  After  the  cards  had  been  dealt,  and 
each  gentleman  had  examined  his  hand,  the  Dutchman  cried 
out: 

"'I  bet  a  guinea  I  get  three  tricks  this  time!' 

"'Done,  Mr.  ,'  exclaimed  Randolph  instantaneously! 

This  alarmed  his  opponent,  who  had  so  often  previously  wit- 
nessed Randolph's  good  luck,  and  who,  moreover,  had  a 
natural  antipathy  to  losing  his  guineas.  He  therefore  re- 
examined his  hand,  and  then  said  in  a  subdued  tone : 

"  'Oh,  stop!  I  spoke  too  fast  as  I  did  not  see.  Eh!  well 
I  will  bet  a  guinea  that  I  get  two  tricks  V 

"'Done   Mr.   ,'   exclaimed    Randolph   in    an   excited 

tone. 

"'Ah  no!  What  did  I  say?  Let  me  look  again.  Oh!  I 
made  a  mistake,  but  I  will  bet  on  one  trick  anyhow.' 

"  'Done  Mr. !'  exclaimed  Randolph  for  the  third  time, 

and  now  very  much  excited.  His  eyes  sparkled,  his  lips  were 
compressed,  and  he  was  evidently  very  angry. 

The  Dutchman,  however,  either  did  not  observe  the  change 
in  his  manner,  or,  if  he  did,  his  love  of  money  conquered  his 
fears;  and,  very  composedly  looking  once  more  at  his  cards,  he 
said  quite  coolly : 

"  'What  are  trumps?  Oh!  Spades  you  say!  That  is  bad,  I 
forgot;  and  I  won't  bet  at  all.' 

"By  this  time,  Randolph  was  in  a  fury,  and,  before  any  of  us 
could  interpose,  he  arose  from  his  chair,  threw  his  cards  on  the 
table,  fixed  his  eyes  on  Mr. ,  and  said: 

' ' '  Why  you  lubberly  fellow,  do  you  know  where  you  are  ?  Is 
this  the  first  time  you  ever  played  with  gentlemen  ?  Are  you 
sure  that  you  took  a  cabin  passage?  Captain  where's  his 
ticket?    You  belong  to  the  steerage,  Sir!     You  are  out  of 


Randolph  as  a  Man  255 

place,  Sir!  Three  times  you  have  offered  to  bet,  and  three 
times  have  I  taken  it ;  and  now  you  back  out,  Sir  V 

"Then,  throwing  down  a  guinea  on  the  table,  he  continued: 
'I  believe  I  owe  you  a  few  shillings,  Sir.  Give  me  change  this 
instant,  Sir.  I  will  not  remain  another  instant  in  your  debt, 
Sir.  Come,  Sir,  the  change;  and  then  we  shall  be  quits  for- 
ever.' 

"Mr. was  astounded.  He  opened  his  eyes  and  replied: 

'Why  Mr.  Randolph,  you  make  a  great  fuss  about  nothing.  I 
cannot  change  your  guinea  all  in  a  hurry,  and,  if  you'll  only 
listen  to  reason,  I'll  show  you  where .' 

"But  Randolph  cut  him  short,  and,  in  a  very  excited  tone, 
said:  'Give  me  change  this  moment,  Sir;  or  by  Heaven  you 
shall  go  ashore!'  (We  were  then  on  the  Banks  of  Newfound- 
land). 'Yes,  Sir,  you  shall  go  ashore.  I'll  not  remain  in  the 
same  ship  with  you,  Sir.  What,  Sir!  To  back  out  of  a  bet  with 
a  gentleman,  and  then  defend  your  conduct?  Go  ashore,  Sir!' 

"Mr.  ,  more  and  more  confounded,  exclaimed:  'Now 

Mr.  Randolph,  what  do  you  get  into  such  a  passion  for !  Only 
listen  to  reason,  and  I  will  show  you  where  you  are  wrong;  only 
listen.' 

"Randolph  cut  him  short  again  in  a  perfect  rage.  ' Wrong, 
sir !  And  do  you  dare  to  tell  me,  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke, 
that  I  am  wrong  in  a  matter  of  honor?  Wrong,  sir,  did  you 
say!    Take  that!1     And,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  he 

thrust  the  candle  across  the  table  into  Mr. 's  face,  and 

then  fell  back  on  his  seat  quite  exhausted." 

The  narrative  is  too  long  to  be  further  continued  ver- 
batim.    Mr.    quietly  arose,   and  left    the    cabin; 

Randolph  apologized  to  the  other  members  of  the  com- 
pany, and  went  off  to  his  state-room.  Later,  Harvey 
expostulated  with  Randolph,  and  the  Captain  took  Mr. 

aside,  and  told  him  that  he  was  partly  to  blame 

himself  for  the  occurrence;  receiving  in  reply  the  good- 
natured  assurance  that  Mr.  did  not  mind  what 

Randolph  had  said  at  all,  since  he  regarded  him  as  half- 
cracked,  and  felt  certain  that  he  would  forget  all  about  the 


256         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

matter  before  the  next  day.  The  result  was  that  amicable 
relations  were  in  time  re-established  between  Randolph 

and  Mr.  .     But  not   permanently,  until  Randolph 

had  had  occasion  to  administer  another  rebuke  to 
the  thick-skinned  Dutchman,  and  the  latter  had  come  to 
realize  that  Randolph  (to  use  one  of  Randolph's  own 
phrases)  was  not,  like  himself,  made  of  brick  earth,  (a) 
Then,  the  pair  became  so  intimate  that,  when  the  rest  of 
the  cabin  passengers  were  reading,  writing,  or  sleeping, 
and  Randolph  was  at  a  loss  for  an  auditor,  he  would  pin 

Mr.  in  a  corner,  and  keep  him  there  for  an  hour 

or  two,  listening  to  the  Greek  poetry  which  he  made  a 
point  of  reading  aloud  to  him. ■ 

Manifestly,  this  story  is  tricked  out  with  a  good  deal 
of  fanciful  embroidery.  Not  to  go  further,  we  have  been 
told  by  Randolph  himself  that  he  knew  only  enough  Greek 
"to  help  him  to  the  etymology  of  a  word"2;  but  there  is 
enough  truth  in  the  story  to  illustrate  our  point. 

How  dangerous  it  is,  however,  to  place  too  implicit  a 
trust  in  stories  about  Randolph,  even  when  told  by  a  sub- 
stantially reliable  anecdotist  like  Harvey,  is  impressed 
upon  us  by  another  story  in  regard  to  Randolph's  fiery 
temper,  which  Harvey  says  was  communicated  to  him  by 
Randolph  himself. 

Its  burden  is  that  a  tall,  matter-of-fact  New  Englander, 
who  had  formed  the  idea  of  investing  a  part  of  the  fortune, 
that  he  had  made  as  a  tobacco  merchant,  in  Roanoke, 
asked  Randolph,  immediately  after  he  had  been  tendered 
the  hospitality  of  the  latter's  table,  what  he  would  take 
for  "niggers  and  all " ;  and  was  conducted  by  Randolph  to 
the  boundary  of  his  patrimonial  lands  and  told  that,  if  he 
ever  crossed  this  boundary  again,  to  look  out  for  Ran- 
dolph's best  rifle-ball.3  This  story  is  evidently  but  a 
variation,  in  the  Darwinian  process  of  evolution,  to  which 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  1,  331.  a  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

3  The  New  Mirror,  v.  1,  354. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  257 

anecdotes  about  famous  men,  especially  when  they  relate 
to  eccentric  types  of  character,  are  even  more  slavishly 
subject  than  mammals  or  birds.  Obviously,  the  same 
story  re-appears  in  a  paper  by  Henry  Carrington  pub- 
lished by  Bouldin;  only  in  this  instance  the  offender  is  a 
Georgian,  and  awakens  Randolph's  wrath  by  telling  him 
that  he  was  thinking  that  he  was  an  eunuch. x  The  real 
basis  for  the  story  is  furnished  us  by  John  Randolph 
Bryan,  who  was  at  Roanoke  in  1818  or  18 19,  when  the 
incident,  out  of  which  it  sprang,  occurred. 

"The  blackguard,"  he  says,  "asked  Mr.  Randolph  what  he 
would  take  for  a  servant — Hanno,  I  think — who  was  waiting  at 
the  table;  and  Mr.  Randolph  gave  the  fellow  a  night's  lodging 
and  the  next  morning  told  him  that,  but  for  his  having  eaten 
his  bread,  he  would  have  had  him  tied  up  to  the  roughest  oak 
tree  in  his  yard  and  flogged  by  the  overseer."2 

Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  all  the  stories 
which  represent  Randolph  as  breaking  out  into  paroxysms 
of  indecent  violence,  or  descending  to  vulgarity  in  conduct 
or  speech,  should  be  received  with  the  utmost  distrust. 
Except  so  far  as  they  rest  on  the  testimony  in  the  Ran- 
dolph will  litigation,  going  to  establish  the  insanity  of 
Randolph,  or  on  other  evidence  relating  to  the  different 
periods,  when  he  was  insane,  they  emanate  from  dis- 
gruntled overseers,  personal  or  political  enemies,  or  tat- 
tling countryside  gossips,  to  whom  Randolph  was  the 
eighth  wonder  of  the  modern  world. 

The  stories  which  Bouldin  gathered  from  W.  T.  Harvey, 
a  man  who  was  one  of  Randolph's  overseers,  shortly  after 
he  returned  from  Russia,  and  which  present  Randolph  to 
us  simply  as  a  drunken  bully  and  a  coarse  vulgarian,  all 
arise  out  of  incidents,  which,  if  they  occurred  at  all, 

1  Bouldin,  129. 

2  Bryan  MSS.  See  also  testimony  of  Judge  Leigh  in  Coalter's  Exor.  vs. 
Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va. 

VOL.  II — 17 


258         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

occurred  when  Randolph  might  just  as  well  have  been  in 
a  mad-house  as  at  Roanoke.  And  yet,  referring  to  Har- 
vey, Bouldin  actually  says:  "We  say  we  are  glad  we  took 
notes  from  him,  because  we  feel  that  we  must  draw  Mr. 
Randolph  as  he  really  was.  "x 

The  most  authentic  of  the  stories  which  impute  flagrant 
violence  to  Randolph  are  those  which  relate  to  his  neigh- 
bor, Robert  Carrington,  the  son  of  the  elder  Judge  Paul 
Carrington.  It  was  said  of  him  that  he  was  the  only  per- 
son of  whom  Randolph  was  ever  afraid;  but  we  should 
have  to  know  more  than  we  do  about  the  intercourse 
between  the  two  men  to  admit  that  Randolph  feared  even 
him;  though  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  Robert  Car- 
rington was  a  man  of  very  resolute  character.  An  entry, 
under  date  of  June  8,  1830,  in  one  of  Randolph's  journals 
comprises  simply  these  three  words :  ' '  Robert  C's  airs. ' ' 2 
This  was  doubtless  the  prelude  to  the  litigious  encounter 
which  took  place  between  Randolph  and  Carrington, 
when  Randolph  filed  an  action  for  trespass  against  Car- 
rington in  the  County  Court  of  Charlotte  County,  alleging 
that  the  latter  had  ploughed  up  and  planted  with  corn  a 
road  used  by  Randolph,  which  led  along  the  Staunton 
River,  and  across  the  Carrington  estate  from  Randolph's 
Middle  Quarter  to  his  Lower  Quarter,  and  when  Carring- 
ton filed  an  action  against  Randolph  in  the  same  court, 
alleging  that,  contrary  to  an  agreement  between  the  two 
to  maintain  one  common  enclosure,  Randolph  had  allowed 
est  rays  from  his  property  to  wander  over  to  Carrington 's 
lands  and  do  a  great  amount  of  injury.  Both  of  these 
actions  were  brought  in  the  early  part  of  1832  when  Ran- 
dolph's derangement  was  at  its  worst;  and  they  were  both 
entered  in  the  latter  part  of  1832,  after  he  had  recovered 
his  reason,  "dismissed — agreed";  which,  of  course,  indi- 
cates that  the  parties  had  arrived  at  an  amicable  settle- 
ment with  each  other. 

1  Bouldin,  104.  a  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  259 

Apparently,  these  two  cases  were  associated  with 
another  legal  proceeding  in  which  Robert  Carrington 
sought  to  secure  an  outlet  from  his  estate  over  a  tract  of 
land  adjacent  to  the  Roanoke  estate  which  Randolph  had 
recently  purchased.  Under  an  order  of  the  County  Court 
of  Charlotte  County,  Dennis  E.  Morgan,  Captain  Fowlkes, 
and  W.  B.  Green  were  directed  to  view  the  road,  over 
which  Carrington  desired  to  pass,  and  to  report  to  the 
Court.  When  they  inspected  it,  they  found  pasted  up  on 
a  gate-post  on  it  a  large  sheet  of  foolscap,  giving  notice 
that  all  persons,  whose  names  were  written  on  the  sheet, 
were  permitted  to  use  the  road  as  formerly.  The  paper 
was  filled  from  top  to  bottom  with  names,  male  and  female, 
and  the  viewers  read  it  over  carefully  to  see  if  the  name  of 
anyone  in  the  neighborhood,  male  or  female,  who  had  used 
the  road,  or  who  might  probably  wish  to  do  so,  had  been 
omitted ;  and  it  was  found  that  the  only  omission  was  that 
of  the  name  of  Robert  Carrington.  The  Commissioners 
reported  that  the  land,  over  which  the  road  ran,  was  ex- 
ceedingly poor  and  of  little  value ;  that  the  road  had  been 
in  constant  use  as  a  mill  and  neighborhood  road  for  about 
50  years,  and  that  its  use  had  been  interdicted  to  Robert 
Carrington  alone. x 

It  is  said  that,  while  the  viewers  were  on  the  ground, 
Randolph,  true  to  the  policy  which  has  always  been  pur- 
sued by  corporations  in  condemnation  cases  under  similar 
circumstances,  had  a  quantity  of  provisions  brought  to  the 
scene  of  the  inquisition  by  his  servants.  He  is  also  said 
to  have  presented  his  case  against  the  use  of  the  road  by 
Carrington  in  a  long  speech,  in  which  he  abused  the  whole 
Carrington  family;  a  fact  which  hardly  harmonizes  with 
the  idea  that  he  was  any  more  afraid  of  Robert  Carrington 
than  of  anybody  else.2  Indeed,  the  argument,  to  use 
Randolph's  own  figure  of  speech,  "tickled  under  the  tail" 
so  acutely  that  Carrington  would  have  attempted  a  reply 

1  Bouldin,  29.  3  Id.,  89. 


260         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

had  not  a  cool-headed  friend  persuaded  him  that  it  was 
not  in  speaking  that  he  could  hope  to  contend  successf ully 
with  Randolph.  Perhaps,  it  was  this  advice  which  im- 
pelled him  (as  it  is  said)  to  address  a  short  note  to  Ran- 
dolph forbidding  him  to  use  the  river  road,  and  telling  him 
flatly  that,  if  he  did  so,  he  would  shoot  him;  a  letter  which 
provoked  a  reply  from  Randolph  that  is  said  to  have 
caused  Robert  Carrington  to  tell  Judge  F.  N.  Watkins  of 
Prince  Edward  County  that  Randolph  had  sent  him  four 
pages  of  foolscap,  very  severe  in  character  and  as  brilliant 
as  anything  that  Randolph  had  ever  written. *  , 

Much  of  the  oral  evidence  relating  to  this  controversy 
should,  we  have  no  doubt,  be  accepted  very  cautiously; 
but,  while  we  are  recalling  such  evidence,  we  might  add 
that  the  strife  over  the  right-of-way  which  Carrington 
sought  could  not  have  been  as  vicious  as  has  been  sup- 
posed, because  it  is  said  that,  when  Dr.  Isaac  Read,  of 
Charlotte  County,  was  moved  by  a  generous  impulse  to 
approach  both  Carrington  and  Randolph,  in  the  hope  of 
composing  the  quarrel  between  them,  Carrington  declared 
that,  if  the  difficulty  could  be  honorably  adjusted,  he 
would  have  no  objection ;  and  Randolph  not  only  said  that 
he  was  willing  with  all  his  soul,  but  delivered  a  lecture  on 
the  magnanimity  of  forgiving  an  enemy  which  Dr.  Read 
thought  equalled  old  Dr.  Hoge  in  his  best  days. 2   (a) 

There  was  undeniably  an  understrain  of  ill-feeling  in  the 
intercourse  between  Randolph  and  the  Carringtons  of 
Charlotte  County  generally,  which  began,  doubtless, 
with  the  fling  at  the  integrity  of  the  elder  Judge  Paul 
Carrington  in  the  will  of  the  elder  John  Randolph;  and 
this  fact,  we  suspect,  had  not  a  little  to  do  with  the  cen- 
sorious feeling  towards  Randolph  which  prompted  Henry 
Carrington,  of  Ingleside,  to  say  that  Randolph  did  things 
which  nobody  else  could  do,  and  made  others  do  things 
which  they  never  did  before,  and  of  which  they  repented 

1  Bouldin,  p.  99.  3  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  261 

all  the  days  of  their  lives,  and  that  on  some  occasions 
Randolph  was  totally  regardless  of  private  rights,  and  yet 
was  not  held  amenable  to  the  laws  of  the  land. '  Not  only 
did  the  elder  Paul  Carrington  chuckle  over  the  fact  that 
he  was  seated  between  Randolph's  Middle  Quarter  and 
Lower  Quarter  in  such  a  way  that  he  could  help  himself  to 
the  Randolph  lands  on  either  side  of  him,  but,  when 
Robert  Carrington  emigrated  from  Virginia  to  Arkansas, 
Randolph,  who  had  the  appetite  of  an  earth-worm  for 
land,  and  was  very  desirous  of  buying  the  Carrington 
estate  and  getting  rid  of  such  a  dangerous  table  companion 
as  the  Carrington  family,  was  thwarted  in  his  purpose  by 
Col.  Clem  Carrington,  another  son  of  the  elder  Judge  Paul 
Carrington,  who  purchased  the  estate  himself.2  There 
are  slight  circumstances  evidencing  the  fact  that  the 
regard  in  which  the  younger  Judge  Paul  Carrington  was 
held  by  Randolph  was  by  no  means  enthusiastic.  In  the 
Diary,  is  pasted  an  obituary  eulogy  of  the  former  which 
Randolph  had  clipped  from  some  newspaper,  and,  beside 
its  words  of  glowing  panegyric,  are  these  words  written  by 
Randolph :  ' '  Galimatias — Phebus — fustian — bombast — 
bathos."  And  Randolph  had  an  even  better  reason  for 
harboring  a  grudge  against  old  Col.  Clem  Carrington,  the 
son  of  the  elder  Judge  Paul  Carrington,  than  the  fact  that 
he  was  a  Federalist,  because  the  Diary  contains  this  memo- 
randum too:  "Juno,  my  double-nosed  Spanish  slut,  killed 
by  Col.  Carrington 's  order.  He  had  her  head  chopped  off. 
Her  puppy  escaped.  She  had  done  no  mischief  and  at- 
tempted none;  she  was  not  even  in  his  enclosures. "  The 
date  of  this  occurrence  seems  to  have  been  Oct.  5,  181 1.3 

But  the  Diary  and  Randolph's  briefer  journals  show 
that,  between  the  year  18 10,  when  Randolph  removed 
from  Bizarre  to  Roanoke,  until  the  very  last  years  of  his 
life,  he  was  on  neighborly  terms,  on  the  whole,  with  all 
the  members  of  the  Carrington  connection  in  Charlotte 

1  Bouldin,  130.  2  Bryan  MSS.  *  J.  R.'s  Diary. 


262         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

County;  visiting  them  and  being  visited  by  them,  dining 
them  and  being  dined  by  them,  and  keeping  up  with, 
if  he  did  not  cordially  share,  their  family  joys  and  sorrows. 
Nothing  could  be  more  decisive  on  this  subject  than  the 
statement  of  John  Randolph  Bryan :  '  ■  Mr.  Randolph  had 
a  difficulty  with  Robert  about  the  road  referred  to  in  the 
Reminiscences  (Bouldin's),  I  think  about  1832;  but  he 
never  felt  unfriendly  towards  either  Mr.  Robert  or  old 
Col.  Clem. " x  We  are  told  that,  even  after  the  road  con- 
troversy, Randolph  voted  for  Robert  Carrington,  when  he 
was  a  candidate  for  the  House  of  Delegates  and,  when 
Randolph  died,  he  left  behind  him  a  list  of  his  friends 
which  included  the  name  of  Robert  Carrington, 2  with  some 
favorable  comments  on  his  courage,  honor,  and  manliness. 3 
(a) 

According  to  Jacob  Harvey,  Randolph  said,  after  his 
rub  with  his  Dutch  fellow-passenger  on  The  Amity:  "God 
forgive  me  for  being  passionate;  but  you  must  know 
that  I  am  like  a  hair  trigger  and  go  off  at  half-cock."4 
The  judgment  was  just,  as  Randolph's  judgments  about 
himself  were  apt  to  be.  Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that 
Randolph's  temper  was  not  only  very  choleric,  but  also 
fickle  and  capricious,  and  quick  to  veer  from  gayety  and 
good  humor  to  melancholy  and  moroseness.  Harvey 
tells  us  that  one  day  he  would  be  "full  of  jokes,  repartee, 
and  good  humor;  the  next  abstracted,  morose,  and  incom- 
municative." s 

From  Harvey  too  we  derive  a  story  which  is  but  typical 
of  the  many  stories  that  were  circulated  during  Randolph's 
life  about  his  abrupt  transitions  from  one  mood  to  another. 
A  gentleman  who  had  been  introduced  to  him  at  a  dinner 
party  at  Washington,  when  he  was  in  fine  spirits,  found 
him  so  cordial  and  attractive  that  the  next  day,  when  he 

1  Letter  to  Mr.  Robertson,  Mar.  27,  1878,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Bouldin,  99,  263.  3  Jd.t  263. 

4  The  New  Mirror,  v.  I,  332.  s  Id.,  v.  2,  70. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  263 

was  walking  towards  the  Capitol  and  observed  Randolph 
ahead  of  him,  he  quickened  his  pace  until  he  came  up 
with  him,  when  he  exclaimed,  puffing  away  for  want  of 
breath : 

"Good  morning,  Mr.  Randolph;  how  do  you  do, 
Sir!" 

"Good  morning,  Sir,"  replied  Randolph  rather  stiffly 
and  without  stopping. 

'  ■  You  walk  very  fast,  Sir,  • '  said  the  gentleman,  ' '  I  have 
had  great  difficulty  in  overtaking  you. " 

"I'll  increase  the  difficulty,  Sir,"  replied  Randolph; 
and,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  he  soon  left  his  be- 
wildered acquaintance  behind  him. z 

A  better  known  story  is  that  of  the  man  who  remarked 
to  Randolph  when  the  latter  was  in  one  of  his  crusty 
humors:  "I  passed  by  your  house  this  morning,  Mr. 
Randolph";  and  received  from  him  the  stunning  reply: 
"I  hope  that  you  will  always  continue  to  do  so.  "2 

Still  other  stories  of  the  same  kind  could  be  cited  by  us, 
but  most  of  them  have  but  slight  claims  to  authenticity. 
This  cannot  be  said,  however,  of  cases  where  his  bile  is 
known  to  have  been  stirred  by  some  nettling  circumstance 
or  some  real  appeal  to  his  disapprobation  or  contempt. 
He  had  a  marked  disrelish  for  any  topic  of  conversation 
that  was  forced  upon  him.3  He  resented,  too,  any  effort 
to  obtain  information  from  him  when  the  object  of  the 
application  was  not  frankly  disclosed.  In  other  words, 
to  modify  his  own  image  a  little,  what  are  but  pricks  with 
most  of  us  became  pimples  with  him,  owing  to  his  morbid 
sensibility  to  external  impressions. 

Two  well-authenticated  stories  have  come  down  to  our 
time  of  the  absolutely  withering  glance  that  he  could  bring 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  70. 

2  Essay  on  John  Randolph  by  the  Author,  Va.  University  Mag.,  Oct., 
1879. 

3  The  New  Mirror,  v.  1,  391. 


264         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

to  bear  upon  conceit  or  shallow  pretensions ;  or,  to  use  his 
own  phrase,  "a  frog  at  the  utmost  degree  of  distention.  "x 
The  first  of  the  two  is  related  by  the  Rev.  John  S.  Kirk- 
patrick  in  such  a  vivacious  way  that  we  shall  tell  it 
entirely  in  his  own  words : 

"There  lived  years  ago,  in  Campbell  County,  a  man  who 
bore,  and  seemed  to  be  proud  that  he  was  entitled  to  bear,  the 
euphonious  and  far-resounding  name  of  Achilles  D.  Johnson. 
I  had  some  acquaintance  with  him,  which  prepared  me  to 
appreciate  what  I  am  about  to  relate,  as  others  may  do.  With 
no  claim  to  such  distinction,  that  others  could  see,  he  yet 
aspired  to  political  honors.  He  was  ambitious  to  get  into  the 
Legislature.  He  may  have  dreamed,  also,  of  a  seat  in  Congress, 
but,  if  so,  I  do  not  know  that  he  ever  told  his  dream.  Being 
one  day  at  Raines'  Tavern,  a  noted  stage-coach  stand  in 
Cumberland  County,  on  the  great  dirt  road  thoroughfare 
between  Washington  City  and  a  large  portion  of  the  South,  he 
learned,  much  to  his  joy,  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  hourly  ex- 
pected to  reach  that  point,  on  his  way  home  from  Washington ; 
traveling  in  his  private  carriage  from  Fredericksburg,  whither 
it  had  been  sent  some  days  before  to  meet  him.  He  thought 
— our  aspiring  friend — that,  if  he  should  be  able,  on  his  return 
to  Campbell,  to  report  to  his  neighbors  and  fellow-countrymen 
that  he  had  conversed  with  Mr.  Randolph  on  national  affairs, 
and  that  the  latter  had  told  him  this,  that,  and  what  else 
might  be,  it  would  considerably  swell  his  importance,  in  their 
eyes,  and  brighten  his  prospects  for  getting  into  the  Legislature. 
How  to  bring  himself  into  communication  with  Mr.  Randolph, 
was  the  problem  now  to  be  solved.  He  sought  the  mediation 
of  Mr.  Raines,  the  proprietor,  but  he  declined  the  service,  nor 
was  anyone  of  several  other  gentlemen  present  willing  to 
undertake  the  delicate  office.  Meanwhile,  Mr.  Randolph's 
carriage  halted  before  the  door  of  the  tavern,  and  tarried  long 
enough  for  an  order  for  hot  water  to  be  executed;  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph finding  it  necessary  to  compound  a  fresh  potation  of 
the  inevitable  medicine.  It  was  now  or  never,  with  our  friend 
from  Campbell.    He  advanced,  whether  boldly  or  tremblingly, 

1  J.  R.  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  Feb.  26,  1827,  Garl.,  v.  2,  288. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  265 

I  cannot  say,  but  alone,  and  unsupported,  to  the  door  of  the 
carriage.  'This  is  Mr.  Randolph,  I  suppose.'  'Yes,  sir,  that 
is  my  name.'  'My  name  is  Achilles  D.  Johnson,  of  Campbell 
County.'  'Howdye  do,  Mr.  Achilles  D.  Johnson,  of  Camp- 
bell County!'  This  was  a  shot  that  would  have  discomfited 
a  man  of  ordinary  courage,  but  not  our  hero.  It  was  aimed 
too  high,  and  struck  the  head,  an  invulnerable  part  of  our 
Modern  Achilles,  as  of  his  illustrious  prototype  whose  name  he 
bore.  He  returned  fearlessly  to  the  charge.  'You  have  re- 
cently come  from  Washington,  Mr.  Randolph.'  'Yes,  sir,  but 
more  recently  from  Fredericksburg.'  This  time,  the  bolt, 
slanting  downward,  struck  the  undipped  heel,  and  Achilles 
retired,  limping  and  sulking  from  the  field."1 

The  other  of  the  two  stories  was  imparted  to  Powhatan 
Bouldin  by  Mr.  Wm.  M.  Mosely,  of  Danville,  Va.,  who 
was  present  when  the  incident,  out  of  which  it  arose, 
occurred.  A  vain  young  popinjay,  of  the  Buckingham 
County  bar,  had  been  elected  to  the  Virginia  Assembly, 
where  he  had  gained  some  notoriety  by  a  speech  which 
he  had  made  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  had  held  up  Randolph  as  a  cruel  slave- 
holder; a  very  dangerous  thing  for  anyone  to  do  who 
aspired  to  popular  approval  in  Randolph's  District.  At 
the  next  election,  his  constituents  declined  to  re-elect  him. 
Nothing  daunted  by  this  result,  he  availed  himself  of  the 
last  occasion  on  which  Randolph  ever  addressed  the 
people  of  Buckingham  County  to  make  public  amends  for 
his  course  in  the  Legislature  and  to  apologize  to  Randolph 
for  the  supposed  injury  that  he  had  done  him.  He  began 
by  expressing  his  deep  sympathy  for  the  honorable  gentle- 
man in  his  very  infirm  state  of  health,  and  the  hope  that 
Randolph's  prospective  visit  to  Europe  would  result  in  its 
restoration.  He  had  always  been  a  devoted  admirer  of 
Mr.  Randolph,  he  said,  and  felt  that  it  was  due  to  that 
distinguished  gentleman,  as  well  as  to  the  speaker  and  his 

1  Personal  Recollections  of  J.  R.  of  Roanoke,  MSS. 


266         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

fellow-citizens  of  Buckingham,  that  he  should  embrace  the 
present  opportunity  for  recanting  the  speech  delivered  by 
him,  when  he  had  been  honored  with  a  seat  in  the  State 
Legislature,  in  which  he  had  spoken  disparagingly  of  Mr. 
Randolph  as  a  tyrannical  master  to  his  slaves.  He  had 
reason  to  know  that  his  conduct  in  this  respect  did  not 
accord  with  the  sentiments  of  his  constituents ;  and  he  had 
to  confess  that  his  personal  attack  upon  his  distinguished 
friend  had  been  made  without  any  personal  knowledge 
of  what  sort  of  master  Mr.  Randolph  actually  was.  He 
trusted  that  his  constituents  would  forgive  him,  and  he 
relied  upon  the  well-known  magnanimity  of  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph for  the  forgiveness,  too,  of  a  wrong  done  him,  in  a 
moment  of  heated  debate,  upon  an  exciting  subject;  the 
right  side  of  which  he  now  saw  that  he  had  not  espoused. 
From  this  point  we  might  as  well  tell  the  story  in  Mr. 
Moseley's  very  words: 

"  During  the  delivery  of  this  ill-timed  speech,  Mr.  Randolph 
sat  with  his  head  resting  upon  his  hand,  seemingly  absorbed 
in  deep  thought ;  and,  at  its  conclusion,  he  straightened  himself 
up,  and,  fixing  upon  his  victim  a  penetrating  gaze,  he  proceeded 
as  follows:  'I  don't  know  you,  Sir;  what  might  be  your  name?' 
The  name  was  given,  when  Mr.  Randolph  continued  his 
interrogatories :  'Whose  son  are  you  ?  where  did  you  make  the 
speech  you  have  been  talking  about?  and  what  did  you  say 
you  were  trying  to  speak  about?' 

1 '  These  questions  were  all  answered  in  a  hurried  and  confused 
manner,  evidently  showing  that  the  young  orator's  situation 
was  becoming  unpleasant.  Mr.  Randolph,  after  asking  a  few 
more  simple  questions,  the  purport  of  which  is  not  now  remem- 
bered, concluded  as  follows :  '  I  don't  think  I  ever  heard  of  you 
or  your  speech  before;  and,  of  course,  I  have  no  particular 
comment  to  make  upon  either.  I  knew  your  father,  and  have 
always  thought  he  was  a  right  good  sort  of  a  man ;  and  I  sup- 
pose you  are  a  degenerate  son  of  a  noble  sire — a  thing  that  is 
becoming  quite  common  in  this  country.  I  hope  my  old 
constituents,  God  bless  them,  will  never  again  be  misrepre- 


Randolph  as  a  Man  267 

sented  in  the  Legislature,  or  anywhere  else,  by  such  a  creature 
as  you  have  shown  yourself  to  be.  '  "* 

The  mercurial  nature  of  Randolph's  temper  is  also 
attested  by  a  witness  of  unquestionable  credit,  the  Rev. 
Wm.  S.  Lacy,  who  conducted  a  school  at  Ararat,  in  Prince 
Edward  County.  Speaking  of  a  visit  paid  by  Randolph 
to  this  school,  he  says : 

"On  one  occasion  only  do  I  remember  his  being  gloomy 
and  morose  and  crabbed,  and  then  it  was  bad  enough.  Shortly 
after  he  arrived  at  Ararat  on  that  visit,  a  long  spell  of  cold, 
rainy  weather  set  in.  The  wind  blowing  from  Northeast  kept 
him  in-doors  for  a  week  or  more.  He  would  read,  and  write 
and  loll  on  the  couch,  till  he  was  tired  and  then  become  the 
most  restless  and  fretful  mortal  I  ever  saw.  From  one  o'clock 
till  bedtime,  he  would  drink  rum  toddy  and  whiskey  grog 
enough  to  make  any  other  man  dead  drunk,  though  he  was 
never  at  all  fuddled.  All  we  could  do  was  to  keep  out  of  his 
way  and  let  him  alone.  As  soon,  however,  as  the  wind 
changed,  and  the  weather  cleared  off,  he  was  as  gay  and  lively 
as  ever."2 

But  worse  still,  Randolph's  temper  sometimes  assumed 
the  character  of  settled,  chronic  animosity.  In  his  boy- 
hood, he  was  passionately  (for  no  other  word  is  strong 
enough  to  convey  the  idea)  attached  to  his  stepfather, 
Judge  St.  George  Tucker.  "God  bless  you  my  father, 
my  ever  beloved  friend.  Whilst  this  heart  has  motion, 
it  shall  ever  feel  for  you  the  liveliest  affection,"  was  the 
way  in  which  he  concluded  a  letter  to  Judge  Tucker  when 
he  was  about  23  years  old.3  And  this  was  the  tone  to 
which  his  letters  to  Judge  Tucker  were  habitually  attuned 
until  the  year  1805,  when  they  began  to  be  less  effusive. 

1  Bouldin,  162. 

2  "  Early  Recollections  of  J.  R.,"  Sou.  Lit.  Mess.,  June,  1859,  pp.  461-466. 

3  Circa,  July  18,  1796.  Lucas  MSS. 


268         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

From  that  time  on,  they  were  increasingly  dry  and  formal, 
until  the  final  test  of  strength  between  Monroe  and  his 
rival,  Madison,  of  whom  Judge  Tucker  was  an  adherent, 
as  Presidential  candidates,  brought  all  really  cordial 
intercourse  between  Randolph  and  his  stepfather  to  an 
end.  In  1803,  the  reverence  and  affection,  cherished  by 
Randolph  for  Judge  Tucker,  were  so  strong  that,  when  the 
character  of  the  latter  was  slanderously  defamed,  Ran- 
dolph wrote  to  his  stepbrother,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker, 
in  these  madcap  words: 

"Can  the  character  of  St.  George  Tucker  be  sullied  by  the 
breath  of  this  man?  I  would  not  have  you  fail  of  what  you 
owe  to  that  honor  which  we  both  equally  worship — to  that 
friend  whom  we  equally  revere.  Such  an  accusation  can 
redound  only  to  his  honor.  It  will  call  forth  the  indignation  of 
every  honest  man  in  the  community,  and  draw  forth  a  marked 
expression  of  the  public  confidence  in  his  unsullied  integrity. 
If  the  ruffian  is  to  be  offered  up  a  victim  to  filial  piety,  remem- 
ber he  is  my  prey,  and,  to  touch  the  assassin,  is  to  rob  me  of  my 
birthright."1 

In  1810-11,  Randolph's  feelings  towards  Judge  Tucker 
had  become  so  acrid  that  he  took  legal  advice  with  a  view 
to  bringing  suit  against  him,  and  was  with  difficulty  dis- 
suaded from  doing  so. 2  His  claim  was  that  Judge  Tucker 
had  contrived  "to  take  to  himself"  the  profits  of  his  and 
his  brother  Richard's  estates  during  their  respective 
infancy,  while  Judge  Tucker  was  their  guardian,  and  that, 
moreover,  his  grandfather,  Theodorick  Bland,  had  given 
his  mother  certain  slaves  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  to  his 
father ;  that  his  father  had  held  these  slaves  until  his  death ; 
and  that,  at  his  death,  they  were  inventoried  as  a  part  of 
his  estate,  and.  were  considered  such  during  his  wife's 
widowhood3;  but  that  Judge  Tucker  had  contrived  to 

1  Richm.  Enq.,  Sept.  10,  1833.  2  Garland,  v.  2,  38. 

3  Deposition  of  Wm.  Leigh  in  Coalter's  Ex.  vs.  Randolph's  Ex.,  Clk's 
Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  269 

obtain  a  deed  of  them  from  Theodorick  Bland  and  had 
sold  them  and  their  progeny. 

In  his  letter  to  the  Richmond  Enquirer,  of  Sept.  10, 
1833,  Judge  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  with  a  temper  as 
irreproachably  loyal  to  the  memory  of  his  half-brother  as 
to  that  of  his  father,  affirmed  that,  shortly  after  the  death 
of  Richard  Randolph,  Judge  St.  George  Tucker  stated  his 
accounts  between  Richard  Randolph  and  John  Randolph 
respectively  and  himself,  showing  a  balance  in  his  hands 
to  the  credit  of  each  of  them  of  £200 ;  and  that  he  gave  his 
bonds  for  these  balances  to  John  Randolph  and  Judith 
Randolph,  as  the  executrix  of  Richard  Randolph  respect- 
ively ;  taking  a  release  from  each  of  them ;  and  that  after- 
wards he  paid  the  amounts  of  both  bonds  to  them. 

11  No  hint  of  dissatisfaction,"  said  Judge  Tucker,  "appears  in 
the  whole  transaction.  Indeed,  in  1799,  Mr.  Randolph,  being 
in  Richmond,  applied  to  Mr.  Tucker  for  a  loan,  which  was 
made  without  a  moment's  hesitation  to  the  amount  of  $2500.00 ; 
and  receipt  given,  to  which  Randolph,  of  his  own  accord, 
added  a  scroll  as  his  seal."  (a) 

As  John  Randolph  was  23  years  of  age,  when  he  gave 
Judge  Tucker  the  release,  and  continued  for  many  years 
afterwards  to  be  on  the  most  affectionate  terms  with  him, 
it  would  be  even  idler  at  this  late  date,  than  it  would  have 
been  in  1833,  to  attempt  to  go  back  of  the  release;  which 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  was  not  based  upon  a  per- 
fectly full  and  fair  statement  of  accounts. 

So  far  as  the  deed  of  gift  of  the  slaves  to  Judge  Tucker 
was  concerned,  the  facts  appear  to  have  been  these:  In 
1758,  a  statute  was  passed  by  the  Colonial  Assembly  of 
Virginia  making  parol  gifts  of  slaves  void.  Theodorick 
Bland  evidently  availed  himself  of  this  statute,  after  the 
death  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  John  Randolph,  to  reclaim 
control  of  the  slaves,  which  he  had  given  or  lent  to  her, 
and  which,  if  they  had  been  given  by  a  deed  of  gift,  in 


270         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

compliance  with  the  requirements  of  the  Act  of  1758, 
would,  under  the  hard  rule  of  law  that  then  existed,  have 
become  the  absolute  property  of  her  husband,  John  Ran- 
dolph, Sr.  Indeed,  it  may  well  be  that  he  did  not  transfer 
them  by  a  deed  of  gift  because  he  wished  to  reserve  the 
right  to  reclaim  them  at  pleasure,  (a)  The  children  of  Mrs. 
Randolph  by  her  first  husband  were  abundantly  provided 
for,  and  the  object  Of  Theodorick  Bland  in  executing  the 
deed  of  gift  to  Judge  Tucker  was,  doubtless,  to  make  a 
provision  for  Mrs.  Randolph  and  her  second  set  of  chil- 
dren. Be  this  as  it  may,  there  is  no  evidence  whatever 
that  Judge  Tucker  employed  any  improper  means  to 
obtain  the  deed,  and,  moreover,  to  infer  that  he  did  would 
be  to  ignore  the  excellent  reputation  that  he  enjoyed  for 
integrity  during  his  life  and  lef c  behind  him  at  his  death. 
The  only  explanation  that  Henry  St.  George  Tucker  could 
offer  for  Randolph's  idea  that  Judge  Tucker  had  abused 
his  trust  as  his  guardian  was  that ' '  from  some  other  cause, 
he  had  become  greatly  offended  with  Mr.  Tucker,  and 
from  the  influence  of  these  unfriendly  feelings  labored 
under  a  mental  hallucination  on  this  subject ;  as  it  was  his 
misfortune  to  have  done  on  some  others.  "* 

The  original  cause  assigned  by  Garland  for  Randolph's 
alienation  from  his  stepfather  is  stated  in  these  words : 

"The  first  cause  of  this  misunderstanding  with  his  step- 
father is  very  characteristic  of  the  man,  and  illustrates  the 
feeling  of  family  pride  that  burned  so  intensely  in  his  breast. 
The  subject  of  conversation  was  the  passing  of  the  Banister 
estate  from  an  infant  of  the  family  to  a  brother  of  the  half- 
blood  of  the  Shippen  family.  Mr.  Randolph  said  that  occur- 
rence gave  rise  to  the  alteration  of  the  law  of  descents,  and 
placed  it  on  its  present  footing;  he  also  expressed  in  strong 
terms  his  disapprobation  of  the  justice  or  policy  of  such  a  law. 
Judge  Tucker  replied :  'Why,  Jack,  you  ought  not  to  be  against 
that  law;  for  you  know,  if  you  were  to  die  without  issue,  you 

1Richm.  Enq.,  Sept.  10,  1833. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  271 

would  wish  your  half-brothers  to  have  your  estate.'  'I'll  be 
damned,  Sir,  if  I  do  know  it,'  said  Randolph  in  great  excite- 
ment. And  from  that  day  ceased  with  his  good  and  venerable 
stepfather  all  friendly  intercourse.  This  occasion  gave  rise 
to  many  cruel  and  unjust  suspicions.  Once  brought  to  suspect 
a  selfish  motive  in  him  he  had  so  much  venerated,  he  began 
to  look  back  with  a  jealous  eye  on  all  his  past  transactions, 
and  'trifles  light  as  air'  became  confirmations  strong  as  Holy 
Writ."1 

In  our  judgment,  as  we  have  intimated,  it  is  much  more 
likely  that  it  was  the  differences  engendered  by  the  Presi- 
dential struggle  between  Madison  and  Monroe,  in  which 
Randolph's  heart  was  so  zealously  enlisted,  that  first 
turned  Randolph  against  Judge  Tucker.  In  the  winter 
of  1813-14,  when  he  spent  some  months  in  Richmond,  an 
effort  was  made  by  the  common  friends  of  his  stepfather 
and  himself  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  between  them ; 
but  the  effort  failed.  In  a  letter  to  the  widow  of  Judge 
St.  George  Tucker,  written  after  Randolph's  death,  Mrs. 
John  Randolph  Bryan  recalled  the  fact  that  Judge  St. 
George  Tucker  and  Randolph  had  met  at  Bush  Hill  near 
Richmond  about  1816  or  1817  and  that  Randolph  had 
refused  to  take  Judge  Tucker's  hand ;  Judge  Tucker  saying 
in  an  agitated  voice,  like  the  good,  affectionate  man  that 
he  was :  ' '  Oh,  Jack !  I  never  thought  that  one  of  my  chil- 
dren would  refuse  my  hand.  "2 

A  few  years  later,  Randolph  inserted  in  the  will  which 
he  executed  in  1821  these  extraordinary  words: 

"I  have  not  included  my  mother's  descendants  in  my  will 
because  her  husband,  besides  the  whole  profits  of  my  late 
father's  estate,  during  the  minority  of  my  brother  and  myself, 
has  contrived  to  get  to  himself  the  slaves  given  by  my  grand- 
father, Bland,  as  her  marriage  portion  when  my  father  married 
her;  which  slaves  were  inventoried  at  my  father's  death  as 
part  of  his  estate,  and  were  as  much  his  as  any  that  he  had. 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  38.  2  Bryan  MSS. 


272         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

One-half  of  them,  now  scattered  from  Maryland  to  Mississippi, 
were  entitled  to  freedom  at  my  brother  Richard's  death,  as 
the  other  would  have  been  at  mine."1 

This  was  but  the  breaking  of  a  boil  which  had  long  been 
coming  to  a  head. 

In  the  Diary,  Randolph  preserved  a  list  of  all  the 
negroes  to  whom  he  thought  that  the  estate  of  his  father 
was  entitled;  and  along  with  their  names  he  also  entered 
in  the  Diary  several  fixtures  which  he  deemed  Judge 
Tucker  to  have  unwarrantably  removed  from  Matoax  to 
Williamsburg  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife. 

In  a  list  which  he  kept  in  the  Diary  of  his  books,  that 
were  destroyed  with  the  mansion  house  at  Bizarre  on 
Sunday,  March  21,  18 13,  is  this  title:  " Tucker's  Black- 
stone,  4  vols,  from  the  editor,  "  with  these  splenetic  words, 
evidently  appended  to  it  at  a  date  later  than  its  insertion : 
"With  his  profits." 

•  Naturally  enough,  the  reflections  in  the  will  of  1821  on 
Judge  Tucker  were  warmly  resented  by  the  Tuckers;  but 
of  this  we  shall  speak  in  a  later  connection. 

Never,  however,  was  the  gall  in  Randolph's  nature  so 
stirred  as  by  the  feelings  which  he  came  to  cherish  towards 
Nancy  Randolph,  after  the  truth  about  the  tragic  incident 
at  Glenlyvar  had  been  brought  to  his  knowledge  by  a 
confession  which  she  made  to  him  some  years  after  it  had 
occurred.  Speaking  of  his  brother  Richard,  in  a  letter 
written  from  Paris  on  July  24,  1824,  he  said: 

M  His  sudden  and  untimely  death  threw  upon  my  care,  help- 
less as  I  was,  his  family  whom  I  tenderly  and  passionately 
loved;  and  with  whom  I  might  be  now  living  at  Bizarre  if  the 

reunion  of  his  widow  with  the of  her  husband  had  not 

driven  me  to  Roanoke;  where,  but  for  my  brother's  entreaty 
and  forlorn  and  friendless  condition,  I  should  have  remained; 
and  where  I  should  have  obtained  a  release  from  my  bondage 

1  Bouldin,  204. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  273 

more  than  20  years  ago.  Then  I  might  have  enjoyed  my 
present  opportunities;  but  time  misspent  and  faculties  mis- 
employed and  senses,  jaded  by  labor  or  impaired  by  excess, 
cannot  be  recalled  any  more  than  that  freshness  of  the  heart 
before  it  has  become  aware  of  the  deceits  of  others  and  of  its 
own."1 

But  before  these  bitter,  mournful,  musical  words  were 
written,  there  had  been  an  interchange  of  letters  between 
Randolph  and  Nancy  Randolph  that  can  be  compared 
only  to  the  deadly  grapple  in  midair,  with  beak  and  claw, 
of  two  fierce  falcons. 

On  his  way  from  Harvard,  where  he  was  a  student,  to 
Virginia,  in  the  year  18 14,  Tudor  Randolph  was  taken 
with  a  hemorrhage  at  Morrisania,  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  the  home  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  to  whom  Nancy 
Randolph  had  been  recently  married,  (a)  When  knowl- 
edge of  this  fact  reached  Judith  Randolph,  who  had  in  the 
meantime  become  reconciled  to  her  sister  after  a  period  of 
estrangement,  she  went  on  to  Morrisania  herself  to  look 
after  Tudor;  and  was  followed  by  Randolph.  He  reached 
New  York  on  Thursday,  Oct.  20,  and  Morrisania  on  Sat- 
urday, Oct.  22,  and  the  next  day  he  returned  to  New 
York.2  He  seems,  therefore,  to  have  spent  but  a  single 
night  at  Morrisania  before  he  left  New  York  on  his  return 
to  Virginia.  While  writhing  under  the  physical  effects 
of  the  accident,  which  we  have  already  mentioned  as 
befalling  him  there,  and,  with  a  mind  poisoned  by  asper- 
sions on  the  conduct  of  Mrs.  Morris,  which  he  had  heard 
from  an  enemy  or  enemies  of  hers  after  his  return  to  New 
York,  he  wrote  to  her  the  following  letter;  and  evoked 
from  her  the  following  reply,3  which,  however,  was  never 
received  by  Randolph. 4 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  224.  a  J.  R.'s  Diary, 

3  N.  Y.  Pub.  Libr.  MSS.,  Va.  Hist.  Soc.  MSS 

«  Letter  from  J.  R.  to  Wm.  B.  Giles,  Clay  Hill,  Mar.  12,  1815,  N.  Y. 
Pub.  Libr. 

VOL.  II — 18 


274         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Greenwich  St.,  Oct.  31,  18 14. 
"Madam: 

When,  at  my  departure  from  Morrisania,  in  your  sister's 
presence,  I  bade  you  remember  the  past,  I  was  not  apprised  of 
the  whole  extent  of  your  guilty  machinations.  I  had  never- 
theless seen  and  heard  enough  in  the  course  of  my  short  visit 
to  satisfy  me  that  your  own  dear  experience  had  availed 
nothing  toward  the  amendment  of  your  life.  My  object  was 
to  let  you  know  that  the  eye  of  man  as  well  as  of  that  God,  of 
whom  you  seek  not,  was  upon  you — to  impress  upon  your  mind 
some  of  your  duty  towards  your  husband,  and,  if  possible,  to 
rouse  some  dormant  spark  of  virtue,  if  haply  any  such  should 
slumber  in  your  bosom.  The  conscience  of  the  most  hardened 
criminal  has,  by  a  sudden  stroke,  been  alarmed  into  repentance 
and  contrition.  Yours,  I  perceive,  is  not  made  of  penetrable 
stuff.  Unhappy  woman,  why  will  you  tempt  the  forbearance 
of  that  Maker  who  has,  perhaps,  permitted  you  to  run  your 
course  of  vice  and  sin  that  you  might  feel  it  to  be  a  life  of 
wretchedness,  alarm  and  suspicion  ?  You  now  live  in  the  daily 
and  nightly  dread  of  discovery.  Detection  itself  can  hardly  be 
worse.  Some  of  the  proofs  of  your  guilt,  (you  know  to  which 
of  them  I  allude) ;  those  which  in  despair  you  sent  me  through 
Dr.  Meade  on  your  leaving  Virginia;  those  proofs,  I  say,  had 
not  been  produced  against  you  had  you  not  falsely  used  my 
name  in  imposing  upon  the  generous  man  to  whose  arms  yoti 
have  brought  pollution!  to  whom  next  to  my  unfortunate 
brother  you  were  most  indebted,  and  whom  next  to  him  you 
have  most  deeply  injured.  You  told  Mr.  Morris  that  I  had 
offered  you  marriage  subsequent  to  your  arraignment  for  the 
most  horrible  of  crimes,  when  you  were  conscious  that  I  never 
at  any  time  made  such  proposals.  You  have,  therefore, 
released  me  from  any  implied  obligation,  (with  me  it  would 
have  been  sacred;  notwithstanding  you  laid  no  injunction  of 
the  sort  upon  me,  provided  you  had  respected  my  name  and 
decently  discharged  your  duties  to  your  husband)  to  withhold 
the  papers  from  the  inspection  of  all  except  my  own  family. 

"I  laid  them  before  Tudor  soon  after  they  came  into  my 
hands  with  the  whole  story  of  his  father's  wrongs  and  your 
crime.     But  to  return: 


Randolph  as  a  Man  275 

"You  represented  to  Mr.  Morris  that  I  had  offered  you 
marriage.  Your  inveterate  disregard  of  truth  has  been  too 
well  known  to  me  for  many  years  to  cause  any  surprise  on  my 
part  at  this  or  any  other  falsehood  that  you  may  coin  to  serve  a 
turn.  In  like  manner,  you  instigated  Mr.  Morris  against  the 
Chief  Justice  whom  you  knew  to  have  been  misled  with  respect 
to  the  transactions  at  R.  Harrisons,  and  who  knew  no  more 
of  your  general  or  subsequent  life  than  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury.  Cunning  and  guilt  are  no  match  for  wisdom 
and  truth,  yet  you  persevere  in  your  wicked  course.  Your 
apprehensions  for  the  life  of  your  child  first  flashed  conviction 
on  my  mind  that  your  hands  had  deprived  of  life  that  of  which 
you  were  delivered  in  October,  1792,  at  R.  Harrison's.  The 
child,  to  interest  his  feelings  in  its  behalf,  you  told  my  brother 
Richard  (when  you  entrusted  to  him  the  secret  of  your  preg- 
nancy and  implored  him  to  hide  your  shame)  was  begotten 
by  my  brother,  Theodorick,  who  died  at  Bizarre  of  a  long 
decline  the  preceding  February.  You  knew  long  before  his 
death  (nearly  a  year)  he  was  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton;  that 
he  was  unable  to  walk;  and  that  his  bones  had  worn  through 
his  skin.  Such  was  the  inviting  object  whose  bed  (agreeably 
to  your  own  account)  you  sought,  and  with  whom,  to  use  your 
own  paraphrase,  you  played  'Alonzo  and  Cora,'  and,  to  screen 
the  character  of  such  a  creature,  was  the  life  and  fame  of  this 
most  gallant  of  men  put  in  jeopardy.  He  passed  his  word, 
and  the  pledge  was  redeemed  at  the  hazard  of  all  that  man 
can  hold  dear.  Domestic  peace,  reputation  and  life,  all 
suffered  but  the  last.  His  hands  received  the  burthen,  bloody 
from  the  womb,  and  already  lifeless.  Who  stifled  its  cries, 
God  only  knows  and  you.  His  hands  consigned  it  to  an  un- 
coffined  grave.  To  the  prudence  of  R.  Harrison,  who  dis- 
qualified himself  from  giving  testimony  by  refraining  from  a 
search  under  the  pile  of  shingles,  some  of  which  were  marked 
with  blood — to  this  cautious  conduct  it  is  owing  that  my 
brother  Richard  did  not  perish  on  the  same  gibbet  by  your 
side,  and  that  the  foul  stain  of  incest  and  murder  is  not  indeli- 
bly stamped  on  his  memory  and  associated  with  the  idea  of  his 
offspring.  Your  alleged  reason  for  not  declaring  the  truth 
(fear  of  your  brothers)  does  not  hold  against  a  disclosure  to  his 


276         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

wife,  your  sister,  to  whom  he  was  not  allowed  to  impart  the 
secret. 

"But  her  own  observation  supplied  all  defect  of  positive 
information  and,  had  you  been  first  proceeded  against  at  law, 
your  sister  being  a  competent  witness,  you  must  have  been 
convicted,  and  the  conviction  of  her  husband  would  have 
followed  as  a  necessary  consequence;  for  who  would  have 
believed  your  sister  to  have  been  sincere  in  her  declaration  that 
she  suspected  no  criminal  intercourse  between  her  husband 
and  yourself  ? 

"When,  some  years  ago,  I  imparted  to  her  the  facts  (she  had 
a  right  to  know  them),  she  expressed  no  surprise  but  only  said, 
she  was  always  satisfied  in  her  own  mind  that  it  was  so.  My 
brother  died  suddenly  in  June,  1790,  only  three  years  after  his 
trial.  I  was  from  home.  Tudor,  because  he  believes  you 
capable  of  anything,  imparted  to  me  the  morning  I  left  Morris- 
ania  his  misgivings  that  you  had  been  the  perpetrator  of  that 
act,  and,  when  I  found  your  mind  running  upon  poisonings  and 
murders,  I  too  had  my  former  suspicions  strengthened.  If  I 
am  wrong,  I  ask  forgiveness  of  God  and  even  of  you.  A  dose 
of  medicine  was  the  avowed  cause  of  his  death.  Mrs.  Dudley, 
to  whom  my  brother  had  offered  an  asylum  in  his  house,  who 
descended  from  our  mother's  sister,  you  drove  away.  Your 
quarrels  with  your  own  sister,  before  fierce  and  angry,  now 
knew  no  remission.  You  tried  to  force  her  to  turn  you  out  of 
doors  that  you  might  have  some  plausible  reason  to  assign 
for  quitting  Bizarre.  Biit,  after  what  my  poor  brother  had 
been  made  to  suffer,  in  mind,  body  and  estate,  after  her  own 
suffering  as  wife  and  widow  from  your  machinations,  it  was  not 
worth  while  to  try  to  save  anything  from  the  wreck  of  her 
happiness,  and  she  endured  you  as  well  as  she  could,  and  you 
poured  on.  But  your  intimacy  with  one  of  the  slaves,  your 
'dear  Billy  Ellis,'  thus  you  commenced  your  epistles  to  this 
Othello!,  attracted  notice.  You  could  stay  no  longer  at  Biz- 
arre, you  abandoned  it  under  the  plea  of  ill  usage  and,  after 
various  shiftings  of  your  quarters,  you  threw  yourself  on  the 
humanity  of  Capt.  and  Mrs.  Murray  (never  appealed  to  in 
vain),  and  here  you  made  a  bold  stroke  for  a  husband — Dr. 
Meade.     Foiled  in   this   game,   your   advances  became  so 


Randolph  as  a  Man  277 

immodest  you  had  to  leave  Grovebrook.  You,  afterwards, 
took  lodgings  at  Prior's  (a  public  garden),  whither  I  sent  by 
your  sister's  request,  and  in  her  name  $100.  You  returned 
them  by  the  bearer,  Tudor,  then  a  schoolboy,  because  sent  in 
her  name  which  you  covered  with  obloquy.  But  to  S.  G. 
Tucker,  Esq.,  you  represented  that  I  had  sent  the  money, 
suppressing  your  sister's  name,  and  he  asked  me  if  I  was  not 
going  to  see  'poor  Nancy'  ?  You  sent  this,  a  direct  message, 
and  I  went.  You  were  at  that  time  fastidiously  neat,  and  so 
was  the  apartment.  I  now  see  why  the  bank  note  was  returned 
— but  the  bait  did  not  take — I  left  the  apartment  and  never 
beheld  you  more  until  in  Washington  as  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Morris.  Your  subsequent  association  with  the  players — your 
decline  into  a  very  drab — I  was  informed  of  by  a  friend  in  Rich- 
mond.    You  left  Virginia — whether  made  a  condition  of  your 

or  not,  I  know  not,  but  the  Grantor  would  not,  as  I  heard, 

suffer  you  to  associate  with  his  wife.  From  Rhode  Island,  you 
wrote  to  me,  begging  for  money.  I  did  not  answer  your  letter. 
Mr.  Sturgis,  of  Connecticut,  with  whom  you  had  formed  an 
acquaintance,  and  with  whom  you  corresponded!  often 
brought  me  messages  from  you.  He  knows  how  coolly  they 
were  received.  When  Mr.  Morris  brought  you.  to  Washington, 
he  knew  that  I  held  aloof  from  you.  At  his  instance,  who 
asked  me  if  I  intended  to  mortify  his  wife  by  not  visiting  her,  I 
went.  I  repeated  my  visit  to  ascertain  whether  change  of 
circumstances  had  made  any  change  in  your  conduct.  I  was 
led  to  hope  you  had  seen  your  errors  and  was  smoothing  his 
passage  through  life.  A  knowledge  that  he  held  the  staff  in 
his  own  hands  and  a  mistaken  idea  of  his  character  (for  I 
had  not  done  justice  to  the  kindness  of  his  nature)  fortified 
this  hope.  Let  me  say  that,  when  I  heard  of  your  living  with 
Mr.  Morris  as  his  housekeeper,  I  was  glad  of  it  as  a  means  of 
keeping  you  from  worse  company  and  courses.  Considering 
him  as  a  perfect  man  of  the  world,  who,  in  courts  and  cities 
at  home  and  abroad,  had  in  vain  been  assailed  by  female 
blandishments,  the  idea  of  his  marrying  you  never  entered  my 
head.  Another  connection  did.  My  first  intimation  of  the 
marriage  was  its  announcement  in  the  newspapers.  I  then 
thought,  Mr.  Morris  being  a  travelled  man,  might  have  formed 


278         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

his  taste  on  a  foreign  model.  Silence  was  my  only  course. 
Chance  has  again  thrown  you  under  my  eye.  What  do  I  see? 
A  vampire  that,  after  sucking  the  best  blood  of  my  race,  has 
flitted  off  to  the  North,  and  struck  her  harpy  fangs  into  an 
infirm  old  man.  To  what  condition  of  being  have  you  re- 
duced him  ?  Have  you  made  him  a  prisoner  in  his  own  house 
that  there  may  be  no  witness  of  your  lewd  amours,  or  have  you 
driven  away  his  friends  and  old  domestics  that  there  may  be 
no  witnesses  of  his  death?  Or  do  you  mean  to  force  him  to 
Europe  where  he  will  be  more  at  your  mercy,  and,  dropping 
the  boy  on  the  highway,  rid  yourself  of  all  incumbrances  at 
once?  'Uncle,'  said  Tudor,  'if  ever  Mr.  Morris'  eyes  are 
opened,  it  will  be  through  this  child  whom,  with  all  her  grim- 
aces in  her  husband's  presence,  'tis  easy  to  see  she  cares  nothing 
for  except  as  an  instrument  of  power.  How  shocking  she 
looks !  I  have  not  met  her  eyes  three  times  since  I  have  been 
in  the  house.  My  first  impression  of  her  character,  as  far 
back  as  I  can  remember,  is  that  she  was  an  unchaste  woman. 
My  brother  knew  her  even  better  than  I.  She  could  never  do 
anything  with  him.' 

' '  I  have  done.  Before  this  reaches  your  eye,  it  will  have  been 
perused  by  him,  to  whom,  next  to  my  brother,  you  are  most 
deeply  indebted,  and  whom,  next  to  him,  you  have  most 
deeply  wronged.  If  he  be  not  both  blind  and  deaf,  he  must 
sooner  or  later  unmask  you  unless  he  too  die  of  cramps  in  his 
stomach.  You  understand  me.  If  I  were  persuaded  that  his 
life  is  safe  in  your  custody,  I  might  forbear  from  making  this 
communication  to  him.  Repent  before  it  is  too  late.  May  I 
hear  of  that  repentance  and  never  see  you  more. 

"John  Randolph  of  Roanoke." 

"  Morrisania,  January  16th,  1815. 

"Sir: 

' '  My  husband  yesterday  communicated  to  me  for  the  first 
time  your  letter  of  the  last  of  October,  together  with  that 
which  accompanied  it,  directed  to  him. 

"  In  your  letter  to  my  husband,  you  say,  'I  wish  I  could 
withhold  the  blow  but  I  must  in  your  case  do  what  under  a 
change  of  circumstances  I  would  have  you  do  unto  me.'    This 


Randolph  as  a  Man  279 

Sir,  seems  fair  and  friendly.  It  seems,  Sir,  as  if  you  wished  to 
apprize  Mr.  Morris  and  him  only  of  circumstances  important 
to  his  happiness  and  honor,  though  fatal  to  my  reputation, 
leaving  it  in  his  power  to  cover  them  in  oblivion  or  display 
them  to  the  world  as  the  means  of  freeing  him  from  a  monster 
unfit  to  live.  But  this  was  mere  seeming.  Your  real  object 
was  widely  different.  Under  the  pretext  of  consulting  Com. 
Decatur  and  Mr.  Bleecker,  you  communicated  your  slanders 
to  them,  and  then  to  Mr.  Ogden.  You  afterwards  displayed 
them  to  Mr.  Wilkins,  who,  having  heard  them  spoken  of  in  the 
city,  called  on  you  to  know  on  what  foundation  they  stood. 
How  many  others  you  may  have  consulted,  to  how  many 
others  you  may  have  published  your  malicious  tale,  I  know  not, 
but  I  venture  to  ask  whether  this  be  conduct  under  a  change 
of  circumstances  you  would  have  others  pursue  towards  you  ? 
You  have  professed  a  sense  of  gratitude  for  obligations  you 
suppose  my  husband  to  have  laid  you  under.  Was  the 
attempt  to  blacken  my  character  and  destroy  his  peace  of  mind 
a  fair  return?  There  are  many  other  questions  which  will 
occur  to  candid  minds  on  the  perusal  of  your  letter.  For 
instance,  did  you  believe  these  slanders?  If  you  did,  why  did 
you  permit  your  nephew  to  be  fed  from  my  bounty  and  nursed 
by  my  care  during  nearly  three  months  ?  Could  you  suppose 
him  safe  in  the  power  of  a  wretch  who  had  murdered  his 
father  ?  Does  it  consist  with  the  dignified  pride  of  family  you 
affect  to  have  him,  whom  you  announce  as  your  heir,  and 
destined  to  support  your  name,  dependent  on  the  charity  of  a 
negro's  concubine?  You  say  I  confine  my  husband  a  prisoner 
in  his  house  that  there  may  be  no  witnesses  of  my  lewd  amours, 
and  have  driven  away  his  friends  and  old  domestics  that  there 
may  be  no  witnesses  of  his  death.  If  I  wished  to  indulge  in 
amours,  the  natural  course  would  be  to  mingle  in  the  pleasures 
and  amusements  of  the  city,  or  at  least  to  induce  my  husband 
to  go  abroad  and  leave  me  a  clear  stage  for  such  misdeeds. 
Was  it  with  a  view  to  multiply  witnesses  of  my  ill  conduct 
that  you  published  tales  tending  as  far  as  they  are  believed  to 
make  his  house  a  solitude  ?  It  cannot  escape  your  observation 
that  you  take  on  you  to  assert  things  which,  had  they  existed, 
you  could  not  know.     Thus  you  say  your  brother  'passed  his 


280         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

word  and  the  pledge  was  redeemed  at  the  hazard  of  all  that  a 
man  can  hold  dear' !     Pray,  Sir,  admitting  (tho  it  is  not  true) 
that  I  had  exacted  from  your  brother  a  promise  of  secrecy,  how 
could  you  have  known  it  unless  he  betrayed  it?  and,  if  he 
betrayed  it,  how  was  the  pledge  redeemed?    Again  you  say 
that  'I  instigated  Mr.  Morris  to  write  to  the  Chief  Justice 
whom  I  knew  to  have  been  misled.'     Had  the  instigation 
been  a  fact,  how  could  you  come  by  the  knowledge  of  it  ?     Like 
many  other  things  in  your  letter,  it  happens  to  be  a  downright 
falsehood,  and  is,  therefore,  a  just  standard  for  him  to  estimate 
the  rest  of  your  assertions.     Permit  me  to  observe  also  that  it 
is  an  additional  proof  of  your  intention  to  spread  your  slander 
abroad!;  for,  had  you  meant  to  communicate  information  to 
Mr.  Morris,  you  would  not  have  hazarded  such  a  charge. 
People  of  proper  feelings  require  that  the  evidence  of  accusa- 
tion be  strong  in  proportion  as  the  guilt  is  enormous;  but 
those,  who  feel  themselves  capable  of  committing  the  blackest 
crimes,  will  readily  suspect  others,  and  condemn  without  proof 
on  a  mere  hearsay,  on  the  suggestion  of  a  disturbed  fancy  or 
instigations  of  a  malevolent  heart.     Those  who  possess  a  clear 
conscience  and  sound  mind,  will  look  through  your  letter  for 
some  proof  of  my  guilt.     They  will  look  in  vain.     They  will 
find,  indeed,  that  you  have  thought  proper  to  found  suspicions 
on  suspicions  of  your  nephew,  and,  with  no  better  evidence, 
you  have  the  insolence  to  impute  crime  at  which  nature  revolts. 
You  will  perhaps  say  that  you  mention  a  piece  of  evidence  in 
your  possession — a  letter  which  I  wrote  on  leaving  Virginia. 
As  far  as  that  goes,  it  must  be  admitted,  but  permit  me  to  tell 
you  that  the  very  mention  of  it  destroys  your  credibility  with 
honorable  minds.     To  say,  as  you  do,  that  I  laid  no  injunction 
of  secrecy  will  strike  such  minds  as  a  pitiful  evasion.     If  you 
had  the  feelings  of  a  man  of  honor,  you  would  have  known  that 
there  are  things  the  communication  of  which  involves  that 
injunction.     You  have  heard  of  principle  and  pretend  to 
justify  the  breach  of  confidence  by  my  want  of  respect  for 
your  name.     But  you  acknowledge  that  you  communicated 
the  information  to  my  sister  and  her  son  Tudor  (this  a  boy  of 
eleven  years  old)  shortly  after  you  became  possessed  of  it. 
Thus  was  my  reputation,  as  far  as  it  lay  in  your  power,  com- 


Randolph  as  a  Man  281 

mitted  to  the  discretion  of  a  woman  and  a  child  many  years 
before  the  imputed  want  of  respect  for  your  name !  Formerly 
Jack  Randolph — now,  'John  Randolph  of  Roanoke.'  It  was 
then  a  want  of  respect  to  the  great  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 
to  say  he  had  done  the  honor  of  offering  his  hand  to  his  poor 
cousin  Nancy.  I  shall  take  more  notice  of  this  in  its  proper 
place,  and  only  add  here  that  among  the  respectable  people  of 
Virginia  the  affectation  of  greatness  must  cover  you  with 
ridicule. 

"  But,  to  return  to  this  breach  of  confidence,  without  which 
you  have  not  the  shadow  of  evidence  to  support  your  slanders. 
While  on  the  chapter  of  self-contradictions,  (which,  with  all 
due  respect  to  'John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,'  make  up  the 
history  of  his  life)  I  must  notice  a  piece  of  evidence  not  indeed 
contained  in  your  letter,  but  written  by  your  hand.  I  have 
already  hinted  at  the  indelicacy  of  leaving  your  nephew  so  long 
in  my  care  with  the  view  of  meeting  observations  which  no 
person  can  fail  to  make  on  a  conduct  so  extraordinary  in  itself 
and  inconsistent  with  your  charges  against  me.  You  pretend 
to  have  discovered,  all  at  once  in  this  house,  the  confirmation 
of  your  suspicions,  but  surely  the  suspicion  was  sufficient  to 
prevent  a  person  having  a  pretense  to  delicacy  from  subject- 
ing himself  to  such  obligations.  One  word,  however,  as  to  this 
sudden  discovery  made  by  your  great  sagacity.  Recollect, 
Sir,  when  you  rose  from  table  to  leave  Morrisania,  you  put  in 
my  husband's  hand  a  note  to  my  sister  expressing  your  willing- 
ness that  she  and  her  son  should  pass  the  winter  in  his  house. 
Surely,  the  discovery  must  have  been  made  at  that  time,  if  at 
all.  You  will  recollect,  too,  some  other  marks  of  confidence 
and  affection,  let  me  add  of  respect  also,  which  I  forbear  to 
mention  because  you  would  no  doubt  deny  them,  and  it  would 
be  invidious  to  ask  the  testimony  of  those  who  were  present. 
One  act,  however,  must  not  be  unnoticed.  It  speaks  too  plain 
a  language  to  be  misunderstood,  and  was  too  notorious  to  be 
denied.  When  you  entered  this  house,  and  when  you  left  it, 
you  took  me  in  your  arms,  you  pressed  me  to  your  bosom,  you 
impressed  upon  my  lips  a  kiss  which  I  received  as  a  token  of 
friendship  from  a  near  relation.  Did  you  then  believe  that  you 
held  in  your  arms,  that  you  pressed  to  your  bosom,  that  you 


282         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

kissed  the  lips  of,  a  common  prostitute,  the  murderess  of  her 
own  child  and  of  your  brother  ?  Go,  tell  this  to  the  world  that 
scorn  may  be  at  no  loss  for  an  object.  If  you  did  not  believe  it, 
make  out  a  certificate  that  'John  Randolph  of  Roanoke'  is  a 
base  calumniator.  But  no,  you  may  spare  yourself  this 
trouble.  It  is  already  written.  It  lies  before  me,  and  I 
proceed  to  notice  what  it  contains  in  a  more  particular  manner. 
"And  first,  Sir,  as  to  the  fact  communicated  shortly  before 
I  left  Virginia.  That  your  brother  Theodoric  paid  his  ad- 
dresses to  me,  you  knew  and  attempted  to  supplant  him  by 
calumny.  Be  pleased  to  remember  that,  in  my  sister  Mary's 
house,  (a)  you  led  me  to  the  portico,  and,  leaning  against  one  of 
the  pillars,  expressed  your  surprise  at  having  heard  from  your 
brother  Richard  that  I  was  engaged  to  marry  his  brother, 
Theodoric.  That  you  hoped  it  was  not  true,  for  he  was  un- 
worthy of  me.  To  establish  this  opinion,  you  made  many 
assertions  derogatory  to  his  reputation — some  of  which  I  knew 
to  be  false.  Recollect  that,  afterwards,  on  one  of  those 
occasions  (not  infrequent),  when  your  violence  of  temper  had 
led  you  into  an  unpleasant  situation,  you,  in  a  letter  to  your 
brother,  Richard,  declared  you  were  unconscious  of  ever  having 
done  anything  in  all  your  life  which  could  offend  me,  unless 
it  was  that  conversation,  excusing  it  as  an  act  of  heroism,  like 
the  sacrifice  of  his  own  son  by  Brutus,  for  which  I  ought  to 
applaud  you.  The  defamation  of  your  brother  whom  I  loved, 
your  stormy  passions,  your  mean  selfishness,  your  wretched 
appearance,  rendered  your  attentions  disagreeable.  Your 
brother,  Richard,  a  model  of  truth  and  honor,  knew  how  much 
I  was  annoyed  by  them.  He  knew  of  the  letters  with  which 
you  pestered  me  from  Philadelphia  till  one  of  them  was  re- 
turned in  a  blank  cover,  when  I  was  absent  from  home.  By 
whom  it  was  done,  I  knew  not ;  for  I  never  considered  it  of  im- 
portance enough  to  inquire.  It  was  your  troublesome  atten- 
tions which  induced  Richard  to  inform  you  of  my  engagement. 
At  that  time,  my  father  had  other  views.  Your  property,  as  well 
as  that  of  your  brothers,  was  hampered  by  a  British  debt.  My 
father,  therefore,  preferred  for  my  husband  a  person  of  clear 
and  considerable  estate.  The  sentiment  of  my  heart  did  not 
accord  with  his  intentions.     Under  these  circumstances,  I  was 


Randolph  as  a  Man  283 

left  at  Bizarre,  a  girl,  not  seventeen,  with  the  man  she  loved. 
I  was  betrothed  to  him,  and  considered  him  as  my  husband  in 
the  presence  of  that  God  whose  name  you  presume  to  invoke 
on  occasions  the  most  trivial  and  for  purposes  the  most  male- 
volent. We  should  have  been  married,  if  Death  had  not 
snatched  him  away  a  few  days  after  the  scene  which  began  the 
history  of  my  sorrows.  Your  brother,  Richard,  knew  every  cir- 
cumstance, but  you  are  mistaken  in  supposing  I  exacted  from 
him  a  promise  of  secrecy.  He  was  a  man  of  honor.  Neither 
the  foul  imputations  against  us  both,  circulated  by  that  kind 
of  friendship  which  you  have  shown  to  my  husband,  nor  the 
awful  scene,  to  which  he  was  afterwards  called  as  an  ac- 
complice in  the  horrible  crime,  with  which  you  attempt  to 
blacken  his  memory,  could  induce  him  to  betray  the  sister  of 
his  wife,  the  wife  of  his  brother;  I  repeat  it,  Sir,  the  crime 
with  which  you  now  attempt  to  blacken  his  memory.  You 
say  that,  to  screen  the  character  of  such  a  creature  as  I  am, 
the  life  and  the  fame  of  that  most  generous  and  gallant  of  men 
was  put  in  jeopardy.  His  life  alas !  is  now  beyond  the  reach 
of  your  malice,  but  his  fame,  which  should  be  dear  to 
a  brother's  heart,  is  stabbed  by  the  hand  of  his  brother.  You 
not  only  charge  me  with  the  heinous  crime  of  infanticide, 
placing  him  in  the  condition  of  an  accomplice,  but  you  proceed 
to  say  that  'had  it  not  been  for  the  prudence  of  Mr.  Harrison, 
or  the  mismanagement  of  not  putting  me  first  on  my  trial,  we 
should  both  have  swung  on  the  same  gibbet  and  the  foul  stain 
of  incest  and  murder  been  stamped  on  his  memory  and  associ- 
ated with  the  idea  of  his  offspring.'  This,  Sir,  is  the  language 
you  presume  to  write  and  address  to  me,  enclosed  in  a  cover 
to  my  husband  for  his  inspection,  after  having  been  already 
communicated  to  other  people.  I  will,  for  a  moment,  put 
myself  out  of  question,  and  suppose  the  charge  to  be  true. 
What  must  be  the  indignation  of  a  feeling  heart  to  behold  a 
wretch  rake  up  the  ashes  of  his  deceased  brother  to  blast  his 
fame?  Who  is  there  of  nerve  so  strong  as  not  to  shudder  at 
your  savage  regret  that  we  did  not  swing  on  the  same  gibbet  ? 
I  well  remember,  and  you  cannot  have  forgotten  that,  when 
sitting  at  the  hospitable  home  of  your  venerable  father-in-law, 
you  threw  a  knife  at  that  brother's  head,  and,  if  passion  had 


284         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

not  diverted  the  aim,  he  would  much  earlier  have  been  con- 
signed to  the  grave,  and  you  much  earlier  have  met  the  doom 
which  awaits  your  murderous  disposition.  It  was,  indeed, 
hoped  that  age  and  reflection  had  subdued  your  native  bar- 
barity. But,  setting  aside  the  evidence  which  your  letter 
contains,  the  earnestness  with  which  you  disclosed  in  the 
presence  of  Col.  Morris  and  his  brother  the  Commodore  [your 
desire  ?]  to  shoot  a  British  soldier,  to  bear  off  his  scalp  and  hang 
it  up  as  an  ornament  in  your  house  at  Roanoke,  shows  that  you 
have  still  the  heart  of  a  savage.  I  ask  not  of  you  but  of  a  can- 
did world  whether  a  man  like  you  is  worthy  of  belief.  On  the 
melancholy  occasion  you  have  thought  proper  to  bring  forward 
there  was  the  strictest  examination.  Neither  your  brother  or 
myself  had  done  anything  to  excite  enmity,  yet  we  were 
subjected  to  an  unpi tying  persecution.  The  severest  scrutiny 
took  place;  you  know  it.  He  was  acquitted  to  the  joy  of 
numerous  spectators,  expressed  in  shouts  of  exultation.  This, 
Sir,  passed  in  a  remote  county  of  Virginia  more  than  twenty 
years  ago.  You  have  revived  the  slanderous  tale  in  the 
most  populous  city  in  the  United  States.  For  what?  To 
repay  my  kindness  to  your  nephew  by  tearing  me  from  the 
arms  of  my  husband  and  blasting  the  prospects  of  my  child! 
Poor  innocent  babe,  now  playing  at  my  feet,  unconscious  of  his 
mother's  wrongs.  But  it  seems  that  on  my  apprehensions  for 
his  life  first  flashed  convictions  on  your  mind  that  my  own 
hand  had  deprived  in  October,  1792,  that  of  which  I  was 
delivered.     You  ought  to  have  said,  the  last  of  September. 

"  You  must,  Mr.  Randolph,  have  a  most  extraordinary  kind 
of  apprehension ;  for  one  child  can  induce  you  to  believe  in  the 
destruction  of  another.  But,  waiving  this  absurdity,  you 
acknowledge  that  every  fact,  which  had  come  to  your  knowl- 
edge, every  circumstance  you  had  either  heard  or  dreamt  of  in 
the  long  period  of  more  than  twenty  years,  had  never  imparted 
to  you  a  belief,  which  nevertheless  you  expect  to  imprint  on 
the  minds  of  others.  You  thus  pay  to  the  rest  of  mankind  the 
wretched  compliment  of  supposing  them  more  ready  to  believe 
the  greatest  crimes  than  'John  Randolph  of  Roanoke. '  Doubt- 
less there  may  be  some,  who  are  worthy  of  this  odious  dis- 
tinction; I  hope  not  many.     I  hope  too  that,  in  justice  to  the 


Randolph  as  a  Man  285 

more  rational  part  of  the  community,  you  will  wait  (before 
you  require  their  faith)  until  some  such  flash  shall  have 
enlightened  their  minds.  Mark  here,  for  your  future  govern- 
ment, the  absurdity  to  which  falsehood  and  malice  inevitably 
lead  a  calumniator.  They  have  driven  you,  while  you  en- 
deavored to  palliate  inconsistency  of  conduct,  into  palpable  self 
contradiction.  Sensible  as  you  must  be  that  no  respectable 
person  can  overlook  the  baseness  of  leaving  your  nephew  so 
long,  or  even  permitting  him  to  come,  under  the  roof  of  the 
wretch  you  describe  me  to  be,  you  are  compelled  to  acknowledge 
that  you  did  not  believe  in  the  enormities  you  charge,  until 
yourself  had  paid  a  visit  to  Morrisania.  Thus  you  not  only 
invalidate  every  thing  like  evidence  to  support  your  crimina- 
tions but  found  them  on  circumstances  which  produce  an 
effect  (if  they  operate  at  all)  directly  opposite  to  that  for  which 
they  are  cited. 

"You  have,  Sir,  on  this  subject  presumed  to  use  my  sister's 
name.  Permit  me  to  tell  you,  I  do  not  believe  one  word  of 
what  you  say.  Were  it  true,  it  is  wholly  immaterial.  But 
that  it  is  not  true,  I  have  perfect  conviction. 

"  The  assertion  rests  only  on  your  testimony,  the  weight  and 
value  of  which  has  been  already  examined.  The  contradiction 
is  contained  in  her  last  letter  to  me,  dated  Dec.  17th,  of  which 
I  enclose  a  copy.  You  will  observe  she  cautions  me  against 
believing  anything  inconsistent  with  her  gratitude  for  my 
kindness,  and  assures  me  that,  altho'  prevented  from  spending 
the  winter  with  us,  she  is  proud  of  the  honor  done  her  by  the 
invitation.  With  this  letter  before  me,  I  should  feel  it  an 
insult  to  her  as  well  as  an  indignity  to  myself  if  I  made  any 
observations  on  your  conduct  at  Bizarre.  No  one  can  think  so 
meanly  of  a  woman  who  moves  in  the  sphere  of  a  lady  as  to 
suppose  she  could  be  proud  of  the  honor  of  being  invited  to 
spend  a  winter  with  the  concubine  of  one  of  her  slaves.  Never- 
theless, tho  I  disdain  an  answer  to  such  imputations,  I  am 
determined  they  shall  appear  in  the  neighborhood  under  your 
hand;  so  that  your  character  may  be  fully  known  and  your 
signature  forever  hereafter  be  not  only  what  it  has  hitherto 
been,  the  appendage  of  vainglorious  boasting,  but  the  designa- 
tion of  malicious  baseness.     You  say  I  drove  Mrs.  Dudley 


286         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

from  my  sister's  house.  A  falsehood  more  absurd  could  hardly 
have  been  invented.  She  left  the  house  the  day  before  your 
brother  was  buried.  I  shall  not  enter  into  a  detail  of  the 
circumstances,  but  this  assertion  also  shall  be  communicated 
to  the  neighbourhood.  It  is  well  that  your  former  constituents 
should  know  the  creature  in  whom  they  put  their  trust.  Vir- 
ginians, in  general,  whatever  may  be  their  defects,  have  a  high 
sense  of  honor.  You  speak  with  affected  sensibility  of  my 
sister's  domestic  bliss,  and  you  assume  an  air  of  indignation 
at  the  violence  of  my  temper.  Be  pleased  to  recollect  that, 
returning  from  a  morning  ride  with  your  brother,  you  told  me 
you  found  it  would  not  do  to  interfere  between  man  and  wife ; 
that  you  had  recommended  to  him  a  journey  to  Connecticut  to 
obtain  a  divorce;  that  he  made  no  reply,  nor  spoke  a  single 
word  afterwards.  Recollect,  too,  how  often,  and  before  how 
many  persons,  and  in  how  many  ways,  you  have  declared  your 
detestation  of  her  conduct  as  a  wife  and  her  angry  passions. 
One  form  of  expression  occurs  which  is  remarkable:  'I  have 
heard,'  said  you,  'that  Mrs.  Randolph  was  handsome,  and, 
perhaps,  had  I  ever  seen  her  in  a  good  humor,  I  might  have 
thought  so;  but  her  features  are  so  distorted  by  constant 
wrath  that  she  has  to  me  the  air  of  a  fury. '  And  now,  as  to  my 
disposition  and  conduct,  be  pleased  not  to  forget  (for  people  of 
a  certain  sort  should  have  good  memories)  that,  during  full 
five  years  after  your  brother's  death,  and  how  much  longer,  I 
know  not,  I  was  the  constant  theme  of  your  praise  and,  tho 
you  wearied  everyone  else,  you  seemed  on  that  subject  to  be 
yourself  indefatigable.  I  should  not  say  these  things,  if  they 
rested  merely  on  my  own  knowledge,  for  you  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  deny  them,  and  I  should  be  very  sorry  that  my  credi- 
bility were  placed  on  the  same  level  with  yours.  You  have 
addressed  me  as  a  notorious  liar,  to  which  I  make  no  other 
answer  than  that  the  answer,  like  your  other  charges,  shall  be 
communicated  to  those  who  know  us  both.  You  will  easily 
anticipate  their  decision.  In  the  meantime,  it  may  not  be 
amiss  to  refresh  your  memory  with  one  sample  of  your  veracity. 
There  are  many  who  remember,  while  your  slaves  were  under 
mortgage  for  the  British  debt,  your  philanthropic  assertion 
that  you  would  make  them  free  and  provide  tutors  for  them. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  287 

With  this  project,  you  wearied  all  who  would  listen.  When, 
by  the  sale  of  some  of  them,  a  part  of  the  debt  was  discharged, 
and  an  agreement  made  to  pay  the  rest  by  installments,  you 
changed  your  mind.  This  was  not  inexcusable,  but  when  you 
set  up  for  representation  in  Congress,  and  the  plan  to  liberate 
your  slaves  was  objected  to  in  your  District,  you  published,  to 
the  astonishment  of  numbers,  who  had  heard  you  descant  on 
your  liberal  intentions,  that  you  never  had  any  such  idea. 
Thus  your  first  step  in  public  life  was  marked  with  falsehood. 
On  entering  the  door  of  Congress,  you  became  an  outrageous 
patriot.  Nothing  in  the  French  Revolution  was  too  immoral 
or  too  impious  for  your  taste  and  applause.  Washington  and 
Britain  were  the  objects  of  your  obloquy.  This  patriotic 
fever  lasted  till  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Chase's  trial,  from  which 
you  returned,  complaining  of  the  fatigue  of  your  public  labors, 
but  elated  with  the  prospect  of  a  foreign  mission.  As  usual, 
you  rode  your  new  Hobby  to  the  annoyance  of  all  who  like  me 
were  obliged  to  listen.  Your  expected  voyage  enchanted  you 
so  much  that  you  could  not  help  talking  of  it  even  to  your  deaf 
nephew:  'Soon,  my  boy,  we  shall  be  sailing  over  the  Atlantic.1 
But,  all  at  once,  you  became  silent  and  seemed  in  deep  melan- 
choly. It  appeared  soon  after  that  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr. 
Madison,  knowing  your  character,  had  prudently  declined 
a  compliance  with  your  wishes.  A  new  scene  now  opened; 
you  became  a  patriot,  double  distilled,  and  founded  your 
claim  to  the  confidence  of  new  friends  on  the  breach  of  that 
which  had  been  reposed  by  your  old  ones.  I  know  not  what 
others  may  think  as  to  your  treacherous  disclosure  of  Mr. 
Madison's  declaration,  'that  the  French  want  money  and  must 
have  it,'  but  it  is  no  slight  evidence  of  his  correct  conduct,  in 
general,  that  you  had  nothing  else  to  betray. 

"With  the  same  insensibility  to  shame,  which  marks  your 
allegations,  you  have  denied  the  fact  of  turning  me  out  of 
doors.  This  also  shall  be  made  known  in  the  neighbourhood 
where  it  must  be  well  remembered.  I  take  the  liberty  again  to 
refresh  your  memory.  Shortly  after  your  nephew  (whom  I 
had  nursed  several  weeks  in  a  dangerous  illness  at  the  hazard 
of  my  life)  had  left  home  to  take  the  benefit  of  a  change  of  air, 
you  came  into  the  room  one  evening,  after  you  had  been  a  long 


288         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

time  in  your  chamber  with  my  sister,  and  said,  addressing 
yourself  to  me,  'Nancy,  when  do  you  leave  this  house?  The 
sooner  the  better  for  you  take  as  many  liberties  as  if  you  were 
in  a  tavern.'  On  this  occasion,  as  on  others,  my  course  was 
silent  submission.  I  was  poor,  I  was  dependent.  I  knew  the 
house  was  kept  in  part  at  your  expense.  I  could  not  therefore 
appeal  to  my  sister.  I  replied  with  the  humility,  suitable  to 
my  forlorn  condition,  'I  will  go  as  soon  as  I  can.'  You  stalked 
haughtily  about  the  room,  and  poor,  unprotected  'Nancy'  re- 
tired to  seek  the  relief  of  tears.  Every  assertion  of  yours 
respecting  my  visit  to  Grovebrook  is  false.  Mr.  Murray 
cannot  but  acknowledge  that  I  went  there  with  Judge  Johnston 
in  his  carriage,  on  my  way  to  Hanover,  after  repeated  invita- 
tions from  his  family,  conveyed  in  letters  from  his  daughters ; 
that  I  left  there  in  the  chariot  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Swan;  that 
they  pressed  me  not  only  to  prolong  my  stay  but  to  repeat  my 
visit.  Of  this,  Mr.  Curd,  a  gentleman  sent  by  Mr.  Swan  to 
escort  me,  was  a  witness. 

"You  are  unfortunate  in  what  passed  two  years  after  when 
I  saw  you  at  Richmond,  but,  before  I  refresh  your  memory  on 
this  subject,  I  must  notice  another  malicious  falsehood  respect- 
ing my  residence,  while  in  Richmond.  You  say  I  took  lodg- 
ings at  Prior's,  a  public  garden.  It  is  true  Mr.  Prior  owned  a 
large  lot  in  Richmond,  and  that  there  was  a  public  building  on 
it,  in  which  public  balls  and  entertainments  were  given,  and 
this  lot  a  public  garden,  but  it  is  equally  true  that  Mr.  Prior's 
dwelling  and  the  enclosure  round  it  were  wholly  distinct  from 
that  garden.  In  that  house,  I  lodged.  My  chamber  was 
directly  over  Mrs.  Prior's,  a  lady  of  as  good  birth  as  Mr.  John 
Randolph  and  of  far  more  correct  principles.  All  this,  Sir,  you 
perfectly  well  know.  From  that  chamber,  I  wrote  you  a  note, 
complaining  that  your  nephew,  then  a  school  boy  in  Richmond, 
was  not  permitted  to  see  me.  You  sent  [it]  back,  after  writing 
on  the  same  sheet,  'I  return  your  note  that  you  may  compare  it 
with  my  answer,  and  ask  yourself,  if  you  are  not  unjust  to  one 
who  through  life  has  been  your  friend.'  This,  with  the  recital 
of  your  professions  of  regard,  made  to  my  friend  Lucy  Ran- 
dolph and  her  husband  and  her  husband's  brother  Ryland,  led 
me  to  suppose  you  had,  in  the  last  scene  at  Bizarre,  acted  only 


Randolph  as  a  Man  289 

as  my  sister's  agent.  I,  therefore,  wrote  to  you,  remonstrating 
against  the  reason  you  assigned  for  turning  me  out  of  doors, 
which  you  yourself  knew  to  be  unfounded,  for  you  had  often 
observed  that  I  was  'Epicene,  the  Silent  Woman.'  You  knew 
that  I  was  continually  occupied  at  my  needle  or  other  work  for 
the  house,  obeying,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  the  orders  I 
received,  differing  from  any  other  servant  only  in  this:  I  re- 
ceived no  wages,  but  was  permitted  to  sit  at  table,  where  I 
did  not  presume  to  enter  into  conversation  or  taste  of  wine,  and 
very  seldom  of  tea  or  coffee.  I  gave  my  letter  open  into  the 
hands  of  Ryland  Randolph,  to  be  put  by  him  into  your  hands. 
I  pause  here,  Sir,  to  ask,  whether,  on  the  receipt  of  this  letter, 
you  pretended  to  deny  having  turned  me  out  of  doors?  You 
dare  not  say  so.  You  shortly  after  paid  me  a  visit,  the  only 
one  during  your  stay.  You  sat  on  my  bedstead,  I  cannot  say 
my  bed,  for  I  had  none,  I  was  too  poor.  When  weary,  my 
limbs  were  rested  on  a  blanket,  spread  over  the  sacking.  Your 
visit  was  long,  and  I  never  saw  you  from  that  day  until  we  met 
in  Washington.  Some  days  after,  you  sent  your  nephew  to 
offer  me  $100  on  the  part  of  his  mother.  I  supposed  this  to  be 
a  turn  of  delicacy,  for,  had  you  been  the  bearer  of  money  from 
her,  you  would  have  delivered  it,  when  you  were  in  my  cham- 
ber, and  given  me  every  needful  assurance  of  the  quarter  from 
which  it  came.  But,  let  it  have  come  from  whom  it  might,  my 
feelings  were  too  indignant  to  receive  a  boon  at  the  hands  of 
those  by  whom  I  had  been  so  grievously  wounded.  I  readily 
conceive,  Sir,  that  this  must  have  appeared  to  you  inexplicable, 
for  it  must  be  very  difficult  for  you  to  conceive  how  a  person  in 
my  condition  would  refuse  money  from  any  quarter.  It  is  true 
that,  afterwards,  when  in  Newport,  suffering  from  want,  and 
borne  down  by  a  severe  ague  and  fever,  I  was  so  far  humbled 
as  to  request  not  the  gift  (I  would  sooner  have  perished)  but 
the  loan  of  half  that  sum.  My  petition  struck  on  a  cold  heart 
that  emitted  no  sound.  You  did  not  deign  to  reply.  You 
even  made  a  boast  of  your  silence.  I  was  then  so  far  off  my 
groans  could  not  be  heard  in  Virginia.  You  no  longer  appre- 
hended the  [reproaches]  which  prompted  your  ostentatious 
offer  at  Richmond.  Yes,  Sir,  you  were  silent.  You  then 
possessed  the  letter  on  which  you  grounded  your  calumnies. 

VOL.  II — 19 


290         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

You  supposed  me  so  much  in  your  power  that  I  should  not  dare 
to  complain  of  your  unkindness.  Yes,  Sir,  you  were  silent, 
and  you  left  your  nephew  nearly  three  months  dependent  on 
the  charity  of  her,  to  whom  in  the  extreme  of  wretchedness  you 
had  refused  the  loan  of  fifty  dollars.  Yes,  Sir,  you  were  silent. 
Perhaps,  you  hoped  that  the  poor  forlorn  creature  you  had 
turned  out  of  doors  would,  under  the  pressure  of  want,  and  far 
removed  from  every  friend,  be  driven  to  a  vicious  course,  and 
enable  you  to  justify  your  barbarity  by  charges  such  as  you 
have  now  invented. 

"  You  say  you  were  informed  of  my  associating  with  the  play- 
ers and  my  decline  into  a  very  drab  by  a  friend  in  Richmond. 
Your  letter  shall  be  read  in  Richmond.  You  must  produce 
that  friend,  unless  you  are  willing  yourself  to  father  the  false- 
hood which  in  Richmond  will  be  notorious. 

"  I  defy  you  Mr.  Randolph  to  substantiate  by  the  testimony 
of  any  credible  witness  a  single  fact  injurious  to  my  reputation 
from  the  time  you  turned  me  out  of  doors  until  the  present 
hour;  and  God  knows  that,  if  suffering  could  have  driven  me 
to  vice,  there  was  no  want  of  suffering.  My  husband,  in 
permitting  me  to  write  this  letter,  has  enjoined  me  not  to 
mention  his  kindness,  otherwise  I  could  give  a  detail  of  cir- 
cumstances which,  as  they  would  not  involve  any  pecuniary 
claim,  might  touch  even  your  heart.  You  speak  of  him  as  an 
infirm  old  man,  into  whom  I  have  struck  the  fangs  of  a  harpy, 
after  having  acted  in  your  family  the  part  of  a  vampire.  I 
pray  you,  Mr.  'John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,'  to  be  persuaded 
that  such  idle  declamation,  tho'  it  might  become  a  school  boy 
to  his  aunt  and  cousins,  is  misplaced  on  the  present  occasion. 
You  know  as  little  of  the  manner  in  which  my  present  con- 
nection began  as  of  other  things  with  which  you  pretend  to  be 
acquainted.  I  loved  my  husband  before  he  made  me  his  wife. 
I  love  him  still  more  now  that  he  has  made  me  mother  of  one 
of  the  finest  boys  I  ever  saw ;  now  that  his  kindness  soothes  the 
anguish  which  I  cannot  but  feel  from  your  unmanly  attack.  I 
am  very  sorry  I  am  obliged  to  speak  of  your  nephew.  I  would 
fain  impute  to  his  youth,  or  to  some  other  excusable  cause,  his 
unnatural,  and  I  must  say,  criminal,  conduct.  I  hope  the 
strength  of  my  constitution,  the  consolation  I  derive  from  the 


Randolph  as  a  Man  291 

few  friends  who  are  left  and  the  caresses  of  my  beloved  babe 
will  enable  me  to  resist  the  measures  taken  for  my  destruction 
by  him  and  his  uncle.     Had  his  relations  rested  only  on  your 
testimony,   I  should  not  have  hesitated  to  have  acquitted 
him  of  the  charge;  but  a  part  of  them  at  least,  not  fully  detailed 
in  your  letter,   was  made  in  Mr.   Ogden's  presence.     This 
young  man  received  several  small  sums  of  money  which  I  sent 
him  unasked,  while  he  remained  at  Cambridge.     Early  in 
April,  by  a  letter,  which  he  addressed  to  me  as  his  'Dear  good 
Aunt,'  he  requested  the  loan  of  thirty  or  forty  dollars.     I  did 
pot  imitate  the  example  you  had  set  but  immediately  enclosed 
a  check  payable  to  his  order  for  thirty  dollars.     I  heard  no 
more  of  him  until  the  end  of  July,  when  a  letter,  dated  in 
Providence,  announced  his  intention  of  seeing  me  soon  at 
Morrisania.     At  the  same  time,  letters  to  my  husband  men- 
tioned the  dangerous  condition  of  his  health.     On  the  4th  of 
August,  a  phaeton  drove  to  the  door  with  a  led  horse,  and  a 
person,  appearing  to  be  a  servant,  stepped  out  and  enquired 
for  Mr.  Randolph.     He  was  directed  to  the  stable,  and  shortly 
after  Mr.  Randolph  landed  from  the  boat  of  a  Packet.     His 
appearance  bespoke   severe   illness.     I   showed   him   to   his 
chamber,  and  venture  to  say  from  that  time  to  the  moment  of 
his  departure  he  was  treated  by  me  with  the  tenderness  and 
kindness  of  a  mother.     The  injunction  I  have  already  men- 
tioned restrains  me  from  going  into  particulars.     My  health 
was  injured  by  the  fatigue  to  which  I  was  exposed,  the  burthen 
of  which  I  could  not  diminish  without  neglecting  him;  for  I 
could  not  procure  good  nurses  or  servants.     My  husband's 
health,  too,  was,  I  believe,  injured  by  the  confinement  which 
this  youth  occasioned;  for  he  was  prevented  from  taking  a 
journey  we  were  about  to  make  for  air  and  exercise  among  the 
mountains  of  New  Jersey.     We  were  also  under  the  disagree- 
able necessity  of  keeping  a  servant  whom  our  friends  had 
denounced  as  a  thief.     By  the  bye,  I  have  reason  to  believe 
he  is  one  of  those  'ancient  domestics'  you  have  taken  under 
your  protection.     If  so,  I  must  in  justice  to  myself  inform  you 
that  your  friend,  Geo.  Bevens,  dismissed  only  two  days  before 
your  arrival,  was  shortly  after  admitted  to  a  lodging  in  the 
Bridewell  of  New  York  for  theft.     I  had  an  opportunity, 


292         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

indeed  I  was  made  by  my  laundress,  to  observe  that  your 
nephew  (though  driving  his  phaeton  with  a  servant  on  horse 
back)  had  not  a  pair  of  stockings  fit  to  wear ;  his  man,  Jonathan, 
dunning  him  in  my  presence  for  his  wages.  At  one  time,  in 
particular,  passing  by  his  door,  I  heard  Jonathan  ask  for 
money.  My  heart  prompted  me  to  offer  relief.  As  I  entered 
his  room  for  that  purpose  (it  was  two  days  after  a  violent 
hemorrhage  which  threatened  his  life),  he  was  rising  feebly 
from  his  bed,  and,  when  I  mentioned  my  object,  said  in  a  tremu- 
lous voice,  'My  dear  Aunt,  I  was  coming  to  ask  you.'  I  bade 
his  servant  follow  me  and  gave  him  $5.00.  Tudor  had  re- 
turned the  $30  first  borrowed  but,  shortly  afterwards, 
increased  the  debt  $10  to  furnish  as  I  supposed,  his  travelling 
companion,  Mr.  Bruce,  [of  Rhode  Island]  with  the  means  of 
returning  home.  A  few  days  after  that,  I  supplied  him  with 
an  additional  $20.  I  gave  stockings  and,  before  his  departure, 
sent  $30  to  one  of  Mr.  Morris'  nieces  to  purchase  handkerchiefs 
which  he  wanted  and  which  his  mother  said  he  could  not  afford 
to  buy.  The  evening  you  left  Morrisania,  I  received  a  note 
from  this  lady  excusing  herself  for  not  executing  my 
commission  by  reason  of  the  death  of  a  cousin  and  returning 
the  money  because  she  understood  that  my  sister  was  to  go 
the  next  Tuesday.  You  witnessed  my  surprise  at  receiving 
such  information  in  such  a  way.  You  will  recollect  what 
followed.  After  your  departure,  I  communicated  the  note  to 
your  nephew,  and  told  him,  as  he  was  going  to  town,  he  could 
purchase  the  handkerchiefs  for  himself.  I  gave  him  thirty 
dollars  which  he  put  in  his  pocket  and  thanked  me.  Two  days 
after,  when  in  town,  he  said  to  me,  'Aunt  I  wish  you  would 
choose  the  handkerchiefs  yourself;  I  should  value  them  more.' 
He  forgot,  however,  to  return  the  money.  I  purchased  the 
Hdkffs,  together  with  a  merino  tippet  to  protect  his  chest,  and 
received  again  his  thanks  which  were  reiterated  the  same  day 
by  his  mother  at  Mr.  Ogden's.  The  debt,  amounting  to 
$65.00,  she  paid  at  Morrisania.  The  $30  were  enclosed  in  her 
note,  dated  Saturday  morning,  of  which  I  send  you  herewith 
[a]  copy  together  with  that  of  the  3rd  November  from 
Philadelphia,  (a) 

"And  now,  Sir,  put  the  actual  parties  out  of  the  question, 


Randolph  as  a  Man  293 

and  say  what  credit  can  be  due  to  the  calumnies  of  a  person 
in  your  nephew's  situation,  soliciting  and  receiving  favors  to 
the  very  last  moment.  Let  me  add,  after  he  had  poured  his 
slanders  into  your  ear  or  repeated  them  from  your  dictation, 
he  left  me  to  discharge  one  of  his  doctor's  bills,  which  he  said 
I  offered  to  pay,  and  receive  his  thanks  in  advance.  Is  it 
proper,  or  is  it  decent  to  found  such  calumnies  on  the  suspicions 
of  such  a  creature?,  even  supposing  them  to  have  originated 
in  his  mind,  and  not  been,  as  is  too  probable,  instigated  by 
you  ?  Could  anything  but  the  most  determined  and  inveter- 
ate malice  induce  any  one  above  the  level  of  an  idiot  to  believe 
the  only  fact  he  pretended  to  articulate  ?  Who  can  believe  me 
cruel  to  my  child?  When  it  is  notorious  my  fault  is  too  great 
indulgence ;  that  my  weakness  is  too  great  solicitude,  and  that  I 
have  been  laughed  at  for  instances  of  maternal  care  by  which 
my  health  was  impaired.  You  cite  as  from  him  these  words, 
'How  shocking  she  looks.  I  have  not  met  her  eyes  three  times 
since  I  have  been  in  the  house. '  Can  you  believe  this  ?  Can 
you  believe  others  to  believe  it  ?  How  happens  it  you  did  not 
cry  out  as  anyone  else  would  have  done  ?  ■  Why  did  you  stay  in 
that  house  ?  Why  did  you  submit  to  her  kindness  ?  Why  did 
you  accept  her  presents  ?  Why  did  you  pocket  her  money  ? ' 
To  such  an  apostrophe  he  might  have  replied  perhaps.  'Uncle 
I  could  not  help  it.  I  was  penniless,  in  daily  expectation  that 
you  or  my  mother  would  bring  relief.  When  at  last  she  came, 
I  found  her  almost  as  ill-off  as  myself.  We  were  both  detained 
till  you  arrived. '  To  this  excuse,  which  is  a  very  lame  one  for  a 
person  who  had  a  phaeton  to  sell  or  pledge,  any  one  who  feels 
a  spark  of  generosity  in  his  bosom  would  reply.  'Why,  then, 
wretch,  having  from  necessity  or  choice  laid  yourself  under 
such  a  load  of  obligations,  do  you  become  the  calumniator  of 
your  benefactress?  Are  you  yet  to  learn  what  is  due  to  the 
rites  of  hospitality,  or  have  you,  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen, 
been  taught  to  combine  profound  hypocrisy  with  deadly  hate 
and  assume  the  mask  of  love  that  you  may  more  surely  plant 
the  assassin's  dagger?  Where  did  you  learn  these  horrible 
lessons  ? '  This  last,  Sir,  would  have  been  a  dangerous  question 
on  your  part.  He  might  have  replied  and  may  yet  reply, 
'Uncle,  I  learned  this  from  you.' 


294         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"But,  to  return  to  the  wonderful  circumstance  that  this 
young  man  had  not  met  my  eyes  above  once  a  month,  though 
he  saw  me  frequently  every  day.  That  he  met  them  seldomer 
than  I  wished  is  true.  I  was  sorry  to  observe  what  others 
had  remarked,  that  he  rarely  looked  any  one  in  the  face.  I 
excused  this  sinister  air  to  myself,  and  tried  to  excuse  it  to 
others  as  a  proof  of  uncommon  modesty,  of  which  nevertheless 
he  gave  no  other  proof.  I  sometimes  succeeded  in  my  en- 
deavours to  make  people  believe  that  this  gloomy,  guilty  look 
proceeded  from  bashfulness.  I  know  not,  and  shall  not  pre- 
tend to  guess,  what  heavy  matter  pressed  on  his  conscience; 
perhaps  it  was  only  the  disposition  to  be  criminal.  At  present, 
[now]  that  he  has  an  opportunity  (with  your  assistance)  to 
gratify  that  disposition,  he  will,  I  presume,  be  less  capable  of 
assuming  the  air  of  an  honest  man,  [and]  he  will  probably  find 
himself  frequently  on  leaving  good  company  in  condition  to 
repeat  the  same  sentence  of  self-condemnation:  'Uncle,  I 
have  not  met  their  eyes  three  times  since  I  have  been  in  the 
house.' 

"You  make  him  say,  'my  first  impression  as  far  back  as  I 
can  remember  is  that  she  was  an  unchaste  woman — my  brother 
knew  her  better  than  I — she  never  could  do  anything  with 
him ' — This  too  is  admirable  testimony  to  support  your  filthy 
accusations. 

"Pray,  Mr.  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  why  did  you  not 
inform  your  audience  that,  when  you  turned  me  out  of  doors, 
this  Mr.  Tudor  Randolph  was  but  nine  years  old,  and  his 
brother,  poor  deaf  and  dumb  Saint  George,  just  thirteen— 
Can  it  be  necessary  to  add  to  your  confusion  by  a  single 
remark?  It  seems  to  me,  if  any  one  present  at  your  wild 
declamation,  had  noticed  this  fact,  you  would  have  been  hissed 
even  by  a  sisterhood  of  old  maids.  Unluckily  for  you,  I  have 
letters  from  poor  Saint  George,  one  of  which,  written  shortly 
before  his  late  malady,  is  filled  with  assurances  of  attachment. 
In  that  which  I  received,  while  I  was  in  Washington,  he  makes 
particular  and  affectionate  inquiries  respecting  Col  [Monroe's] 
family.  These  show  that  he  does  not  participate  in  your 
ingratitude,  but  feels  as  he  ought  the  kindness  of  that  gentle- 
man, who,  at  your  instance,  took  him  into  his  family  in  London 


Randolph  as  a  Man  295 


and  watched  over  him  with  parental  care.  You  repay  this 
favor  by  slanders  which  I  have  the  charity  to  believe  you  are  too 
polite  to  pronounce  in  the  Col's  presence.  I  have  a  letter  from 
my  sister  telling  me  the  pleasure  St.  George  manifested  at  the 
present  of  my  portrait  I  made  him.  I  have  a  letter  also  from 
her,  shortly  after  her  house  was  burnt,  in  which  she  tells  me 
among  the  few  things  saved  she  was  rejoiced  to  find  my  por- 
trait which  you  brought  out  with  your  own.  By  this  act,  you 
have  some  right  to  it,  and,  should  my  present  ill  health  lead  me 
shortly  to  the  grave,  you  may  hang  it  up  in  your  castle  at 
Roanoke  next  to  the  Englishman's  scalp — a  trophy  of  the 
family  prowess.  I  observe,  Sir,  in  the  course  of  your  letter 
allusion  to  one  of  Shakespeare's  best  tragedies.  I  trust  you  are 
by  this  time  convinced  that  you  have  clumsily  performed  the 
part  of  'honest  Iago.'  Happily  for  my  life,  and  for  my  hus- 
band's peace,  you  did  not  find  in  him  a  headlong,  rash  Othello. 
For  a  full  and  proper  description  of  what  you  have  written 
and  spoken  on  this  occasion,  I  refer  you  to  the  same  admirable 
author.  He  will  tell  you  it  is  a  tale  told  by  an  idiot,  full  of 
sound  and  fury,  signifying  nothing,  (a) 

<:Ann  C.  Morris." 

Copies  of  these  letters  are  in  the  possession  of  the  New 
York  Public  Library  and  other  copies  are  in  that  of  the 
Virginia  Historical  Society.  Numerous  other  copies,  in 
the  possession  of  private  individuals  or  booksellers,  have 
been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  author  besides.  The 
copies,  in  the  possession  of  the  New  York  Public  Library, 
came  to  it  from  Henrietta  Graham  Youngs,  the  wife  of 
Thomas  F.  Youngs,  of  New  York,  a  member  of  the  Morris 
family  connection,  and  are  supposed  to  have  been  made 
from  the  original  and  copy  formerly  in  the  possession  of 
Mrs.  Gouverneur  Morris.1  Not  only  her  reply  to  Ran- 
dolph's letter  but  her  correspondence  with  Jos.  C.  Cabell 
and  Wm.  B.  Giles  showed  that  it  was  her  desire  to  give  as 
wide  circulation  as  possible,  in  Virginia  at  any  rate,  to  the 

1  Letter,  dated  Mar.  4,  1919,  from  H.  M.  Lydenberg,  Reference  Librar- 
rian,  N.  Y.  Pub..Libr.,  to  the  Author. 


296         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

correspondence;  and  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether, 
since  papyrus  rolls  and  parchment  sheets  ceased  to  per- 
form the  present  function  of  printed  books,  any  unprinted 
thing  of  the  kind  has  ever  been  so  frequently  copied  and 
circulated. 

A  curious  supplement  to  this  correspondence  was  a 
letter  written  by  Randolph  to  Judith  Randolph  from 
Georgetown,  about  a  year  later,  which  discloses  the  fact 
that,  at  the  time  of  his  brother  Richard's  death,  he  was 
not  cognizant  of  the  true  circumstances  surrounding  the 
Glenlyvar  incident,  and  hints — an  insinuation,  supported 
by  nothing  but  his  suspicion — that  Nancy  Randolph, 
influenced  by  the  knowledge  that  Richard  Randolph  had 
of  her  secret  and  the  strong  aversion  that  he  had  formed 
to  her,  might  have  administered  poison  to  him. 

"In  Dec.  1795,"  the  letter  says,  "I  went  to  Charleston  and 
Georgia ;  returned  in  May,  [and]  went  on  a  few  days  afterwards 
to  Petersburg  with  my  brother  Richard,  where  I  was  taken 
sick.  He  left  me  convalescent  (himself  in  perfect  health),  and 
returned  home  via  Richmond ;  having  business  at  the  Federal 
court.  I  have  never  been  able  to  account  for  my  not  having 
been  sent  for  at  first ;  for  of  the  circumstances  of  my  brother's 
death  I  was  entirely  in  ignorance  until  since  my  return  home  in 
March  last.  I  made  none  but  general  inquiry  and  was  told 
that  an  emetic  (Tartar)  had  caused  his  dissolution.  Of  his 
marked  aversion  to  Nancy  (now  Mrs.  Morris)  I  had  not  the 
most  distant  hint  or  suspicion.  On  the  contrary,  I  supposed 
that,  like  myself,  she  was  agonized  with  grief  at  the  loss  of  her 
best  friend  and  benefactor;  little  as  I  dreamt  at  that  time  what 
she  owed  him.  Did  she  mix  or  hand  him  the  medicine  ?  I  ask 
it  for  my  own  ease  and  comfort.  Had  she  the  opportunity  for 
doing  the  deed  ?  The  motive  is  now  plain  as  well  as  her  capa- 
bility for  the  act.  Had  I  known  the  abhorrence  that  he 
expressed  for  her,  worlds  should  not  have  tempted  me  to  re- 
main in  the  same  house  with  her.  I  was  an  inmate  with  her  for 
how  many  years  (10  years  was  it  not?)  under  your  roof."1 

1  Georgetown,  Jan.  20,  1816,  Grinnan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  297 

This  letter  was  apparently  written  in  acknowledgment 
of  a  statement  made  to  Randolph  by  Judith,  at  his  re- 
quest, of  the  circumstances  surrounding  Richard's  death. 

At  one  time  Mrs.  Morris  made  an  effort  to  draw  Wm. 
B.  Giles  into  the  quarrel  between  Randolph  and  herself 
opened  up  by  the  1 8 14-15  correspondence;  but  with  no 
effect  except  to  elicit  a  letter  from  Randolph  to  Giles  as 
keen  and  cold  as  the  point  of  a  rapier  which  gave  Giles  a 
plain  warning  that,  if  he  intervened  in  that  quarrel,  he 
would  be  held  to  the  full  measure  of  personal  responsi- 
bility. * 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Nancy  Randolph  was  to  any 
extent  such  a  "  moral  Clytemnestra  ot  her  lord"  as  Ran- 
dolph made  her  out  to  be;  but  her  correspondence  with 
Joseph  C.  Cabell,  long  after  the  interchange  of  letters 
between  herself  and  Randolph,  suggests  the  suspicion 
that,  if  she  had  been  a  man,  Randolph  himself  might  well 
have  been  the  subject  of  a  Greek  tragedy;  and  this,  despite 
the  fact  that,  in  the  first  of  her  letters  to  Cabell,  she  pic- 
tures her  family  life  as  gliding  on  so  smoothly  in  her  lux- 
urious home  that  slander,  to  use  her  exact  words,  "sounds 
like  distant  thunder."2  In  another  letter  to  Cabell,  she 
says :  "I  seldom  think  of  Jack  unless  his  attacks  on  some 
other  persons  become  a  subject  of  discussion — wretched 
animal — • 

"'He  from  whom  no  one  ever  grew  wiser, 
He  of  invective  the  great  monopolizer.'"3 

It  is  evident  from  the  same  letter  that  her  idea  was  that 
it  was  from  David  Ogden,  whom  she  paints  in  the  very 
blackest  colors,  that  John  Randolph  derived  his  belief  in 
New  York  that  she  was  dishonoring  the  bed  of  her  hus- 
band.    Indeed,  she  says  that  Jack  Randolph  became  but 

1  Letter  from  J.  R.  to  Giles,  Mar.  12,  1815,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Libr. 

2  Morrisania,  May  30,  1828,  U.  of  Va.  Libr. 

3  Morrisania,  Oct.  14,  1831,  U.  of  Va.  Libr. 


298         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  humble  tool  of  Ogden.  (a)  In  this  letter  she  terms 
him  " Crazy  Jack,"  notwithstanding  the  fact  that,  in  an 
earlier  letter  she  had  said :  ' '  Some  people  think  him  crazy, 
but  it  seems  to  me  more  like  the  account  given  of  those 
whom  Satan  entered  in  old  times."1  A  reply  by  Cabell, 
to  one  of  Mrs.  Morris'  letters  discloses  the  fact  that,  in 
addition  to  her  offer  to  him  to  show  how  corrupt  the 
branch  of  the  Randolph  family,  to  whicn  Jack  Randolph 
belonged,  had  always  been — an  offer  prompted  by  the 
attack  which  Randolph  had  made  upon  the  intellectual 
capacity  of  William  H.  Cabell,  at  one  time  Governor,  and 
afterwards  presiding  Judge,  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
Virginia — she  had  also  offered  to  place  at  the  disposal  of 
Wm.  H.  Cabell,  for  his  retaliatory  use,  certain  letters 
which  had  passed  between  Randolph  and  Gouverneur 
Morris  about  the  time  of  Randolph's  visit  to  Morrisania. 
The  tender  was  made  through  Jos.  C.  Cabell,  and  was 
declined  by  him  on  behalf  of  Wm.  H.  Cabell,  as  the  same 
letter  shows.  The  same  letter  also  shows  that  she  had 
nevertheless  forwarded  the  letters  to  Jos.  C.  Cabell  for  his 
personal  perusal,  as  he  supposed.  Whilst  he  in  his  reply 
speaks  of  the  cordial  feelings  that  Judge  St.  George 
Tucker  cherished  for  Mrs.  Morris  until  the  close  of  his 
life;  sends  her  the  good  wishes  of  Judge  Tucker's  widow 
and  Mrs.  Cabell;  thanks  her  for  her  tasteful  and  much 
valued  presents  to  Mrs.  Cabell  at  different  times,  and  even 
begs  Mrs.  Morris  to  accept  his  humble  prayers  that  her 
son  might  live  to  be  the  comfort  of  her  remaining  years, 
that  she  might  survive  the  many  troubles  by  which  she 
still  seemed  to  be  surrounded,  and  that  increasing  years 
might  bring  to  her  all  the  indemnification  for  past  injuries 
and  misfortunes  which  prosperity  and  this  life  can  afford; 
yet  it  is  obvious  that  neither  Joseph  C.  Cabell,  nor  his 
brother  Wm.  H.  Cabell,  had  any  idea  of  allowing  them- 
selves to  be  embroiled  with  such  a  "monopolizer  of  invec- 

1  Morrisania,  June  7,  1830,  U.  of  Va.  Libr. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  299 

tive  "  or  Hotspur  as  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke.  In  fact, 
Jos.  C.  Cabell  did  not  reply  to  Mrs.  Morris  for  more  than 
a  year  after  the  receipt  of  the  letter  which  his  reply 
acknowledged. l 

At  one  time,  Randolph  entertained  a  very  cordial  regard 
for  Jos.  C.  Cabell;  but  the  friendly  intercourse  between 
the  two  men  ceased  for  some  reason  after  the  Burr  trial 
with  which  the  latter,  like  Randolph,  was  connected  as  a 
Grand  Juror.  Since  Randolph  was  never  intimate,  so 
far  as  we  know,  with  any  other  member  of  the  Cabell 
connection,  there  was  nothing  to  restrain  him  from  giving 
full  vent  to  partisan  violence,  when  Wm.  H.  Cabell, 
though  at  the  time  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
Virginia,  allowed  himself  to  be  made  the  presiding  officer 
of  the  Adams,  or  anti- Jackson,  Convention  held  in  the 
City  of  Richmond;  which  was  the  occasion  of  Randolph's 
attack  on  him.    (a) 

One  of  the  letters  written  by  Mrs.  Morris  to  Jos.  C. 
Cabell  shows  that  as  late  as  1831  she  was  still  in  corre- 
spondence with  some  of  her  early  Virginia  friends  and 
relations,  namely;  Mrs.  Scott,  Mrs.  Carrington,  and  Polly 
Harrison;  as  well  as  some  of  her  family  connections, 
namely;  her  cousin  Lucy  Randolph,  of  Alabama,  her  sister 
Mrs.  David  Meade  Randolph,  and  her  sister-in-law,  Mrs. 
Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son.2 

The  letters  from  Mrs.  Morris  to  Joseph  C.  Cabell  also 
have  much  to  say  about  her  son  Gouverneur,  to  whom  she 
seems  to  have  been  very  much  attached,  and  whom  she 
describes  as  being  in  1831  six  feet  one  inch,  in  height, 
though  only  18  years  and  some  months  old.3 

She  also  has  something  to  say,  with  a  distinct  under- 
strain  of  pride,  about  the  heavy  charges  from  which  she 

1  Warminster,  Sept.  6,  1831,  U.  of  Va.  Libr. 

2  Morrisania,  Sept.  13,  1831,  &  Oct.  14,  1831,  U.  of  Va.  Libr. 

3  Morrisania,  Oct.  14,  183 1,  U.  of  Va.  Libr. 


3<x>         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

had  freed  the  estate  committed  to  her  care  as  trustee  and 
guardian  by  Gouverneur  Morris:  "Now, "  she  says,  "the 
ante-nuptial  contract  is  the  only  remaining  debt;  so  that 
I  can  safely  say  my  noble-minded  son's  property  is  unen- 
cumbered. "J 

But  more  interesting  still  is  the  account  which  she  gives 
in  this  letter  of  the  manner  in  which  she  came  to  be  the 
wife  of  her  husband. 

"More  than  22  years  have  elapsed,"  she  declares,  "since  I 
came  here  to  live,  and  I  have  nothing  to  reproach  myself  with. 
In  my  husband's  biography  will  be  seen  an  account  of  his 
domestic  happiness.  I  knew  Mr.  Morris  in  the  years  86  and  88. 
He  visited  me  at  old  Mrs.  Pollack's,  in  New  York,  in  1808,  and 
expressed  a  wish  that  some  reduced  gentlewoman  would  under- 
take to  keep  his  house,  as  the  lower  class  of  house-keepers  often 
provoked  the  servants  to  a  riot  in  his  dwelling.  He  went  to 
his  lands  where  he  remained  6  months ;  on  his  return  he  pro- 
posed my  coming  to  keep  house  for  him;  I  thought  it  much 
better  to  have  employment  than  remain  a  burthen  on  my 
friends;  all  his  letters  to  me  are  copied  (by  him)  in  one  of  the 
letter  books  Mr.  Sparks  [Jared  Sparks]  has  in  Boston."2 

And  in  the  first  of  her  letters  to  Cabell  she  declared : 
"I  glory  in  stating  that  I  was  married  in  a  gown  patched 
at  the  elbows,  being  one  of  the  only  two  I  had  in  the 
world." 

In  these  letters,  too,  Mrs.  Morris  also  makes  much  of 
the  money  that  she  or  her  husband  had  advanced  on 
Tudor's  account,  but  which  she  admits  was  all  paid  back 
to  her  by  Judith  Randolph.  Whatever  credit  may  attach 
to  her  other  charges  against  John  Randolph,  it  is  unques- 
tionable that  she  made  entirely  too  much  of  this  matter. 
Tudor  was  but  a  youth,  and  evidence  has  come  down  to 
us  that,  though  not  in  the  least  dissipated,  he  lived  quite 

1  Morrisania,  Oct.  14,  1831,  U.  of  Va.  Libr. 

2  Morrisania,  May  30,  1828,  U.  of  Va.  Libr. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  301 

extravagantly  when  he  was  pursuing  his  brilliant  career 
at  Harvard.1  It  was  a  long  way  from  Harvard  to  Vir- 
ginia then,  and  his  need  for  the  assistance  of  his  Aunt, 
Mrs.  Morris,  was,  doubtless,  entirely  unexpected  to  both 
his  mother  and  his  uncle;  for  nothing  stands  out  more 
saliently  from  the  life  of  Randolph  than  the  generous 
manner  in  which  he  lavished  money  as  well  as  affection 
on  Tudor.  Immediately  after  Randolph's  visit  to  Morris- 
ania,  we  find  him  expressing  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Dudley  his 
dissatisfaction  with  Judith  because  she  would  not  permit 
Tudor  to  sit  for  his  portrait  to  Sully  in  Philadelphia; 
"under  the  thin  pretext, "  he  said,  "that  the  paint  would 
prove  injurious  to  his  lungs.  "2 

The  letter,  to  which  Jos.  C.  Cabell  sent  his  reply, 
contains  a  paragraph  which  adds  another  curious  feature 
to  the  remarkable  conditions  under  which  Randolph's 
savage  letter  to  Mrs.  Morris  was  written  in  New 
York. 

"When  Judy  went  from  here  [Morrisania]  we  accompanied 
her  to  the  city  and  lodged  near  her.  My  husband  was  twice  a 
day  in  Jack's  sick  room  and  I  took  my  son  in  to  see  him  also. 
The  evening  after  our  return,  our  market-man  brought  a  note 
from  Jack  desiring  to  see  Mr.  Morris  immediately.  He 
requested  me  to  write  an  answer  stating  that  he  and  our  little 
boy  had  taken  cold,  and  he  could  not  leave  home.  I  enclose 
now  his — Jack's — little  red  note.  Next  it  seems  his  master- 
piece was  composed,  and  lastly  the  one  which  I  sent  you  a 
month  ago.  You  observe  he  mentions  not  being  able  to  bear 
jolting,  then  said,  if  Mr.  Morris  had  answered  his  note,  he 
should  have  come  here."3 

The  letter  which  Mrs.  Morris  mentions  as  having  been 
sent  to  Jos.  C.  Cabell  the  month  before  was  a  letter  from 

1  Life  of  Quincy,  342. 

2  Phila.,  Dec.  4,  18 14,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  p.  166. 

3  Morrisania,  June  7,  1830,  U.  of  Va.  Libr. 


302         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Randolph  to  Gouverneur  Morris;  and  for  some  reason  it 
never  reached  Cabell. * 

It  was  when  Tudor  was  at  Morrisania  that  he  received 
the  autobiographical  letter  from  his  uncle  on  which  we 
have  drawn  so  freely  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  book. 
After  Tudor's  death,  Randolph  was  desirous  of  reclaiming 
this  letter,  but  he  was  unable  to  do  so ;  and,  shortly  after 
his  own  death,  it  was  published  in  part  in  the  New  York 
Commercial  Advertiser.  It  was  evidently  suspected  by 
Jos.  C.  Cabell  that  it  was  published  by  Mrs.  Morris, 
because  a  letter  from  J.  Aug.  Smith  to  Cabell,  dated  Sept. 
25>  J833,  states  that  he  had  called  on  the  editor  of  the 
Commercial  Advertiser,  at  Cabell's  request,  and  had  been 
assured  by  him  that  the  letter  had  not  been  placed  in  his 
hands  by  Mrs.  Morris  but  by  a  clergyman  and  professor 
in  one  of  their  high  institutions  whose  name  he  refused  to 
disclose. 2 

It  can  be  truly  said,  however,  that  rarely  have  infirmi- 
ties of  temper  been  attended  with  more  palliating  circum- 
stances than  in  Randolph's  case.  ' '  A  letter  from  his  most 
intimate  and  valued  friend,  Mr.  Macon,  written  to  me 
after  his  death, "  Thomas  H.  Benton  says,  "expressed  the 
belief  that  he  had  never  enjoyed  during  his  life  one  day  of 
perfect  health — such  as  well  people  enjoy.  "3  "I  believe 
that  he  never  had  an  hour  of  good  health,  nor  was  he  ever 
free  from  physical  suffering,"  is  the  equally  emphatic 
testimony  of  Dr.  I.  B.  Rice,  a  resident  of  Charlotte  County, 
who  knew  Randolph  well. 4  To  be  confined  to  what  Heine 
called  a  "mattrass  grave"  is  about  the  only  physical 
extremity  to  which  Randolph  was  never  subjected.  That 
he  should  have  been  the  active  horseman  and  sportsman 
that  he  was,  and  that  he  should  have  so  frequently  par- 
ticipated, often  at  great  length,  in  the  debates  of  the 

xJos.  C.  Cabell,  to  Ann  C.  Morris,  Warminster,  Sept.  6,  1831,  U.  of 
Va.  Libr. 

9  U.  of  Va.  Libr.  *  30  Yrs.'  View,  v.  1,  473.  4  Bouldin,  115. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  303 

House,  are  but  proofs  of  the  indomitable  spirit  which 
nothing  but  absolutely  the  last  pressure  of  Death's  skele- 
ton fingers  upon  his  throat  ever  subdued.  As  far  back  as 
1 79 1 ,  when  he  was  but  18  years  of  age,  we  find  him  writing 
from  Philadelphia  to  his  young  friend,  Henry  M.  Rut- 
ledge,  that  he  was  as  unwell  as  he  had  ever  been  in  the 
course  of  his  life,  and,  though  not  dangerously  ill,  was 
pestered  with  a  cursed  disorder  in  his  bowels  which  gave 
him  great  pain  and  sensations  similar  to  those  produced 
by  sea-sickness ;  and  chronic  diarrhoea  became  so  fastened 
upon  him  that,  as  time  went  on,  he  repeatedly  stated  in 
his  letters  that  food  passed  through  his  stomach  and 
bowels  entirely  unchanged. 

In  1803,  when  he  was  but  30  years  of  age,  his  appear- 
ance was  that  of  an  old  man,  prematurely  overtaken  by 
physical  decrepitude,  and  doomed  to  an  early  death.1 
In  1804,  he  wrote  to  Nicholson  that  his  nerves  were 
shattered  to  pieces.2  In  February,  1805,  he  wrote  to 
Nicholson  that  an  excruciating  pain,  accompanied  by 
fever  which  flew  like  lightning  from  his  head  to  his  stomach, 
bowels,  hands,  etc.,  had  inflicted  upon  him  all  the  torments 
of  the  damned,  and  compelled  him  to  resort  to  an  opiate. 3 
This"  pain  he  referred  to  the  gout,  "a  proteus, "  he  said, 
"which  can  assume  any  shape  in  the  long  and  dreadful 
catalogue  of  disease. " 4  Later  in  the  same  year,  he  wrote 
to  Nicholson  that  his  bowels  were  torn  to  pieces. s 

It  would  be  a  sickening  task  to  enumerate  all  the 
occasions  on  which  serious  or  alarming  illness  drew  ex- 
pressions of  suffering  from  Randolph.  They  were  so 
numerous  that,  at  times,  we  cannot  but  recall  the  savage 
accusation  of  John  Quincy  Adams  that  Randolph  turned 
his  diseases  to  commodity, 6  or  wonder  whether  he  did  not 

1  Bouldin,  170.  2  Bizarre,  July  I,  1804,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

3  Nicholson  MvSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

4  Letter  to  St.  G.  Tucker,  Feb.  22,  1805,  Lucas  MSS. 

s  Washington,  Nov.  16,  1805,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 
6  Memoirs,  Feb.  26,  1831,  v.  8,  328. 


304         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

suffer  more  than  most  stricken  men  do  merely  because  his 
sensibility  of  body  and  mind  was  so  much  keener  than 
theirs.  One  of  his  letters  to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter  indicates 
that  he,  himself,  felt  that  things  were  not  always  quite  as 
bad  as  he  represented  them  to  be.  "All  our  family, "  he 
said,  "make  too  much  fuss  about  health;  so  don't  mind 
me.  It  is  the  effect  of  former  affluence  and  ease.  With 
the  cause  it  will  gradually  cease. ' ' x  But,  even  after  taking 
Randolph's  peculiarities  of  temperament  and  training 
fully  into  account,  we  are  amply  warranted  in  doubting 
whether  any  man,  as  gravely  diseased  throughout  his  life  as 
he  was,  ever  exhibited  more  physical  and  mental  activity. 

We  pass  over  all  the  stages  ot  his  life  except  those  when 
his  ill  health  was  so  aggravated  as  to  imperil  his  existence 
or  to  subject  him  to  extreme  sickness.  To  do  otherwise, 
would  be  out  of  the  question ;  for  what  he  said  of  himself 
in  1810  he  could  have  truthfully  said  of  himself  at  almost 
any  period  of  his  life:  "Indeed,  exemption  from  pain  has 
become  with  me  a  highly  pleasurable  sensation.  "2 

As  early  as  February  20,  1808,  Randolph,  when  recover- 
ing from  a  fall,  which  had  confined  him  to  Philip  Key's 
home  at  Georgetown  for  some  time,  wrote  to  Nicholson 
as  follows : 

"  I  can  walk  after  a  fashion,  but  the  worst  of  my  case  is  a 
general  decay  of  the  whole  system.  I  am  racked  with  pain 
and  up  the  better  part  of  every  night  from  disordered  stomach 
and  bowels.  My  digestive  faculties  are  absolutely  worn  out. 
When  to  all  this  you  add  spitting  of  blood  from  the  lungs  and  a 
continual  fever,  you  may  have  some  idea  of  my  situation.  But 
crazy  as  my  constitution  is,  it  will  perhaps  survive  that  of  our 
country."3 

In  the  succeeding  year,  he  wrote  to  his  stepfather  from 
Bizarre  that  he  was  still  in  that  situation  in  which  life  is 

1  Feb.  18,  1822,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

a  Letter  to  St.  Geo.  Tucker,  Georgetown,  Mar.  13,  18 10,  Lucas  MSS. 

3  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  305 

but  a  burthen  to  its  possessor — racked  with  pain  and  never 
for  two  hours  together  free  from  some  affection  of  his 
stomach  and  bowels;  that,  in  short,  his  whole  nervous 
system  was  shattered  to  atoms,  and  that,  if  it  were  not 
for  the  society  and  attentions  of  Theodore  Dudley,  his 
existence  would  be  insupportable.1  In  1811,  he  wrote  to 
his  sister  that  he  did  not  know  a  day  without  pain  or  dis- 
quietude.2 By  this  time,  diarrhoea — the  disease  which 
(he  said)  had  terminated  the  career  of  every  member  of 
his  family — had  become  chronically  fixed  upon  him.3 
Many  years  later,  he  took  an  outbreak  of  this  malady 
lightly  enough  to  heart,  however,  to  write  humorously  to 
Dr.  Brockenbrough  that,  like  the  gallant  Gen.  H.  (William 
Henry  Harrison,  we  suppose)  "he  was  pursued"  b}^  it.4 
(a)  In  1 8 13,  he  believed  himself  to  be  on  the  verge  of  the 
grave  from  rheumatism  and  gout.5  In  the  same  year,  in 
a  letter  to  Dr.  Dudley  from  Bowling  Green,  he  describes 
himself  as  having  been  nearly  mad  with  pain, 6  and  a  little 
later,  he  wrote  to  Francis  Scott  Key  from  Roanoke, 
"Alas!  so  far  from  taking  the  field  against  the  poor  par- 
tridges, I  can  hardly  hobble  about  my  own  cabin.  It 
pleased  God  on  Tuesday  last  to  deprive  me  ot  the  use  of 
my  limbs."7  Indeed,  the  low  condition  to  which  Ran- 
dolph was  reduced  in  181 7  was  for  some  years  the  standard 
by  which  he  judged  the  severity  of  all  the  morbid  onsets 
that  he  had  to  face  from  time  to  time  afterwards.  Refer- 
ring to  this  attack,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough : 

"It  was,  I  believe,  a  case  of  croup  combined  with  the 
affection  of  the  liver  and  the  lungs.  Nor  was  it  unlike  tetanus, 
since  the  muscles  of  the  neck  and  back  were  rigid  and  the  jaw 
locked.     I  never  expected,  when  the  clock  struck  two,  to  hear 

1  Nov.  14,  1809,  Lucas  MSS. 

2  Aug.  19,  181 1,  J.  C.  Grinnan  MSS. 

3  Letter  to  Nicholson,  Bizarre,  Dec.  4,  1809,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

4  Garland,  v.  2,  270.  5  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,iyj. 

6  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  139.  1 0ct.  17,  1813,  Garland,  v.  2,  26. 

vol.  n — 20 


306         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  bell  again;  fortunately,  as  I  found  myself  going,  I  dis- 
patched a  servant  (about  one)  to  the  apothecary  for  an  ounce 
of  laudanum.  Some  of  this  poured  down  my  throat  through 
my  teeth  restored  me  to  something  like  life.  I  was  quite 
delirious,  but  had  method  in  my  madness;  for  they  tell  me  I 
ordered  Juba  to  load  my  gun  and  to  shoot  the  first  'Doctor' 
that  should  enter  the  room;  adding,  'They  are  only  mustard 
seed  and  will  serve  just  to  sting  him.'"1 

By  the  next  day,  after  the  inauguration  of  Monroe, 
Randolph  had  rallied  enough  to  leave  Washington  for 
Richmond.  His  description  of  the  journey  is  too  charac- 
teristic to  be  omitted : 

"No  mitigation  of  my  cruel  symptoms  took  place  until  the 
third  day  of  my  journey,  when  I  threw  physic  to  the  dogs  and, 
instead  of  opium,  tincture  of  columbo,  hypercarbonate  of  soda, 
etc.,  etc.,  I  drank,  in  defiance  of  my  physician's  prescription, 
copiously  of  cold  spring  water  and  ate  plentifully  of  ice.  Since 
that  change  of  regimen,  my  strength  has  increased  astonish- 
ingly, and  I  have  even  gained  some  flesh  or  rather  skin.  The 
first  day,  Wednesday  the  fifth,  I  could  travel  no  farther  than 
Alexandria.  At  Dumfries,  where  I  lay,  but  slept  not,  on 
Thursday  night,  I  had  nearly  given  up  the  ghost.  At  a  spring, 
five  miles  on  this  side,  after  crossing  Chappawamsick,  I  took 
upon  an  empty  and  sick  stomach  upwards  of  a  pint  of  living 
water,  unmixed  with  Madeira,  which  I  have  not  tasted  since. 
It  was  the  first  thing  that  I  had  taken  into  my  stomach  since 
the  first  of  February  that  did  not  produce  nausea.  It  acted 
like  a  charm,  and  enabled  me  to  get  on  to  B's  that  night,  where 
I  procured  ice.  I  also  devoured  with  impunity  a  large  pippin 
(forbidden  fruit  to  me).  Next  day  I  got  to  the  Oaks  forty-two 
miles.  Here,  I  was  more  unwell  than  the  night  before.  On 
Sunday  morning,  I  reached  my  friends,  Messers.  A.  &  Co.  to 
breakfast  at  half  -past  eight. " 2 

After  arriving  in  Richmond,  Randolph  had  a  relapse, 
and  lay  utterly  prostrate  for  many  weeks  at  the  home  of 

1  Feb.  23,  181 7,  Garland,  v.  2,  91.  2  Garland,  v.  2,  93. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  307 

Mr.  Cunningham  in  that  city. l  In  1824,  he  wrote  to  Dr. 
Brockenbrough  that  the  noisome  atmosphere  of  the  House 
had  overcome  him  and  that  he  had  had  a  copious  effusion 
of  blood  from  his  lungs2 ;  and  in  1825,  he  wrote  to  Francis 
W.  Gilmer  from  Roanoke  that  he  had  been  at  death's  door. 3 
In  1826,  he  wrote  to  the  same  correspondent: 

"  In  the  nature  of  things,  it  is  impossible  that  I  can  hold  out 
long.  Neither  is  it  desirable  to  myself,  and  therefore  ought 
not  to  be  to  my  friends.  I  am  now  sorry  that  I  accepted  the 
seat  in  the  Senate,  as  I  shall  be  on  the  hospital  list  all  winter. 
I  am  plied  by  the  fiercest  tortures,  with  small  and  few 
remissions."4 

During  this  illness,  he  had  what  he  thought  was  the 
highest  fever,  but  one,  that  he  had  ever  felt.5  Shortly 
after  he  formed  this  impression,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brocken- 
brough :  "lam  really  ill ;  the  whole  machine  is  rotten ;  the 
nails  and  screws  that  I  drive  will  not  take  hold  but  draw 
out  with  the  decayed  wood."6  In  the  succeeding  year, 
he  thought  that  he  had  not  been  so  sensible  of  the  failure 
of  his  bodily  powers  since  18 17.  "A  man  with  a  tooth- 
ache," he  said,  apologetically,  "  thinks  only  of  his  fang. " 7 

In  the  succeeding  year,  his  plight,  if  anything,  was 
worse.  From  Roanoke,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough 
that,  since  his  return  to  that  spot,  he  had  scarcely  been  off 
his  bed,  except  when  he  was  in  it.  "My  cough  has  in- 
creased very  much,"  he  added,  "and  my  fever  never 
intermits;  with  this,  pain  in  the  breast  and  all  the  attend- 
ant ills. " 8  A  little  later,  he  wrote  to  the  same  friend  that 
nothing  seemed  to  relieve  the  anxiety,  distress  and  languor 
to  which  he  was  by  turns  subjected,  or  the  pains,  rheu- 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  94.  2  Apr.  25,  Garland,  v.  2,  218. 

3  July  2,  Bryan  MSS.  4  Washington,  Jan.  17,  1826,  Bryan  MSS. 

s  Letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  Feb.  10,  1826,  J.  C.  Grinnan  MSS. 

6  Mar.  4,  1826,  Garland,  v.  2,  269. 

7  Letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  Feb.  21,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  286. 
•  Mar.  30,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  290, 


308         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

matic  or  gouty,  that  were  continually  flying  about  him.  * 
He  was  in  that  state  of  mind  which  regards  the  good  health, 
that  is  the  common  possession  of  most  men  and  women, 
as  the  gift,  of  all  others,  spun  by  the  Parcae  from  their 
finest  wool.  "But  I  have  so  true  a  judgment,"  he  said, 
a  few  weeks  later,  "of  the  value  of  this  world  and  its 
contents  that  I  would  not  give  the  strength  and  health  of 
one  of  my  negro  men  for  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  and  the 
wealth  of  Croesus  and  the  power  of  Caesar. 

'"Though  Solomon,  with  a  thousand  wives, 
To  get  a  wise  successor  strives ; 
But  one,  and  he  a  fool,  survives.'  "a 

In  the  next  year,  his  physical  misery  is  so  poignant  that 
he  writes  of  himself  in  these  terms  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough, 
who,  faithful  friend  though  he  was,  must  have  wearied  at 
times  of  the  procession  of  grisly  horrors  which  Randolph's 
letters  steadily  kept  before  his  eyes. 

"My  dear  friend,  I  hope  to  hear  from  you  by  Sam  on 
Saturday  night,  and  to  receive  Lord  Byron  in  a  coffin  where  I 
shall  very  soon  be.  I  daily  grow  worse ;  if  that  can  be  called 
'growth'  which  is  diminution  and  not  increase.  My  food 
passes  from  me  unchanged.  Liver,  lungs,  stomach,  (which  I 
take  to  be  the  original  seat  of  disease)  bowels  and  the  whole 
carnal  man  are  diseased  to  the  last  extent.  Diarrhea  incessant 
— nerves  broken — cramps — spasms — vertigo — Shall  I  go  on? 
— No,  I  will  not.  I  have  horses  that  I  cannot  ride — wine 
that  I  cannot  drink.  .  .  .  my  cough  is  tremendous.  .  .  .  My 
dear  friend,  you  and  I  know  that  the  cough  and  diarrhea  and 
pain  in  the  side  and  shoulder  are  the  last  stage  of  my  disorder, 
whether  of  lungs,  in  the  first  instance,  or  of  liver.  I  send  you 
the  measure  of  my  thigh  at  the  thickest  part.  Calves,  I  have 
none,  except  those  that  suck  their  dams;  but,  then,  I  have 

1  May  22,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  292. 

2  Letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  Roanoke,  June  12,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2, 
293- 


Randolph  as  a  Man  3°9 

ankles  that  will  outmeasure  yours  or  any  other  man's  as  far 
as  you  beat  me  in  thighs."1 

When  Randolph  next  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  it 
was  to  tell  him  that  he  had  been  compelled  to  resort  to 
the  drug  of  which,  a  year  or  so  later,  he  was  to  say :  "  I  live 
by,  if  not  upon,  opium.  "2 

"I  write  again,"  he  said,  "to  tell  you  that  extremity  of 
suffering  has  driven  me  to  the  use  of  what  I  have  had  a  horror 
of  all  my  life — I  mean  opium;  and  I  have  derived  more  relief 
from  it  than  I  could  have  anticipated.  I  took  it  to  mitigate 
severe  pain  and  to  check  the  diarrhea.  It  has  done  both;  but, 
to  my  surprise,  it  has  had  an  equally  good  effect  upon  my 
cough  which  now  does  not  disturb  me  in  the  night,  .  .  .  yet 
I  can't  ride,  but  I  hobble  with  a  stick,  and  scold  and  threaten 
my  lazy  negroes,  who  are  building  a  house  between  my  well  and 
kitchen,  and  two  (a  stable  boy  and  an  undergardener)  mending 
the  road  against  you  come."3 

In  the  latter  part  of  1829,  Randolph,  as  we  have  seen, 
experienced  a  considerable  improvement  in  his  health ;  but, 
in  the  early  part  of  that  year,  he  was  worse  off,  if  anything, 
than  he  was  in  1828,  and,  on  April  21,  1829,  he  wrote  to 
Dr.  Brockenbrough  these  pathetic  words : 

"My  dear  friend,  we  shall  not  'meet  in  October';  I  am 
anchored  for  life.  My  disease  every  day  assumes  a  more 
aggravated  character.  I  have  been  obliged  to  renounce  wine 
altogether.  Coffee  is  my  only  cheerer.  A  high  fever  every 
night  which  goes  off  about  day-break  with  a  colliquative  sweat ; 
vile  pain  in  the  side  and  breast ;  incessant  cough — with  all  my 
tenacity  of  life,  this  can't  hold  long.  I  have  rode  once  or  twice 
a  mile  or  two,  but  it  exhausts  me.  The  last  3  days  have 
been  warm,  but,  last  night,  we  had  a  storm,  and  it  was  cold 
again.     Luckily,  I  have  no  appetite,  for  I  have  hardly  any- 

1  Roanoke,  May  27,  1828,  Garland,  v.  2,  307. 

2  Garland,  v.  2,  344. 

3  Roanoke,  May  30,  1828,  Garland,  v.  2,  308. 


3rt>         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

thing  to  eat,  except  asparagus,  which  is  very  fine  and  nice.  I 
tried  spinach  a  la  Francaise,  but  it  disagrees  with  me.  You  see 
that  like  Dogberry  'I  bestow  all  my  tediousness  upon  you.' 
You  know  my  maxim  'that  every  man  is  of  great  consequence 
to  himself.'  The  trees  are  budding  and  the  forest  begins  to 
look  gay,  but,  when  I  cast  my  eyes  upon  the  blossoms,  the  sad 
lines  of  poor  Michael  Bruce  recur  to  my  memory : 

"  'Now  spring  returns,  but  not  to  me  returns 
The  vernal  joy  my  better  years  have  known. 
Dim  in  my  breast  life's  dying  taper  burns, 
And  all  the  joys  of  life  with  health  are  flown.'  "* 

The  condition  of  Randolph's  health  after  1829  has 
already  been  incidentally  touched  upon  in  the  preceding 
passages  of  this  book,  and  it  was  marked  by  such  painful 
evidences  of  physical  disintegration  that  no  useful  purpose 
would  be  subserved  by  dwelling  upon  it  more  closely, 
except  to  transcribe  this  last  despairing  groan  in  August, 
1832,  of  a  cruelly  persecuted  existence. 

"My  lungs  made  a  noble  resistance,  but,  like  the  Poles,  they 
were  over-powered.  The  disease  is  now  phthisis;  and  the 
tubercles  are  softening  for  breaking  out  into  open  ulcers ;  liver, 
spleen,  heart,  (I  hope  the  pericardium)  but  above  all,  the 
stomach  diseased,  and  this  last,  I  fear,  incurable.  My  diet  is 
water  gruel  for  breakfast;  tomatoes  and  crackers  for  dinner, 
and  no  supper;  yet  these,  taken  in  the  very  smallest  quantities 
that  can  sustain  life,  throw  me  into  all  the  horrors  of  an 
indigestion;  so  that  I  put  off  eating  as  long  as  possible,  and 
thereby  make  a  dinner  of  my  breakfast,  and  a  sort  of  supper  at 
five  or  six  o'clock  of  my  dinner.  Sleep,  I  am  nearly  a  stranger 
to.  Many  nights  I  pass  bolt  upright  in  my  easy  chair;  for, 
when  propped  up  by  pillows  in  bed,  so  as  to  be  nearly  erect 
from  the  hips  upwards,  I  cough  incessantly  and  am  racked  to 
death."2 

Randolph's  disease  was,  and  long  had  been,  consump- 
tion, we  imagine,  though  none  but  a  physician  could  say 

1  Apr.  21,  1829,  Garland,  v.  2,  316.  2  Garland,  v.  2,  349. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  31 1 

authoritatively  whether  the  real  nidus  of  his  ailments  was 
his  lungs  or  his  stomach.  The  wording  of  many  of  his 
plaints  about  his  maladies  is  so  vivid  that  at  times  we  find 
it  hard  to  believe  that  it  is  not  just  a  little  over-colored. 
Certainly,  never  did  any  invalid  drape  his  recitals  of  his 
physical  pains  and  disabilities  with  such  a  picturesque  or 
classical  dress.  Writing  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  about  the 
time  of  the  Missouri  controversy,  he  said:  "Whatever  it 
be,  something  is  passing  in  the  noble  viscera  of  no  ordinary 
character.  They  have  got  a  Missouri  question  there  that 
threatens  a  divulsion  of  soul  from  body.  "x 

Referring  to  another  occasion,  on  which  he  said  that  he 
had  received  his  death  wound,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brocken- 
brough as  follows: 

"Had  I  not  spoken  on  the  last  of  these  days,  I  might  have 
weathered  this  point,  and  clawed  off  of  death's  lee  shore.  My 
disease  is  assuming  a  hectic  type.  I  believe  the  lungs  are 
affected  symptomatically  through  sympathy  with  the  liver ;  at 
least,  I  hope  so.  Yet,  why  hope  when  the  vulture  daily  whets 
his  beak  for  a  repast  upon  my  ever  growing  liver,  and  his  tal- 
ons are  fixed  in  my  very  vitals?"2 

Even  Randolph's  body  could  not  decay  without  shining 
with  a  certain  amount  of  phosphorescent  brightness. 

But  we  are  not  dependent  solely  upon  himself  for  our 
knowledge  of  his  physical  state  during  his  last  years  in 
Congress.  In  the  letters  to  Weldon  N.  Edwards  from 
Nathaniel  Macon,  who  lodged  in  the  same  house  at  Wash- 
ington with  Randolph  in  1827  and  1828,  there  are  numer- 
ous references  to  Randolph's  wretched  health  at  that 
period  of  his  life,  and  it  was  a  source  of  astonishment  to 
Macon,  as  it  is  to  us,  that  such  a  disease-ridden  man 
could  have  delivered  such  long  and  effective  speeches  as 
he  did  during  the  first  session  of  the  Twentieth  Congress. 

1  Feb.  24,  1820,  Garland,  v.  2,  133. 
3  Feb.  23,  1820,  Garland,  v.  2,  132. 


3i2         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

In  one  of  these  letters,  dated  February  17,  1828,  Macon 
says  that,  when  it  was  remembered  that  Randolph,  during 
the  winter  of  1827  to  1828,  had  been  confined  more  than 
half  of  his  time  to  his  bed  or  room,  it  would  seem  impos- 
sible that  he  could  have  spoken  in  the  House  as  he  had 
done.  ?     In  a  later  letter,  Macon  said : 

"  Mr.  Randolph's  health  is  generally  bad ;  he  is  more  thin  and 
poor  than  you  ever  saw  him  but  once.  He  is  almost  skeleton; 
to  look  at  him,  it  does  appear  impossible  that  he  could  undergo 
the  fatigue  of  a  long  speech.  His  last  is  undoubtedly  a 
masterly  one;  but  which  is  the  best  of  all  he  ever  made,  I 
cannot  undertake  to  decide.  Among  the  truly  great,  it  is 
difficult  to  decide."2 

In  still  another  letter,  Macon  tells  us  that,  by  way  of 
illustrating  the  limitations,  on  his  strength  at  this  time 
when  speaking,  Randolph  told  him  to  tell  Edwards  that 
his  minutes  had  an  hour's  errand  to  go,  like  Sheridan's 
six  pence,  which  had  to  perform  the  office  of  two  shillings. 3 

To  Randolph's  other  infirmities  was  added  poor  eye- 
sight; and  in  his  letters  this  subject  was  frequently  men- 
tioned. As  early  as  February  15,  1800,  he  wrote  to  Nich- 
olson: "I  am  literally  blind,"4  and,  nine  years  later,  he 
wrote  to  him  that  he  would  probably  have  to  go  to  Phila- 
delphia to  consult  the  celebrated  Dr.  Physick  about  his 
eyes  which  were  sadly  decayed.5  Twenty-two  years 
later,  he  wrote  to  his  niece  that  his  eyes  had  begun  to  see 
green  ink  and  double  strokes  since  he  commenced  the 
letter  that  he  was  writing  to  her — " sometimes  violet."6 
Twenty-three  years  later,  he  wrote  to  her  that  he  could 
not  see  a  single  character  that  he  was  tracing  with  his  pen. 7 

1  Macon  Papers,  N.  C.  Hist.  Soc. 

2  Mar.  6,  1828,  Macon  Papers,  N.  C.  Hist.  Soc. 

3  Mar.  6,  1828,  Macon  Papers,  N.  C.  Hist.  Soc. 
«  Nicholson,  MSS.f  Libr.  Cong. 

s  May  25,  1809,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

6  Feb.  19,  1822,  Bryan  MSS.  7  Aug.  23,  1823,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  3*3 

Some  of  these  letters  betray  the  excessive  ictus  of  an  elo- 
quent and  high-keyed  nature ;  and  all  of  them,  we  have  no 
doubt,  were  written  at  times  when  Randolph's  eyes  had 
for  some  reason  been  abused  to  an  unusual  extent;  for, 
throughout  his  life,  he  was  an  eager  reader  of  all  sorts  of 
printed  matter,  and  wrote  in  his  own  clear,  painstaking 
handwriting,  which,  until  the  very  last,  never  exhibited 
any  sign  of  shattered  nerves  or  bedimmed  vision,  thou- 
sands of  letters  which,  only  in  the  rarest  instances,  revealed 
the  slightest  vestige  of  hurry  or  negligence.  But,  perhaps, 
the  most  distressing  infirmity  from  which  Randolph 
suffered  was  his  sleeplessness.  "We  passed  our  evenings 
together,  or  I  may  perhaps  rather  say,  a  good  portion  of 
the  night, "  we  are  told  by  Randolph's  companion,  of 
1803,  from  whom  we  have  already  quoted:  "For 
he  loved  to  sit  up  late  because,  as  he  was  wont  to 
say,  the  grave,  not  the  bed,  was  the  place  of  rest  for 
him."1 

In  one  of  his  letters  to  a  friend,  written  immediately 
after  the  death  of  William  Pinkney  (a)  in  1822,  Randolph 
said:  "I  have  not  slept  on  an  average  two  hours  for  the 
last  6  days. " 2  "I  cannot  sleep, "  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brock- 
enbrough,  some  four  years  later,  and  then  the  ever-glowing 
imagination  adds:  "Death  shakes  his  dart  at  me."3  In 
an  earlier  year,  he  wrote  to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter,  that  he 
had  gone  to  bed,  ' '  the  night  before  at  eleven  and  got  not 
an  hour's  sleep,  and  that  disturbed. " 

"Luckily  on  Friday,"  he  continues,  "I  was  so  worn  down 
that  I  went  to  bed  before  (by)  sunset,  fell  asleep  between  seven 
and  eight,  and  slept  until  three  in  the  morning,  with  the 
exception  of  not  more  than  half  an  hour  towards  the  com- 
mencement of  my  nap,  when  I  was  waked  to  know  if  I  wouldn't 
take  coffee.     It  was  God's  mercy  that  I  fell  asleep  again,  or 

1  Bouldin,  173.  3  Garland,  v.  2,  170. 

3  Mar.  4,  1826,  Garland,  v.  2,  269. 


3H         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  slight  brain  fever  that  has  tormented  me  might  have 
terminated  in  something  worse  than  loss  of  life."1 

When  he  was  three  or  four  years  younger,  he  had  jotted 
down  in  one  of  his  briefer  journals  these  words:  "Slept 
last  night  by  means  of  hot  infusion  and  pillow."2  "No 
sleep"  was  the  short  and  pointed  entry  that  he  had  made 
in  another  of  these  briefer  journals  some  six  months  be- 
fore. 3  Well  might  he  have  asked  in  the  words  of  Comus : 
"What  hath  night  to  do  with  sleep?"  "Rose  at  three," 
' '  Rose  at  one, "  "  I've  been  up  ever  since  half -past  two, ' ' — 
these  are  but  some  of  the  many  entries  and  statements  in 
his  journals  and  letters  which  show  that  he  was  as  familiar 
as  a  walking  ghost  with  the  deep  waste  and  middle  of  the 
night. 4 

At  times,  Randolph's  insomnia  must  have  been  trying 
not  only  to  the  servants  who  looked  after  his  personal 
comfort  at  Washington,  but  to  such  of  his  friends  as  hap- 
pened to  be  under  the  same  roof  with  him  during  his 
nocturnal  vigils.  On  this  point,  the  testimony  which 
Thomas  H.  Benton  rendered  in  the  Randolph  will  litiga- 
tion is  important;  for,  during  the  winter  of  1821  to  1822, 
both  he  and  Randolph  boarded  at  Dawson's  in  Washing- 
ton. 

"  He  slept  very  little,"  Benton  testified,  ''at  times,  he  hardly 
seemed  to  sleep  at  all  for  nights  together — and,  at  all  hours  of 
the  night,  was  accustomed  to  tap  at  my  door  very  softly — just 
enough  for  me  to  hear  it  (as  he  used  to  say)  if  I  was  awake,  and 
not  to  wake  me  if  I  was  asleep ;  but,  being  very  wakeful  myself, 
I  usually  heard  his  lightest  tap,  and  always  told  him  to  come 
in.  He  would  then  sit  on  the  bed  and  talk  with  me  in  the 
dark."* 

1  Feb.  18,  1822,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

2  Aug.  15,  181 8,  Libr.  Cong.  3  Va.  Hist.  Sec. 

4  Journal  Va.  Hist.  Soc,  Apr.  28,  1824,  and  May  9,  1824,  and  letter  from 
J.  R.  to  E.  T.  Coalter,  Feb.  18,  1822. 

s  Coalter 's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  315 

With  such  lidless,  dragon  eyes  as  these,  a  good  night's 
sleep  is  not  a  commonplace  occurrence,  but  a  voluptuous 
delight. 

After  the  adjournment  of  Congress  on  March  3,  1823, 
Randolph  hurried  off  to  Oakland,  the  home  of  his  friend, 
William  R.  Johnson,  of  Chesterfield  County,  Virginia, 
who  was  then  looking  forward  eagerly  to  the  great  race 
between  Eclipse  and  Henry,  the  pride  of  the  North  and 
South  respectively,  which  was  to  come  off  on  Long  Island 
in  the  month  of  May,  1823.  The  change  of  scene,  air,  and 
mental  occupation  produced  such  a  change  in  his  state  of 
health  that  he  could  describe  a  night  that  he  had  spent  at 
Chesterfield  Court  House  as  if  it  had  been  a  draught  of 
sparkling  wine. 

"To  that  night,"  he  said,  "spent  on  a  shuck  mattress  in  a 
little  garret  room  at  Chesterfield  Court  House,  Sunday,  March, 
the  9th,  1 823, 1  look  back  with  delight.  It  was  a  stormy  night. 
The  windows  clattered,  and  William  R.  Johnson  got  up  several 
times  to  try  and  put  a  stop  to  the  noise  by  thrusting  a  glove 
between  the  loose  sashes.  I  heard  the  noise ;  I  even  heard  him ; 
but  it  did  not  disturb  me;  I  enjoyed  a  sweet  nap  of  eight  hours, 
during  which  he  said  he  never  heard  me  breathe.  N.B.  I 
had  fasted  all  day  and  supped  (which  I  have  not  done  since) 
on  a  soft  egg  and  a  bit  of  biscuit.  My  feelings  next  day  were 
as  new  and  delightful  as  those  of  any  bride  the  day  after  her 
nuptials,  and  the  impression  (on  memory  at  least)  as  strong."1 
(a) 

The  treatment  and  regimen  upon  which  Randolph 
relied  in  combating  illness  deserve  a  word  of  comment. 
He  once  wrote  to  Nicholson  that  he  was  not  willing  to  take 
anything  from  his  physician  except  his  advice.2  When 
he  first  fell  ill  at  Washington  in  181 7,  he  called  in  two  phy- 
sicians, but,  later,  he  trusted  to  his  own  knowledge  of 
the  pharmacopoeia  to  dose  himself  with  medicines,  among 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  19. 

2  Bizarre,  Jan.  24,  1810,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


3X6         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

which  calomel,  of  which,  in  the  course  of  his  life  he  some- 
times took  as  much  as  ten  or  twelve  grains  at  a  time, x  was 
one.2  "Drugs,"  he  wrote  to  Nicholson,  "are  poison  to 
me  in  any  shape  in  which  they  can  be  administered;  air, 
exercise  and  an  undisturbed  mind,  essential  to  my  very 
existence. " 3  This  is  all  intelligent  enough ;  but  the  meas- 
ure of  his  need  for  air  would  have  been  pronounced  little 
better  than  aerophobia  by  Benjamin  Franklin.  "Don't 
be  afraid  of  fresh  air,"  Randolph  wrote  to  Elizabeth  T. 
Coalter,  "my  health  is  so  bad  that  I  can't  recommend  my 
example,  yet  I  am  persuaded  it  would  be  much  worse  if  I 
did  not  raise  my  windows  every  morning  by  the  first  peep 
of  day. " 4  Often,  he  was  driven  by  indigestion  to  a  piti- 
ably meagre  diet ;  and  ho w  a  man  with  such  a  delicate 
stomach  could  ever  have  smoked  or  drunk  madeira  it  is 
hard  to  see,  but  smoke  he  did  at  some  periods  of  his  life, 
and  drink  madeira,  with  occasional  intermissions,  he  cer- 
tainly did  down  to  the  last  years  of  his  life. 

On  March  i,  1820,  he  wrote  to  John  Randolph  Bryan 
that  he  was  confined  to  a  strict  milk  diet.  On  December 
15,  1827,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough : 

"Quant  a  mot,  I  am  dying  as  decently  as  I  can.  For  three 
days  past,  I  have  rode  out  and  people,  who  would  not  care  one 
groat  if  I  died  to-night,  are  glad  that  I  am  so  much  better,  etc., 
etc.,  with  all  that  wretched  grimace  that  grown-up  makers  of 
faces  call,  and  believe  to  be,  politeness,  good  breeding,  etc.  I 
had  rather  see  the  children  or  monkeys  mow  and  chatter.  My 
diet  is  strict,  flesh  once  a  day  (mutton  boiled  or  roasted),  a 
cracker  and  cup  of  coffee  morning  and  night.  No  drink  but 
toast  and  water."5 

In  a  letter  to  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  Randolph  even 
made  fun  of  his  toast  and  water.     Speaking  of  a  little 

1  J.  R.'s  Diary.  a  Garland,  v.  2,  91.  3  Mar.  16,  1808. 

4  Feb.  18,  1822,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 
s  Dec.  15,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  294. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  317 

dinner  to  which  he  had  invited  J.  M.  Garnett,  Nathaniel 
Macon,  and  Mark  Alexander,  he  says  that  he  was  drunker 
upon  his  toast  and  water  and  such  thin  potations  than 
they  were  upon  old  Jemaikey  and  Brarzil  at  $3.00,  first 
cost,  per  bottle.  "So  you  see,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "that, 
although  a  man  of  peace,  I  live  like  a  fighting  cock;  for 
small  hominy  and  water  is  the  chief  part  of  my  diet."1 

During  the  next  year,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough 
that  his  breakfast  consisted  of  a  cup  of  tea  and  a  cracker 
without  butter  which  he  never  touched.2  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  same  year,  his  stomach  was  still  so  intolerant 
of  the  slightest  excess  that  he  wrote  to  the  same  friend: 
"Kidder  R.  [Randolph]  was  here  and  had  no  one  to  join 
him  in  a  glass  of  claret,  so  that,  as  Burns  says,  I  helped 
him  to  a  slice  of  my  constitution,  although  my  potation 
was  very  moderate. " 3 

During  Randolph's  life,  there  was  quite  a  general  im- 
pression that  he  was  not  so  infirm  as  he  professed  to  be. 
It  was  difficult  for  skeptical  minds  to  believe  that  a  man 
could  speak  for  hours  in  the  House  and  ride  for  miles  on 
horseback  over  the  roughest  roads  and  yet  be  as  mori- 
bund as  Randolph  repeatedly  insisted  that  he  was.  The 
occasion  of  which  we  have  already  spoken  when  he  assured 
the  Flournoys  that  he  was  dying,  and  yet  shortly  after- 
wards galloped  up  behind  them,  on  his  way  to  Halifax 
Court  House,  where  he  delivered  one  of  the  most  powerful 
speeches  of  his  career,  was  by  no  means  a  solitary  one. 
A  similar  incident  was  related  by  Wm.  H.  Roane,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  from  Virginia  during  the  session  of  1816- 
18 1 7,  when  Randolph's  health  was  so  wretched. 

"I  remember,"  he  says,  "that  one  morning  Mr.  Lewis  came 
into  the  House  of  Representatives  and  addressed  Mr.  Tyler 
and  myself,  who  were  the  youngest  members  from  Virginia, 

1  Mar.  8,  1826,  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  Jr.,  MSS. 

2  Jan.  20,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  284. 

3  Roanoke,  Sept.  4,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  293. 


3i 8    John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  said  we  must  go  to  Georgetown  to  Mr.  Randolph.  We 
asked  for  what ;  he  said  that  Mr  Randolph  had  told  him  that 
he  was  determined  not  to  be  buried  as  Beau  Dawson  had  been 
at  the  public  expense,  and  he  had  selected  us  young  bloods  to 
come  to  him  and  take  charge  of  his  funeral.  We  went  over 
immediately.  When  we  entered  Mr.  Randolph's  apartment, 
he  was  in  his  morning  gown.  He  rose  and  shook  us  by  the 
hand.  On  our  inquiries  after  his  health,  he  said:  'Dying! 
Dying !  Dying !  In  a  dreadful  state. '  He  inquired  what  was 
going  on  in  Congress.  We  told  him  that  the  galleries  were 
filling  with  people  of  the  District  and  that  there  was  consider- 
able excitement  on  the  rechartering  of  the  batch  of  banks  in 
the  District.  He  then  broke  off,  and  commenced  upon  another 
subject,  and  pronounced  a  glowing  eulogium  upon  the  char- 
acter and  talents  of  Patrick  Henry.  After  sitting  for  sometime, 
and  nothing  being  said  on  the  business  on  which  we  had  been 
sent  to  him,  we  rose  and  took  our  leave.  When  we  got  to  the 
door,  I  said :  'I  wish,  Mr.  Randolph,  you  could  be  in  the  House 
today.'  He  shook  his  head — 'Dying,  Sir,  Dying!'  When  we 
had  got  back  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  Mr.  Lewis  came 
in  and  asked  how  we  had  found  Mr.  Randolph.  We  laughed 
and  said,  as  well  as  usual — that  we  had  spent  a  very  pleasant 
morning  with  him,  and  been  much  amused  by  his  conversation. 
Scarcely  a  moment  after,  Mr.  Lewis  exclaimed :  'There  he  is !' 
and  there,  to  be  sure,  he  was.  He  had  entered  by  another 
door,  having  arrived  at  the  Capitol  almost  as  soon  as  we  did. 
In  a  few  moments,  he  arose  and  commenced  a  speech,  the  first 
sentence  of  which  I  can  repeat  verbatim:  'Mr.  Speaker,' 
said  he,  'This  is  Shrove  Tuesday.  Many  a  gallant  cock  has 
died  in  the  pit  on  this  day,  and  I  have  come  to  die  in  the  pit 
also.'  He  then  went  on  with  his  speech  and,  after  a  short 
time,  turned  and  addressed  the  crowd  of  'hungry  expectants,' 
as  he  called  them — tellers,  clerks  and  porters  in  the 
gallery."1 

CIn  bringing  out  Randolph's  life-long  ill-health,  in  con- 
ction  with  his  infirmities  of  temper,  there  is  a  kindred 
subject,  which,  delicate  as  it  is,  we  cannot  avoid,     So  far 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  92. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  319 

as  we  know,  there  is  no  written  evidence  to  establish  the 
fact  that  he  was  devoid  of  virility  at  the  tim^pf  his  death; 
but  that  he  was  so  cannot  admit  of  a  doubt.  J  The  writer 
remembers  being  told  by  his  father,  a  resident  of  Charlotte 
County,  born  in  1826,  that  in  some  form  or  other,  the 
exact  nature  of  which  he  has  forgotten,  one  of  the  physi- 
cians who  attended  Randolph,  during  his  last  illness, 
communicated  to  the  world  the  fact  that  an  examination 
of  Randolph's  sexual  organs  after  his  death  had  demon- 
strated his  impotence,  and  was  severely  criticized  by 
public  opinion  for  doing  so.  The  writer  regrets  that  his 
memory  cannot  be  more  specific;  but  upon  the  accuracy 
of  what  he;does  recall  the  reader  can  confidently  rely. 
Moreover,  he  has  recently  been  told  by  an  aged  member 
of  the  Baltimore  Bar,  of  the  very  highest  standing,  that 
he  remembers  distinctly  reading  a  letter,  written  by  a 
Philadelphia  doctor  to  Walter  Jones,  an  ancestor  of  his, 
when  Jones  was  one  of  the  counsel  in  the  Randolph  will 
litigation,  in  which  this  doctor  stated  that  a  post  mortem 
inspection  made  by  him  had  shown  that  Randolph's 
testicles  at  the  time  of  his  death  were  mere  rudiments. 
These  facts  simply  confirm  a  popular  impression  which  was 
universal  during  the  latter  part  of  Randolph's  life.  Three 
times  at  least  during  his  career  did  men  who  had  been 
exasperated  by  his  satirical  eloquence  retaliate  with  more 
keenness  than  decency  by  hinting  at  his  lack  of  virile 
force.  One  of  these  men  was  Daniel  Sheffey,  a  conspicu- 
ous and  able  member  of  Congress  from  Virginia,  from 
1 809-1 8 1 7,  who  began  life  as  a  shoemaker,  and  is  said  to 
have  received  on  one  occasion  from  Randolph  the  stinging 
advice,  Ne  sutor  ultra  crepidam,  to  which  he  is  said  to  have 
happily  replied  that  "if  that  gentleman  had  ever  been  on  a 
shoemaker's  bench,  he  never  would  have  left  it."1  Just 
what  Sheffey  said  in  the  attack  on  Randolph,  to  which  we 
allude,  we  can  only  infer  from  Randolph's  answer.     It 

1  Hist.  Colls,  of  Va.,  by  Howe,  179. 


320         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

was  personal  enough,  however,  to  incite  Randolph,  after 
he  had  thrice  been  prevented  by  the  Speaker  from  making 
the  reply  that  he  thought  proper,  to  write  to  his  friend, 
T.  M.  Nelson,  another  member  of  Congress,  what  he  had 
intended  to  say,  with  a  view  to  its  passing  into  general 
circulation.  The  circumstances,  under  which  he  proposed 
to  hurl  his  bolt,  were  a  little  too  suggestive  of  the  indi- 
vidual who,  despite  all  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  saying 
about  the  grand  way  in  which  his  aristocratic  ancestors 
had  lived,  had  nothing  better  to  display  than  a  paper 
sketch  of  the  splendid  house  that  one  of  them  had  intended 
to  build ;  and,  moreover,  the  production  smells  a  little  of 
the  lamp ;  something  that  can  rarely  be  said  of  Randolph's 
"profuse  strains  of  unpremeditated  art";  but  the  words 
drafted  by  Randolph  are  nevertheless  pointed  enough  to 
merit  free  transcription : 

"The  honorable  gentleman,  who  dives  with  all  the  alacrity 
of  a  familiar  of  the  Inquisition  into  the  death-bed  thoughts  of 
other  men,  has  pronounced,  with  an  arrogance  unusual  even 
with  him,  that  I,  Sir,  am  never  to  be  blessed  with  any  of  those 
pledges  of  domestic  happiness  of  whose  true  value  he  knows 
so  little  as  to  expose  them  without  regard  to  the  delicacy  of  sex, 
or  to  the  tenderness  of  infancy  (a  piteous  spectacle),  to  the 
public  eye.  The  honorable  gentleman  has  heard  of  conjugal 
love  and  therefore,  talks  about  it;  but  it  is  plain  that  he  has 
never  felt  that  tender  and  ennobling  passion.  All  his  knowl- 
edge upon  this  subject  is  matter  of  hearsay,  not  of  feeling;  a 
cold  conception  of  the  head,  or  the  mere  impulse  of  appetite, 
and  not  a  generous  sentiment  of  the  heart.  But,  Sir,  what 
does  the  honorable  gentleman  mean?  I  shall  not  affect  to 
misunderstand  his  gross  and  beastly  allusion,  the  production 
not  indeed  of  twenty  years'  but  of  twenty-four  hours'  'lucu- 
brations.' There  is  no  necessity  to  strip  this  obscene  figure  of 
its  drapery,  for  it  has  not  even  the  covering  of  a  fig  leaf.  Does 
the  honorable  gentleman  mean  to  boast  here  in  this  place  a 
superiority  over  me  in  those  parts  of  our  nature  which  we  par- 
take in  common  with  the  brutes?     I  readily  yield  it  to  him. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  321 

I  doubt  not  his  animal  propensities  or  endowments.  He  has 
shown  that  of  the  noblest  gift  of  God  to  man  he,  with  the 
wretched  disciples  of  the  school  of  materialism,  comprehends 
so  much,  and  so  much  only,  as  is  physical  in  this  compound, 
heavenly  passion.  And  is  it  for  him  to  talk  of  'filth'  thrown 
upon  his  character  or  his  person?  And  is  it  for  any  such  man 
to  pronounce  of  any  language,  that  has  been,  or  that  can  be, 
uttered  on  this  floor  that  it  is  disorderly  or  unparliamentary, 
when  these  lewd  and  detestable  conceptions,  that  revolt  us  in 
the  indignant  pages  of  Juvenal,  are  not  only  endured  but  more 
than  tolerated,  not  in  the  constuprated  court  of  a  Tiberius,  a 
Nero  or  an  Heliogabulus,  not  in  the  City  of  Caprese,  or  the 
Grove  of  Daphne  but  in  the  Halls  of  an  American  Congress. 
This  Sir,  is  a  conflict,  (from  which  I  gladly  retire)  with  one  of 
those  animals  whose  effluvia  are  as  formidable  as  their  other 
powers  of  annoyance  are  despicable."1 

Much  less  elaborate  but  more  effective  was  the  reply 
which  Randolph  has  always  been  believed  in  Virginia  to 
have  made  to  another  person  who  sought  to  cast  upon  him 
the  same  reproach  as  Sheffey.  "You  pride  yourself  upon 
an  animal  faculty,  in  respect  to  which  the  negro  is  your 
equal  and  the  jackass  infinitely  your  superior. "  Another 
assailant  who  sought  to  wound  Randolph  in  the  same 
vulnerable  particular,  was  " Julius"  (Richard  Rush),  one 
paragraph  of  whose  exclamatory  tirade  reminds  us  of  the 
titter  with  which  James  Thomson's  ejaculatory  line 

"O!  Sophonisba,  Sophonisba,  O!" 

was  greeted  when  first  spoken  on  the  stage.  ' '  The  foun- 
tain of  man's  highest  transports  and  holiest  affections 
was,  alas !  unknown  to  him.  O !  heavy  malediction.  O ! 
sufficient  to  have  awakened  commiseration  for  his  lot, 
were  it  not  averted  by  the  sense  of  his  own  transgres- 
sions."2 

1  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

2  John  Randolph  at  Home  and  Abroad,  by  Julius,  p.  13. 

VOL.  II — 21 


322         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

And,  in  another  place,  overcome  with  what  he  conceived 
to  be  the  lack  of  usefulness  in  Randolph's  career,  Julius 
breaks  out,  this  time  not  so  inf elicit ously.  "All,  all  was 
sterility,  as  if  under  his  barren  star  there  could  be  no  off- 
spring. "* 

Still  another  assailant  of  the  same  kind  was  Tristam 
Burges,  of  Rhode  Island,  who  is  said  to  have  set  down 
Randolph  in  debate  on  one  occasion  as  "  hated  of  men  and 
scorned  by  women. " 2  (a)  Such  taunts  as  these,  of  course, 
belong  to  a  stage  of  human  development  when  sexual 
incompetency  was  a  reproach  as  well  as  a  misfortune ;  but, 
now  that  women  are  so  much  on  a  footing  of  parity  in 
every  respect  with  men,  it  is  hard  to  see  why  sterility 
should  be  a  source  of  sorrow  only  to  one  sex  but  impotence 
a  source  of  shame  as  well  as  of  sorrow  to  the  other ;  to  be 
resented,  when  imputed,  with  the  indignation  with  which 
Mrs.  Quickly  repelled  the  idea  that  she  was  not  an  "honest 
woman." 

That  Randolph  was  congenitally  impotent,  however, 
we  do  not  believe.  On  the  contrary,  we  entertain  no 
doubt  that  his  want  of  masculine  vigor  in  his  later  life  was 
caused  by  mumps  or  some  other  wasting  disease,3  and 
that,  in  his  early  life,  his  sexual  integrity  was  wholly  intact. 
In  the  discussion  of  this  topic,  stress  has  sometimes  been 
laid  upon  the  fact  that  Randolph  was  beardless ;  but  was 
he  beardless?  It  is  certain  at  all  events  that,  in  one  of  his 
communications  to  John  Randolph  Clay,  he  speaks  of 
having  been  in  the  habit  of  shaving  himself  when  he  was 
a  youth  in  Philadelphia.4  And  so,  in  the  same  manner, 
significance  is  also  sometimes  attached  to  the  fact  that  he 
had  a  soprano  voice.     But  a  feminine  voice  no  more  than 

1  John  Randolph  at  Home  and  Abroad,  by  Julius,  p.  20. 

a  The  Life  of  Thurlow  Weed,  by  Thurlow  Weed  Barnes,  v.  1,  382. 

3  The  Charlottesville  Progress,  Aug.  26,  19 18. 

4  Paper  headed  "June,  1830,"  and  "Memo,  of  Finances,"  Clay  Papers, 
Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  323 

a  feminine  face  necessarily  implies  impotence.  It  is 
incredible  that  a  man  as  incomplete  from  birth  as  Ran- 
dolph is  supposed  to  have  been  could  have  written  to  a 
youthful  companion  in  terms  of  ardent  attachment  about 
one  member  of  the  opposite  sex;  or  have  cherished  the 
deepest  gratitude  to  a  friend  for  extricating  him  from  an 
entanglement  with  another;  or  should  have  been  told  by 
a  cousin,  who  had  grown  up  in  the  same  family  circle  with 
him,  that  he  had  been  in  love  with  her;  or  should  have 
actually  become  engaged  to  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
women  of  his  time;  or  should  have  been  the  subject  of  an 
effort,  however  feeble,  by  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends 
to  bring  about  a  match  between  him  and  a  young  woman, 
or  even  should  have  given  expression  to  sensations  which 
nothing  but  amorous  desire  is  capable  of  producing;  yet 
all  these  things  Randolph  did.  When  in  his  eighteenth 
year,  he  wrote  to  his  friend  Henry  Rutledge:  "You  well 
know  my  sentiments  on  a  certain  subject.  They  are  still 
the  same.  A  pin  for  existence  without  her;  but  I  will 
drop  a  subject  which  never  fails  to  demand  the  tribute  of 
a  sigh. ' ' s  In  the  same  letter,  Randolph  said :  ' '  That  man 
who  is  possessed  of  the  religion  to  which  I  allude,  together 
with  a  competent  fortune,  a  sincere  friend,  a  refined  feel- 
ing, and  superior  to  them  all,  of  an  amiable  partner  of  his 
affections ;  that  man,  if  such  a  one  exists,  must  be  happy. " 
A  few  months  later,  Randolph  wrote  to  the  same 
friend : 

"I  hope,  my  dear  Rutledge,  that  you  have  recovered  of  the 
fever  by  which  you  were  so  incommoded  when  I  saw  you  last. 
I  am  afraid  that  some  cruel  fair  has  occasioned  this  disease.  If 
so,  I  advise  you  to  take  courage  and  hope  for  the  best;  or,  if 
matters  are  in  such  a  train  as  not  to  admit  of  any  hope,  to 
follow  your  own  advice  to  me,  or  rather  old  Syphax',  which 
you  quote  very  aptly,  'Let  a  second  mistress  light  up  another 
flame  and  put  out  this. '"2 

1  Feb.  24,  1791.  2  July  16,  1791. 


324        John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

The  inferences  suggested  by  such  confidences  as  these 
are  too  obvious  to  require  comment. 

The  author  of  the  sketch  of  Randolph  in  Appleton's 
Cyclopedia  of  American  Biography,  when  dwelling  upon 
his  youthful  life  in  Philadelphia,  says : 

"Among  his  unpublished  letters  are  several  that  indicate  a 
temporary  lapse  into  gambling  and  other  dissipations  about 
this  time;  and  suggest  an  estrangement,  if  not  indeed  a  mar- 
riage, in  Philadelphia  as  the  explanation  of  the  rupture  of  his 
engagement  with  the  famous  beauty,  Maria  Ward,  whose 
marriage  (to  Peyton,  only  son  of  Edmund  Randolph)  com- 
pleted the  tragedy  of  his  private  life."1 

A  tradition  to  this  effect  has  come  down  in  the  Tucker 
family  connection;  and  it  is  even  so  confident  as  to  de- 
clare that  the  woman  was  an  English  woman,  and  named 
Hester  Hargrave;  but,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  only  really 
substantial  and  authentic  evidence  upon  this  point  is  to 
be  found  in  an  unpublished  letter  from  Randolph  to  his 
niece. 

"You  know,"  he  wrote,  "that  Mr.  Bryan  and  myself  were 
bound  together  by  the  closest  ties,  but  I  never  told  you,  and 
meant  to  do  it  upon  paper,  what  was  the  basis  of  the  friendship 
that  made  us  as  one  soul  and  body.  I  saved  him  from  mar- 
riage, when  under  age,  with  a  woman  as  beautiful  as  the  morning 
who  was  in  the  best  society  in  Philadelphia,  but  whose  mother 
kept  a  boarding-house  and  knew  her  true  character.  One 
hour  more  would  have  consigned  my  friend  to  the  arms  of 
infamy.  I  rescued  him  at  the  hazard  of  my  life ;  for  I  am  satis- 
fied that  he  would  have  cut  my  throat,  if  I  had  not  established 
her  falsehood  to  him.  She  married  that  very  day  the  object 
of  her  real  attachment,  and  died  an  outcast  in  a  hospital  at 
Cadiz.  My  friend  forgot,  or  at  least  got  over,  his  boyish 
attachment  and,  after  a  second  escape  from  a  vixen  and 
coquette  in  1 799-1 800,  he  went  to  Europe,  returned,  and,  in 
1805,  married  a  beautiful  and  virtuous  woman,  the  mother  of 

'V.  5,  178. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  325 

two  sons  and  three  daughters  who  dedicated  her  widowhood 
from  18 12  until  1826,  when  she  died,  to  his  children.  To  me 
Mr.  Bryan  rendered  a  service  not  precisely  of  the  same  but 
somewhat  analogous  nature  of  which  some  day  or  other  I  will 
give  you  the  strange  history.  He  rescued  me  from  a  state  that 
must  have  driven  me  to  madness ;  to  worse  if  possible.  I  must 
end."1 

This  letter  was  written  five  years  before  Randolph's 
death,  and,  as  his  affectionate  intimacy  with  his  niece  con- 
tinued until  the  last  scrap  of  paper,  on  which  he  ever 
wrote  a  line,  dropped  from  his  nerveless  fingers,  he, 
doubtless,  redeemed  his  promise  to  her,  and,  in  that  way, 
handed  down  to  the  Grinnans,  her  descendants  of  our  own 
day,  the  tradition  which  we  have  mentioned.  There  are 
few  beloved  nieces,  we  imagine,  who  would  not  sit  in  the 
lap  of  a  gray-headed  uncle,  like  Vivien  in  the  lap  of  Merlin, 
until  she  had  wheedled  from  the  cells  of  his  memory  such 
a  secret  as  this. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Nancy  Randolph  in  her 
reply  to  Randolph  claimed  that  he  had  once  made  the 
approaches  of  a  lover  to  her;  and,  if  he  had  been  deficient 
in  the  full  measure  of  vital  energy  at  that  time,  the  nature 
of  her  reply  is  certainly  such  as  to  warrant  the  belief  that 
she  wTould  have  been  quick  to  give  additional  edge  to  her 
cutting  words  in  this  connection  by  at  least  a  veiled 
reference  to  the  physical  feature  of  Randolph's  body 
which,  for  the  purpose  of  paper  battles,  corresponded 
with  the  heel  of  Achilles.  In  consequence  of  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  true  Virginian  to  adopt  the  advice  that  was 
given  to  Uncle  Toby  by  the  father  of  Tristram  Shandy 
that  nothing  is  so  serious  as  love,  much  more  has  been 
made  of  Randolph's  engagement  to  Maria  Ward  than  the 
incident  really  justified.  Pretty  much  all  that  we  actually 
know  of  her  is  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  Mrs.  Benjamin 
Ward,  of  Winterpock,  in  Chesterfield  County ;  that  she  was 

1  Mar.  27,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 


326         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

a  superior  woman  in  point  of  personal  charms,  intelligence, 
and  character;  that  Randolph  became  engaged  to  her; 
that  for  some  reason  the  engagement  was  broken  off,  and 
that  she  became  the  wife  of  Peyton  Randolph,  the  son  of 
Edmund  Randolph,  Washington's  Attorney  General  and 
Secretary  of  State,  and  the  ancestress  of  more  than  one 
living  Virginian  who  has  honorably  met  the  obligations 
cast  upon  him  by  his  descent  from  her  and  her  husband. 
Why  the  engagement  was  broken  off  is  not  known;  but, 
so  far  as  we  are  aware,  the  mysterious  and  high-flown 
innuendoes  by  which  Garland  conveys  the  suggestion 
that  it  was  because  Randolph  was  physically  disqualified 
for  marriage  are  not  sustained  by  any  evidence.  Our  own 
belief  is  that  the  marriage  never  took  place  because  rumors 
of  the  affair  in  which  Randolph  had  become  involved  in 
Philadelphia,  that  perhaps  even  represented  it  as  amount- 
ing to  a  marriage,  came  to  the  ears  of  Maria  Ward  and  her 
mother  (then  Mrs.  General  Everard  Meade).  To  this 
belief  we  are  brought  not  only  by  the  intrinsic  probability 
of  the  idea  itself  under  the  circumstances,  but  by  a  letter 
to  Randolph  from  one  of  his  intimate  friends,  William 
Thompson. 

"Repose  on  thy  pillow,"  wrote  Thompson,  all  of  whose  little 
fishes  habitually  talked  like  big  whales,  "and  heed  not  the 
shafts  that  are  thrown  against  you.  The  world  has  not 
injured  me,  and  it  has  not  despised  you.  Mrs.  M.  [Meade] 
assured  me  that  in  your  honor  she  placed  the  most  implicit 

confidence.     When  you  communicate  with  M a  [Maria], 

as  probably  you  have  already  done,  she  will  declare  herself 
unaffected  by  this  tale  which  has  disturbed  your  peace.  I 
have  spoken  with  candor,  but  I  have  spoken  with  truth. 
Demand  the  author  and,  if  he  be  given  up,  you  will  find  it  a 
child.     The  time  of  telling  it  the  month  of  August. 

'Alas,  my  brother,  what  are  not  you  destined  to  suffer !  What 
tremendous  trials  of  fortitude  have  you  not  undergone !  In  the 
enthusiasm  of  friendship,  I  look  forward  to  your  happiness  and 


Randolph  as  a  Man  327 

each  day  brings  to  life  some  new  pang  which  is  unfeelingly 
inflicted.  Let  not  this  affair  make  too  deep  an  impression 
on  your  mind — command  my  circumstances  if  they  be  required ; 
for  be  assured  that  the  mind  which  personifies  irregularity  and 
want  of  system  in  the  affairs  of  the  world  is  nerved  to  act  with 
dauntless  energy  in  the  cause  of  my  brother."1 

Of  course,  this  sort  of  language  is  vague,  but  "the  tale, " 
to  which  it  refers,  hardly  points  to  such  a  thing  as  a  physi- 
cal impediment  to  marriage.  That  Randolph,  one  of  the 
proudest  and  least  designing  of  men,  should  have  been 
charged  by  the  tongue  of  scandal  with  an  intended 
imposture  which  was  certain  of  exposure  on  the  very  first 
night  of  marriage,  and  that  Mrs.  Meade  should  have  relied 
upon  Randolph's  honor  to  protect  her  daughter  against 
such  deceit  is  assuredly  an  hypothesis,  entirely  too*  bold 
to  be  accepted  except  in  the  total  absence  of  any  other 
plausible  one.  We  might  add  that  the  conclusion  to 
which  we  lean  coincides  with  that  which  the  late  Moncure 
Conway,  a  close  student  of  this  episode  in  Randolph's 
life,  was  inclined  to  adopt. 

"Does  it  not  seem,"  he  said,  in  a  letter  to  the  late  Joseph 
Bryan,  of  Richmond,  "there  must  have  been  a  previous  love 
affair  when  he  (Randolph)  was  in  Philadelphia  (1790-95),  and 
that  the  'tales'  (Garland  1,  182)  about  him  may  have  referred 
to  some  entanglement  and  been  the  means  of  breaking  off  the 
engagement  with  Maria  Ward?  The  rupture  has  generally 
been  ascribed,  I  know,  to  a  physical  cause,  but  I  have  always 
had  doubts  as  to  that."2 

And,  after  all,  what  more  natural  than  that  at  the  last 
moment  Maria  Ward  might  have  decided,  even  after  "the 
tale  "  had  been  cleared  up,  not  to  marry  Randolph  because 
of  misgivings  implanted  in  her  mind  by  his  eccentric 
character  and  habits  and  his  ill-regulated  temper? 

1  Garland,  v.  i,  182.  2  Jan.  27,  1888,  Bryan  MSS. 


328         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

That  the  image  of  Maria  Ward  remained  lastingly 
impressed  upon  Randolph's  mind  is  certain. 

"My  situation  has  been  for  sometime  past  (as  you  know)  a 
peculiar  one,"  he  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley  on  Nov.  15,  1807, 
which  was  about  seven  years  after  his  engagement  to  her  had 
been  broken  off.  "The  persons  (yourself  excepted)  from 
whom  I  had  deserved  most  highly;  to  whom  I  had  dedicated 
the  best  years  of  my  life,  had  withdrawn  their  confidence  from 
me.  To  one  of  these  [Judith  Randolph]  I  had  devoted  the 
prime  of  my  manhood;  another  (I  blush  to  tell  it!)  I  loved 
better  than  my  own  soul  or  Him  who  created  it!  [Maria 
Ward.]  What  I  merited  from  the  third  I  will  not  say.  Two 
of  them  had  descended  to  speak  injuriously  and  even  falsely 
(as  it  respected  one  of  these  two)  concerning  me.  My  heart 
was  wounded  to  the  very  core.  These  persons  have  since 
confessed  that  they  were  under  the  influence  of  paltry  irri- 
tations and  that,  in  their  dispassionate  moments,  they  never 
felt  or  expressed  a  thought  that  was  injurious  to  me.  An 
incident,  however,  of  disingenuousness  and  want  of  confidence, 
the  most  inexcusable,  has  lately  occurred  in  one  of  them,  or 
rather  the  knowledge  of  it  occurred  to  me;  for  the  matter  was 
of  some  years'  standing."1 

Words  like  these  plainly  import  reparable  injuries,  not 
irreparable  ones  founded  on  physical  facts  that  no  expla- 
nation or  apology  could  alter.  Later  on,  we  shall  quote  a 
still  bitterer  reference  to  the  disappointment  that  Ran- 
dolph's love  for  Maria  Ward  had  inflicted  upon  him. 
How  deeply  his  attachment  was  reciprocated  by  her  we 
have  nothing  but  his  own  testimony  to  tell  us.  He  is  said 
to  have  declared  on  one  occasion :  "I  loved,  aye,  and  was 
loved  again ;  not  wisely  but  too  well. " 2  Indeed,  we  know 
that  his  friend  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh  deprecated  the 
free  extent  to  which  Randolph  was  in  the  habit  of  giving 
expression  to  the  gratification  that  he  felt  at  having  once 
possessed  the  love  of  Maria  Ward.     As  to  the  true  state 

1  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  76.  a  Bouldin,  5. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  329 

of  her  feeling  towards  Randolph,  we  only  know,  apart 
from  his  own  testimony,  that  it  is  said  by  her  descendants 
that  she  felt  enough  interest  in  him  to  the  last  to  make  up 
a  package  of  his  love  letters  to  her,  and  formally,  on  her 
death-bed,  to  request  her  executors  to  preserve  them;  a 
request  which  it  is  said  that  they  had  too  much  of  the 
Virginian  squeamishness  about  the  sanctity  of  private 
correspondence  to  comply  with. 1  Randolph  was  so  richly 
endowed  with  imagination  and  sentiment  that  it  is  hard 
to  reconcile  ourselves  to  such  a  loss.  It  is  barely  possible, 
of  course,  that  a  man,  incapable  of  consummating  the 
marriage  rite,  might  seek  the  hand  of  a  lovely  woman  and 
marry  her,  or,  being  disappointed  of  marriage,  speak  of  his 
love  for  her  years  afterwards  in  words  of  glowing  passion; 
but  reasoning  deduced  from  such  solecisms  in  human  con- 
duct is  so  alien  to  Randolph's  character  and  position  in 
life  as  hardly  to  deserve  consideration. 

Joseph  H.  Nicholson  was  intimate  with  Randolph  in 
1 80 1  and,  as  a  member  of  the  House,  must  have  been 
brought  into  the  closest  contact  from  day  to  day  with 
Randolph's  colleagues  from  Virginia.  Surely,  if  such  a 
famous  man  as  Randolph  even  then  was  had  been  subject 
to  sexual  deformity  from  his  birth — a  thing  that  would 
certainly  have  become  known  to  every  servant  in  the 
Matoax  household,  and  to  every  white  or  negro  boy  with 
whom  he  ever  "went  in  washing,"  as  Virginia  boys  still 
say — they  would  have  heard  of  that  fact;  and  Nicholson 
too  through  them.  Yet  on  October  I,  1801,  we  find  Ran- 
dolph writing  to  Nicholson  in  terms  which  unmistakably 
indicate  that  Nicholson  had  selected  a  certain  person  as 
a  proper  wife  for  him  who  happened  to  be  an  object  of 
desire  to  some  gallant  major. 

"You  were  entirely  wrong  in  your  conjecture,"  Randolph 
wrote,  "alt ho  I  think  Miss  M.  a  fine  woman,  nay,  uncommonly 
1  Letter  from  Berkeley  Williams  to  the  Author,  dated  Sept.  5,  1919. 


330         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

so,  I  could  practice  without  any  forbearance  the  precept  of  my 
schoolmaster  on  this  occasion:  'Cede  majoribus,'  and,  if  you 
will  excuse  the  pun,  I  assure  you  that  'his  mayoralty'  has 
naught  to  fear  from  my  quarter  if  his  pretensions  lie  that  way. 
I  would  hardly  answer  as  much  for  his  advanced  age  and  some 
other  little  etceteras."1 

Scattered,  too,  through  Randolph's  letters  are  expres- 
sions that  could  hardly  have  dropped  from  the  pen  of  a 
man  who  did  not  at  least  have  recollections  of  erotic 
sensations  which  nothing  but  Love,  the  physical  brother 
of  Food,  Drink,  and  Sleep,  as  well  as  the  spiritual  mother 
of  some  of  the  purest,  tenderest,  and  loftiest  emotions  of 
the  human  soul,  can  kindle  in  the  human  frame.  For 
illustration,  in  a  letter  to  Theodore  Dudley,  Randolph 
moralized  in  this  fashion : 

"Rely  upon  it  that  to  love  a  woman  as  'a  mistress,'  although 
a  delicious  delirium,  an  intoxication  far  surpassing  that  of 
champagne,  is  altogether  unessential,  nay  pernicious,  in  the 
choice  of  a  wife;  which  a  man  ought  to  set  about  in  his  sober 
senses — choosing  her  as  Mrs.  Primrose  did  her  wedding  gown 
for  qualitities  that  'wear  well. '"2 

Randolph  might  have  stolen  the  pipe  of  Pan,  but  could 
he  have  sounded  a  note  like  this,  unless  he  had  previously 
stolen  some  of  Pan's  fruitful  fire  too? 

And  is  it  possible  that  Joseph  Bryan,  who  shared  Ran- 
dolph's early  dissipations  in  Philadelphia,  roomed  with 
him,  and  was  united  to  him  by  ties  of  devoted  friendship, 
"body  and  soul,"  to  use  Randolph's  phrase,  could  have 
written  such  words  as  these  to  Randolph  about  his  wife 
and  the  mother  of  John  Randolph  Bryan,  Randolph's 
godson,  if  Randolph  had  not  been  able  in  his  early  man- 
hood at  any  rate  to  feel  with  Coleridge  that 

*Oct.  I,  1801,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 
2  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  252. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  33  * 

"All  thoughts,  all  passions,  all  delights, 
What  ever  stirs  this  mortal  frame, 
All  are  but  ministers  of  love 
And  serve  to  feed  his  sacred  flame." 

"Your  facsimile  Randolph  is  said  by  my  wife  to  be  a  prodigy. 
I  can  pass  no  opinion,  for  my  deafness  prevents  my  hearing  his 
performance.  I  regret  it  very  much  on  that  account.  I  can 
pass  tolerably  well  in  company;  indeed,  I  believe  my  hearing 
is  nearly  as  good  as  when  I  was  in  Washington,  but  it  is  not 
equal  to  the  small  tenor  of  an  infant  voice.  If  you  had  not 
been  far  removed  at  a  certain  period,  I  should  have  supposed 
the  possibility  of  acting  Othello.     Come  and  see  him."1 

Nor  should  we  forget  in  fixing  the  degree  of  responsi- 
bility to  which  Randolph's  infirmities  of  temper  should  be 
held  that  his  mind  was  at  certain  periods  of  his  life  posi- 
tively deranged ;  and  at  others  so  nearly  so  that  it  was  hard 
to  say  whether  his  mental  condition  was  normal  or  not ; 
for  rarely  has  any  human  being  ever  furnished  a  more 
striking  illustration  of  the  saying  that  great  wits  to  mad- 
ness are  near  allied. 

A  special  study  of  the  manner  in  which  his  mind  occa- 
sionally slipped  its  cogs  might,  it  seems  to  us,  prove  an 
instructive  task  for  an  alienist.  It  never  crumbled  as 
something  crumbles  when  it  has  been  slowly  decomposed ; 
nor  did  it  ever  fly  to  pieces  like  something  that  has  been 
revolved  too  rapidly.  Even  at  a  time  after  his  return  from 
Russia,  when  he  was  manifestly  mad,  he  had  the  practical 
sense  to  negotiate  successfully  for  the  purchase  of  a  tract 
of  land  that  belonged  to  one  of  his  Roanoke  neighbors — ■ 
Elisha  Hundley.2  His  conversation  was  never  more 
brilliant  than  it  often  was  when  it  was  perfectly  plain  to 
his  companion  that  his  wits  were  disordered.3    (a)     His 

'Mar.  i,  1 812,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Depositions  in  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir. 
Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va. 
>Id. 


332         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

mind  seemed  to  get  away  from  him  as  a  horse  sometimes 
passes  from  the  control  of  his  rider  that  begins  to  gallop 
in  an  entirely  natural  manner;  but,  spurred  more  and 
more  by  the  excitement  that  he  generates  in  his  own 
nervous  system  as  he  moves,  finally  flies  off  at  what  we 
call  a  mad  rate  of  speed,  which  continues  until  both  limb 
and  wind  succumb  to  exhaustion ;  slowly  succeeded  in  turn 
by  the  restoration  of  former  conditions,  (a)  Letters  have 
come  down  to  us  that  were  written  by  Randolph  in  all 
sorts  of  mental  states ;  some  when  his  general  conduct  was 
such  as  to  establish  irrefragably  his  insanity;  but  it  was 
only  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Virginia  Constitutional 
Convention  that  he  lost  at  intervals  his  marvelous  gift  for 
terse,  vivid  expression  and  fell  to  chattering  like  poor 
Ophelia.  Here  is  a  high-wrought  letter  to  Elizabeth  T. 
Coalter  plainly  written  when  his  spirits  were  unnaturally 
exalted,  and  his  eye  was  glistening  with  cerebral  fever,  but 
his  brain  was  still  serviceably  steady : 

"Saturday,  March  25,  1826. 

"My  dear  Child. 

"This  is  possibly  the  last  letter  that  you  shall  receive  from  me 
until  I  am  liberated  from  my  prison-house.  Nine  hours  quill 
driving  per  day  is  too  much.  I  give  up  all  my  correspondents 
for  a  time,  even  your  Uncle  Henry.  I  must  not  kill  myself 
outright.  Business,  important  business,  now  demands  every 
faculty  of  my  soul  and  body.  If  I  fail,  if  I  perish,  I  shall  have 
fallen  in  a  noble  cause — not  the  cause  of  my  country  only  but  a 
dearer  one  even  than  that — the  cause  of  my  friend  and  col- 
league [Tazewell].  Had  he  been  here,  I  should  never  have 
suffered  and  done  what  I  have  done  and  suffered  for  his  sake ; 
and  what  I  would  not  undergo  again  for  anything  short  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven.  You  mistake  my  character  altogether. 
I  am  not  ambitious;  I  have  no  thirst  for  power.  That  is 
ambition.  Or  for  the  fame  that  newspapers  etc.  can  confer. 
There  is  nothing  worldly  worth  having  (save  a  real  friend  and 
that  I  have  had)  but  the  love  of  an  amiable  and  sensible  woman ; 
one  who  loves  with    heart  and  not  with  her  head  out  of 


Randolph  as  a  Man  333 

romances  and  plays.  That  I  once  had.  It  is  gone  never  to 
return,  and  it  changed  and  became — my  God!  To  what  vile 
uses  do  we  come  at  last!  I  now  refer  you  to  the  scene  in 
Shakespeare,  first  part  of  Henry  IV  at  Warworth  Castle,  where 
Lady  Percy  comes  in  upon  Hotspur  who  had  been  reading  the 
letter  of  his  candid  friend.  Read  the  whole  of  it  from  the 
soliloquy  to  the  end  of  it.  'This  (I  borrow  his  words)  is  no 
world  to  play  with  mammets  and  to  tilt  with  lips.'  It  is  for 
fribbles  and  Narcissus  and  [illegible],  idle  worthless  drones  who 
encumber  the  lap  of  society,  who  never  did  and  never  will  do 
anything  but  admire  themselves  in  a  glass,  or  look  at  their 
own  legs ;  it  is  for  them  to  skulk  when  friends  and  country  are 
in  danger.  Hector  and  Hotspur  must  take  the  field  and  go  to 
the  death.  The  volcano  is  burning  me  up  and,  as  Calanthe 
died  dancing,  so  may  I  die  speaking.  But  my  country  and  my 
friends  shall  never  see  my  back  in  the  field  of  danger  or  the 
hour  of  death.  Continue  to  write  to  me  but  do  not  expect  an 
answer  until  my  engagements  of  duty  are  fulfilled."1 

It  would  seem  that  Randolph's  mind  never  became 
really  demented  before  the  year  1818;  though  in  the  very 
beginning  of  his  political  career  his  bearing  was  occasion- 
ally so  peculiar  as  to  suggest  the  idea  to  others  that  it  was 
unhinged.  Nor  should  the  fact  be  overlooked  that  Dr. 
Samuel  Merry  testified  in  the  Randolph  will  litigation 
that  Randolph  was  deranged  for  several  weeks  at  Roanoke 
ini8nori8i2.2  Indeed,  in  that  litigation  the  testimony 
of  Dr.  Robinson,  who,  however,  had  formed  a  personal 
grudge  against  Randolph,  went  almost  to  the  point  of 
saying  that  the  latter  was  out  of  his  mind  on  each  of  the 
three  or  four  occasions  between  18 10  and  18 19  when  he 
met  him.  But  in  18 18,  just  after  the  dreadful  attack  of 
illness  which  for  years  afterwards  furnished  Randolph 
with  his  low  water-mark  when  he  was  noting  fluctuations 
in  his  health,  Randolph  was  certainly  not  himself.     In 

1  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 


334         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

1820,  when  his  extravagant  conduct  at  the  funeral  of 
Commodore  Stephen  Decatur  attracted  general  attention, 
his  mental  faculties  were  beyond  doubt  gravely  affected. 
In  the  month  of  April  in  that  year  he  walked  into  the 
United  States  Branch  Bank  at  Richmond  and  asked  for 
writing  materials  with  which  to  make  out  a  check.  When 
they  were  given  to  him,  he  dipped  his  pen  in  the  ink  and, 
finding  that  it  was  black,  asked  for  red  ink,  saying,  "I 
now  go  for  blood."  He  filled  the  check  up  and  asked 
Mr.  Anderson,  the  bank  cashier,  to  sign  it.  Mr.  Anderson 
refused,  and,  after  importuning  him  for  some  time  to 
change  his  mind,  Randolph  called  for  black  ink,  and  signed 
John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  X,  his  mark.  He  then  called 
for  the  porter  and  sent  the  check  to  a  Mr.  Taylor's  for  the 
purpose  of  paying  an  account.  ' 

"One  day,"  says  Mr.  Anderson,  "I  was  passing  along  the 
street  when  Mr.  Randolph  hailed  me  in  a  louder  voice  than 
usual.  The  first  question  he  asked  me  was  whether  I  knew  of  a 
good  ship  in  the  James  River  in  which  he  could  get  a  passage 
for  England.  I  told  him  there  were  no  ships  here  fit  for  his 
accommodation ;  and  that  he  had  better  go  to  New  York  and 
sail  from  that  port.  'Do  you  think,'  said  he,  'I  would  give  my 
money  to  those  who  are  ready  to  make  my  negroes  cut  my 
throat — if  I  cannot  go  to  England  from  a  Southern  port  I  will 
not  go  at  all.'  I  then  endeavored  to  think  of  the  best  course 
for  him  to  take  and  told  him  there  was  a  ship  in  the  river.  He 
asked  the  name  of  the  ship.  I  told  him  it  was  the  Henry  Clay. 
He  threw  up  his  arms  and  exclaimed:  'Henry  Clay!  No,  sir! 
I  will  never  step  on  the  planks  of  a  ship  of  that  name !'  He 
then  appointed  to  meet  me  at  the  bank  at  9  o'clock.  He 
came  at  the  hour,  drew  several  checks,  exhausted  his  funds 
in  the  bank  and  asked  me  for  a  settlement  of  his  account,  say- 
ing he  had  no  longer  any  confidence  in  the  State  Banks  and 
not  much  in  the  Bank  of  the  United  States;  and  that  he  would 
draw  all  his  funds  out  of  the  bank  and  put  them  in  English 
guineas — that  there  was  no  danger  of  them."2 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  137.  2  Ibid. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  335 

Testifying  in  the  Randolph  will  litigation  as  to  the 
difference  between  the  insanity  of  Randolph  in  1818  and 
1820  and  his  insanity  in  1831  and  1832,  Judge  Leigh 
said: 

"There  were  two  previous  periods  when  I  had  seen  him  as  I 
thought  out  of  his  mind — the  first  was,  I  think,  in  1818  and  the 
second  the  summer  after  the  death  of  Commodore  Decatur, 
which  was,  I  believe,  in  1820.  In  the  first  period,  his  derange- 
ment seemed  to  be  an  extreme  religious  excitement,  and, 
although  I  believe  his  mind  was  disordered,  yet  I  doubt 
whether  he  was  then  incompetent  to  manage  his  affairs  or  to 
make  a  will.  He  was  during  this  period  remarkably  mild  in 
his  manners  and  seemed  most  anxious  to  bring  about  a  re- 
conciliation with  all  with  whom  he  had  a  difference;  and  he 
was  much  more  attentive  to  the  management  of  his  negroes 
and  plantation  than  I  ever  knew  him  to  be  at  any  other  period 
before  or  since.  He  seemed  to  have  laid  aside  or  mastered  all 
the  asperity  of  his  character,  nor  do  I  know,  nor  have  I  heard, 
that  he  exhibited  during  this  period  any  violent  passion  but 
on  two  occasions.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  I  heard  he  took 
offence  at  a  stranger  who,  at  his  table,  proposed  to  buy  of  him 
one  of  his  servants  who  was  waiting  on  the  table,  and  that 
then  he  exhibited  the  extremity  of  passion;  threatening  and 
perhaps  attempting  to  shoot  the  man.  Mr.  Edward  Cabell 
was,  according  to  the  information  I  have  received,  then 
present.  And,  in  October  in  the  same  year  in  Lynchburg,  he 
exhibited  violent  resentment  towards  Mr.  Christopher  Clark. 
During  the  same  period,  as  I  have  heard  and  have  no  doubt,  he 
used  to  collect  his  negroes  together  on  Sunday  and  read  to 
them  portions  of  the  Bible  which  he  endeavored  to  explain  to 
them  by  verbal  remarks.  And,  during  the  same  period,  when- 
ever I  was  at  his  house,  he  had  prayers,  night  and  morning,  at 
which  his  house  servants  were  always  present.  The  disorder 
of  his  mind  in  1820  was,  in  my  opinion,  much  more  obvious, 
and  was  of  a  totally  different  character — exhibiting  at  almost 
all  times  angry  and  vindictive  feelings,  with  few  exceptions, 
against  most  of  his  acquaintances  and  persons  with  whom  he 
had  any  intercourse.     And,  during  the  height  of  the  malady, 


336         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

I  did  not  then,  nor  do  I  now,  think  he  was  competent  to  do  any 
important  business. ' ' l 

Thomas  H.  Benton  testified  in  the  Randolph  will  litiga- 
tion that  during  the  winter  of  1821  to  1822  he  saw  in 
Randolph  "indications  of  high  excitement  and  of  unsettled 
mind,  amounting  as  he  believed  to  mental  alienation. " 
The  tokens  of  mental  unsoundness,  he  thought,  "were 
extreme  talking,  sleeplessness,  and  giving  undue,  or  even 
mysterious,  importance  to  trifles. " 

"He  talked  almost  incessantly,"  Benton  declared.  "I 
remember  a  particular  instance  of  seven  hours  at  a  time — from 
4  in  the  afternoon  until  II  at  night.  His  talk  was  always 
beautiful  and  brilliant,  but  out  of  place,  and  too  much  of  it, 
and  wholly  different  from  what  it  had  been  the  winter  before."2 

Benton  further  testified  that,  when  Randolph  returned 
from  England  in  1822,  he  was  "calm,  self-possessed,  poised, 
everything  right,  natural,  and  proper."3  Referring  to 
Randolph's  chronic  ill-health,  and  to  his  testimony  in  the 
will  case,  Benton  also  makes  these  additional  observations 
on  his  sanity  in  his  Thirty  Years'  View: 

"Such  life-long  suffering  must  have  its  effect  on  the  temper 
and  on  the  mind;  and  it  had  on  his,  bringing  the  temper  often 
to  the  querulous  mood  and  the  state  of  his  mind  sometimes  to 
the  question  of  insanity — a  question  which  became  judicial 
after  his  death  when  the  validity  of  his  will  came  to  be  con- 
tested. I  had  my  opinion  on  the  point  and  gave  it  responsibly 
in  a  deposition,  duly  taken  to  be  read  on  the  trial  of  the  will, 
and  in  which  a  belief  in  his  insanity  at  several  specified  periods 
was  fully  expressed ;  with  the  reasons  for  the  opinion.  I  had 
good  opportunities  of  forming  an  opinion;  living  in  the  same 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

2  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

3  Ibid. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  337 

house  with  him  several  years;  having  his  confidence  and  seeing 
him  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night.  It  also  on  several 
occasions  became  my  duty  to  study  the  question  with  a  view 
to  govern  my  own  conduct  under  critical  circumstances. 
Twice  he  applied  to  me  to  carry  challenges  for  him.  It  would 
have  been  inhuman  to  have  gone  out  with  a  man  not  in  his 
right  mind,  and  critical  to  one's  self,  as  any  accident  on  the 
ground  might  seriously  compromise  the  second.  My  opinion 
was  fixed  of  occasional  temporary  aberrations  of  mind;  and, 
during  such  periods,  he  would  do  and  say  strange  things,  but 
always  in  his  own  way,  not  only  method  but  genius  in  his 
fantasies ;  nothing  to  bespeak  a  bad  heart  but  only  exaltation 
and  excitement.  The  most  brilliant  talk  that  I  ever  heard 
from  him  came  forth  on  such  occasions — a  flow  for  hours  (at  one 
time  7  hours)  of  copious  wit  and  classic  allusion — a  perfect 
scattering  of  the  diamonds  of  the  mind.  I  heard  a  friend 
remark  on  one  of  these  occasions:  'He  has  wasted  intellectual 
jewelry  enough  here  this  evening  to  equip  many  speakers  for 
great  orations.'  I  once  sounded  him  on  the  delicate  point  of 
his  own  opinion  of  himself;  of  course,  when  he  was  in  a  per- 
fectly natural  state,  and  when  he  had  said  something  to  permit 
an  approach  to  such  a  subject.  It  was  during  his  last  visit  to 
Washington  two  winters  before  he  died.  It  was  in  my  room, 
in  the  gloom  of  the  evening  light,  as  the  day  was  going  out, 
and  the  lamps  not  lit — no  one  present  but  ourselves — he 
reclining  on  a  sofa,  silent  and  thoughtful,  speaking  but  seldom 
and  I  only  in  reply,  I  heard  him  repeat,  as  if  to  himself,  these 
lines  from  Johnson  (which  in  fact  I  had  often  heard  from  him 
before)  on  'Senility  and  Imbecility,'  which  show  us  life  under 
its  most  melancholy  forms : 

" '  In  life's  last  scenes,  what  prodigies  surprise! 
Fears  of  the  brave  and  follies  of  the  wise. 
From  Marlborough's  eyes  the  streams  of  dotage  flow, 
And  Swift  expires  a  driv'ller  and  a  show!' 

When  he  had  thus  repeated  these  lines,  which  he  did  with  deep 
feeling,  and  in  slow  and  measured  cadence,  I  deemed  it  excus- 
able to  make  a  remark  of  a  kind  which  I  had  never  ventured  on 

VOL.  11—22 


338         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

before,  and  said:  'Mr.  Randolph,  I  have  several  times  heard 
you  repeat  these  lines  as  if  they  could  have  an  application  to 
yourself,  while  no  person  can  have  less  reason  to  fear  the  fate 
of  Swift. '  I  said  this  to  sound  him  and  to  see  what  he  thought 
of  himself.  His  answer  was:  'I  have  lived  in  dread  of  insan- 
ity.' That  answer  was  the  opening  of  a  sealed  book — revealed 
to  me  the  source  of  much  mental  agony  that  I  had  seen  him 
undergo.  I  did  deem  him  in  danger  of  the  fate  of  Swift,  and 
from  the  same  cause,  as  judged  by  his  latest  and  greatest 
biographer,  Sir  Walter  Scott."1 

An  interesting  note  to  a  part  of  these  words  might  be 
made  of  the  fact  that,  in  a  letter  to  Judge  Brooke,  Henry 
Clay,  after  his  duel  with  Randolph  in  1826,  said  that  the 
only  thing  which  had  made  him  hesitate  about  challenging 
Randolph  was  his  misgivings  as  to  Randolph's  sanity.2 
More  than  one  expression  in  Randolph's  letters  bears  out 
the  idea  that  he  carried  about  with  him  a  brooding  fear  of 
insanity;  and,  when  he  had  recovered  from  one  of  his 
spells  of  mental  aberration,  no  one  was  more  cognizant 
than  he  of  what  his  true  condition  had  been.  Dr.  Thomas 
Robinson  testified  in  the  Randolph  will  litigation  that, 
when  Randolph  passed  through  Petersburg  in  1833  on  his 
way  to  Philadelphia,  he  told  the  doctor  that,  since  the 
latter  had  last  seen  him,  he  had  been  "stark  mad,  as  well 
entitled  to  a  cell  in  Swift's  hospital  as  anyone  who  had 
ever  occupied  one";  and  "that  he  felt  conscious  that  he 
had  not  entirely  recovered  as  yet,  but  confident  of  ulti- 
mate and  perfect  recovery.  "3 

In  the  year  1826,  Randolph  was  again  overtaken  by  the 
foul  fiend  who  pursued  him  (to  use  his  own  phrase).  It 
was  in  that  year  that  he  made  the  long  and  multifarious, 
though    brilliant,    and,    in    some    instances,    sagacious, 

'V.  1,  p.  473- 

2  Life  &  Times  of  Henry  Clay,  by  Calvin  Colton,  v.  2,  262. 

3  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  339 

speeches  in  the  Senate  which  helped  his  party  enemies  in 
the  Virginia  Legislature  to  compass  his  defeat,  as  a  candi- 
date for  re-election.  As  usual,  his  loss  of  mind  was  con- 
comitant with  a  very  low  state  of  physical  health.  On 
Feb.  27,1 826,  he  said  in  a  letter :  -  •  The  fever  and  the  toast 
and  water  (I  touch  nothing  else)  keeps  me  more  intoxi- 
cated (exhilarated  rather)  than  two  bottles  of  champagne." 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that,  when  testifying  in  the  Randolph 
will  litigation,  no  recognition  could  be  extorted  from  John 
C.  Calhoun  of  the  fact  that  Randolph  had  ever  been  sub- 
ject to  spells  of  insanity.  The  dark  future  of  the  South 
had  been  irradiated  by  several  of  Randolph's  speeches  too 
warningly  for  a  man,  to  whom  that  future  meant  so  much, 
to  push  Randolph  aside  as  a  crack-brained  Cassandra. 
"Mr.  Randolph,"  Calhoun  said,  "was  generally  regarded 
as  a  man  of  remarkable  genius  and  great  brilliancy,  with 
uncommon  sagacity  and  keenness  in  debate,  and  distin- 
guished colloquial  powers."  Calhoun  further  testified 
that  he  had  no  recollection  of  any  act  or  word  of  Randolph 
which  induced  him  to  suspect  him  of  insanity,  or  of  such 
aberrations  of  mind,  permanent  or  occasional,  as  would 
incapacitate  him  to  make  a  will  or  contract  or  to  manage 
his  private  affairs.  The  most  that  he  could  say  was  that 
Randolph  was  more  excited  at  some  periods  than  at  others ; 
more  so  than  was  usual  with  most  men ;  that  he  was  most 
excited  about  the  period  of  the  death  of  Commodore  De- 
catur (in  1820)  and  during  the  discussion  of  the  Panama 
Question  in  the  Senate  during  the  session  of  1825-26 
(when  Calhoun  presided  over  the  Senate  as  Vice-President, 
and  sat  as  motionless  as  a  figure  of  bronze  or  marble,  while 
Randolph  was  speaking  hour  after  hour).  But  Calhoun 
also  testified  that  he  had  never,  as  he  recollected,  had 
any  correspondence  with  Randolph  except  in  the  form 
of  casual  and  ordinary  notes;  that  the  intercourse  be- 
tween him  and  Randolph  generally  was  as  a  rule  not 
more  intimate  than  that  which  usually  exists  between 


34°         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

persons  standing  in  similar  official  and  political  rela- 
tions, and  was,  therefore,  of  a  nature  to  afford  him  but  few 
opportunities  for  observing  his  peculiar  character,  temper, 
habits  of  life  and  deportment  towards  his  personal  friends 
other  than  such  as  were  afforded  by  such  relations. * 

The  dementia  of  1826  culminated,  during  that  year, 
when  Randolph  was  at  sea,  on  his  way  to  England,  in  a 
scandalous  altercation  between  him  and  Captain  Baldwin 
of  the  packet-ship,  Alexander,  which  got  into  the  news- 
papers, and,  doubtless,  did  his  standing  as  an  United 
States  Senator  no  little  harm. 

One  night,  the  Captain  found  him  upon  deck,  conversing 
with  Mr.  Matthews,  the  second  mate.  In  a  newspaper 
statement,  Randolph  said  that  the  first  intimation  that  he 
had  of  the  Captain's  presexice  was  an  "abrupt,  angry,  and 
insolent  reprimand  for  violating  the  discipline  of  the 
ship  by  speaking  to  the  officer  on  watch  " ;  which,  with  the 
proper  allowance  for  a  nature  that  readily  magnified 
social  offenses,  was,  doubtless,  true  enough,  if  Randolph 
was  not  too  distracted  at  the  time  to  remember  the  cir- 
cumstances accurately;  for  the  salt  ocean  and  not  rose- 
water,  as  we  all  know,  is  the  element  on  which  the  autocrat 
of  the  quarter-deck  sails;  and  that  this  sea-dog  was  as 
jealous  of  his  authority  as  most  members  of  his  class  is 
attested  by  the  fact  that,  in  his  newspaper  reply  to  Ran- 
dolph, he  made  distinctly  more  than  he  might  have  done 
of  Randolph's  answer  to  his  threat  to  make  him  respon- 
sible to  him  when  they  got  ashore,  "Barking  dogs  do  not 
bite."  But  it  is  only  just  to  Captain  Baldwin  to  recall 
exactly  what  he  had  to  say  about  Randolph  on  this  voyage 
in  his  statement;  nor  ought  it  to  discredit  Randolph  to  do 
so;  because,  on  the  whole  voyage,  his  manifestations  of 
mental  irresponsibility  were  such  as  to  remind  us  with 
singular  precision  of  some  of  the  forms  that  his  insanity 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  341 

assumed  during  the  winter  of  1831-1832.  The  Captain 
says  that,  before  the  Alexander  sailed  from  Newcastle, 
Randolph  refused  to  pay  any  steamboat  fare  to  Philadel- 
phia because  he  had  been  taken  to  Philadelphia  against 
his  will ;  that  this  fare  was  actually  paid  by  one  of  Ran- 
dolph's fellow-passengers  "to  prevent  difficulty  or  deten- 
tion"; that,  no  sooner  had  Randolph  gained  the  deck  of 
the  Alexander  at  Newcastle,  than  he  proceeded  to  give 
vent  to  the  irritation  awakened  in  him  by  hearing  one 
passenger  ask  another  whether  Mr.  Randolph  had  paid 
his  steamboat  fare;  that,  when  Randolph  got  to  sea,  his 
querulous  disposition  manifested  itself  in  such  a  variety 
of  ways  as  to  defy  description;  that  it  mainly  exhibited 
itself  in  contradiction,  severity  of  remark,  profanity, 
vulgarity,  and  even  obscenity;  that,  indeed,  as  regards  the 
latter,  such  was  his  language  that  the  two  gentlemen  pas- 
sengers, who  had  their  families  with  them,  actually  desired 
the  Captain  to  have  a  separate  table  for  the  ladies  in  their 
own  cabin;  and  that  the  Captain  was  obliged  to  assure 
them  that,  if  Randolph  did  not  mend  his  manners,  he 
should  have  another  apartment  and  table  for  his  own 
private  use.  Captain  Baldwin,  after  thus  cleverly  pre- 
venting Randolph  from  making  an  isolated  occurrence  of 
his  colloquy  with  him,  takes  up  that  incident  in  these 
words : 

14  Out  of  such  conduct,  which  was  either  alienation  of  mind  or 
influence  of  drink,  grew  the  affair  on  deck,  which  he  (Randolph) 
has  so  generously  requested  should  be  taken  and  judged  by 
itself  without  any  irrelevant  matter.  This  irrelevant  matter  is 
nothing  more  or  less  than  general  abuse  of  everything  and 
everybody.  It  was  his  custom  to  go  upon  deck  late  at  night, 
and  there  interfere  with  the  discipline  of  the  ship  by  diverting 
the  attention  of  officers,  helmsmen  and  watch;  a  practice  which 
neither  master  nor  passengers,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes, 
will  approve;  nor,  while  I  am  governed  by  my  present  views 
of  duty  to  my  owners,  my  passengers  and  myself,   will  I 


342  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

permit.  On  this  occasion,  I  politely  requested  him  not  to  do 
so,  and  was  treated  in  the  vulgar  manner  he  has  publicly 
acknowledged.  The  officer  of  the  deck  afterwards  told  me  he 
remained  in  the  precise  position  I  left  him  for  half  an  hour 
with  a  large  hunting  knife  in  his  hand ;  and  I  was  also  told  that 
he  said  in  the  ladies'  cabin  that  but  for  the  presence  of  the 
officer  and  helmsman  he  would  have  ripped  the  Captain 
up." 

Captain  Baldwin  also  stated  that  all  his  passengers, 
except  Randolph,  expressed  their  desire,  as  soon  as  the 
Alexander  should  arrive  at  Liverpool,  to  sign  a  paper, 
declaring  their  entire  satisfaction  with  his  conduct 
throughout  the  affair.1 

It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that,  even  when  Ran- 
dolph was  not  actually  demented,  his  mind  was  often 
acidulated  by  the  bitter  despondency  which  frequently 
precedes  or  follows  dementia.  It  was  at  remote  and  iso- 
lated Roanoke,  where  there  was  little  to  divert  his  atten- 
tion from  his  physical  and  mental  suffering,  where  the 
dense  primeval  woods  shut  in  the  two  rude  habitations  in 
which  he  lived  like  prison  walls,  where  the  foxes,  hares, 
squirrels,  and  hermit  thrushes  came  up  fearlessly  to  his 
very  windows,  and  the  click  of  a  fly-catcher's  mandibles, 
closing  down  on  an  insect  in  midair,  could  be  heard  on  a 
quiet  summer  afternoon  many  feet  away,  that  he  was 
most  frequently  a  prey  to  the  deepest  dejection  and  the 
darkest  misanthropy.  In  the  whole  range  of  prose 
literature,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anyone  who  has  ever 
played  upon  the  single  string  of  human  misery  with  so 
many  variations  as  he  does  in  his  letters.  In  that  field  of 
performance,  with  his  acute  sensibility,  his  fertile  fancy, 
and  his  vivid  imagination  he  is  a  Paganini  unapproached 
and  unapproachable. 

Poor  Roanoke!  seated  in  a  rolling  and  picturesque 
country,  on  one  of  the  hills  overlooking  the  Staunton 

1  Niles  Reg.,  v.  7  (3rd  Series,)  pp.  19-20. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  343 

River,  which  Randolph  called  the  Brown  Mountains,1 
in  contrast  with  the  Blue  Ridge  of  his  Piedmontese  friend, 
Francis  W.  Gilmer,  and  maintained  by  an  extensive  and 
fertile  estate,  it  might  with  a  woman's  touch,  the  voices 
of  children,  and  the  blessings  of  health  have  been  a  happy 
home,  even  though  the  nearest  post -office  to  it — Charlotte 
Court  House — was  12  or  13  miles  away,  and  Richmond 
a  three  days'  journey.  Replying  to  a  letter,  in  which 
Randolph  had  given  him  a  description  of  his  log-cabin 
and  the  forest  around  it,  Francis  Scott  Key,  weary  with 
the  drudgery  and  the  chicane  of  the  bar,  said : 

"I  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  painting  you  have  given 
me  of  Roanoke — laudat  diversa  sequentes.  To  me  it  seemed 
just  such  a  shelter  as  I  should  wish  to  creep  under, 

"'A  boundless  contiguity  of  shade, 
Where  rumor  of  oppression  and  deceit 
Might  never  reach  me  more.'"2 

But  these  were  not  the  feelings  of  a  man  who  was  such 
a  sufferer  that,  for  a  large  part  of  his  life,  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  be  at  peace  anywhere.  On  Dec.  21,  18 19, 
Randolph  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley  from  Washington: 

"I  would  be  glad  to  hear  something  of  my  affairs  at  home; 
although  I  left  it  without  a  desire  ever  to  see  it  again.  For 
the  first  time  in  my  life,  a  vague  idea  of  quitting  it  forever 
floated  through  my  mind — one  that  my  engagements  will 
probably  forbid  me  to  execute.  I  would  not  leave  it 
dishonorably."3 

Some  16  months  later,  Randolph  wrote  to  the  same 
correspondent : 

"You  speak  of  my  leaving  this  place  as  if  it  were  in  my  power 
to  do  it  at  will.     Unless  I  could  find  a  purchaser  for  it,  I  must 

1  Letter  to  Francis  W.  Gilmer,  Roanoke,  July  2,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Garland,  v.  2,  11.  3  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  208. 


344         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

remain  a  prisoner  here,  probably  for  the  brief  remainder  of  my 
life.  Although  entirely  unable  to  attend  to  my  affairs,  I  have 
twice  mounted  my  horse  and  rode  down  to  Col.  C's  [Carring- 
ton's]  and  staid  all  night,  being  unable  to  endure  the  want  of 
society  any  longer.  ...  If  I  did  not  fear  tiring  out  the 
welcome  of  my  friends,  I  would  go  to  Amelia  for  a  week  or 
ten  days;  (a)  and  yet  the  return  would  be  but  so  much  the 
more  bitter.  Use  reconciles  me  to  it  a  little;  but  the  first  few 
days  after  I  get  home  are  almost  intolerable."1 

In  an  earlier  letter,  he  had  said  to  Theodore  Dudley: 
"You  know  the  savage  solitude  in  which  I  live ;  into  which 
I  have  been  driven  to  seek  shelter.  " 2  About  the  same  time 
he  referred  to  Roanoke,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough, 
as  his  "lonely  and  savage"  habitation;  adding  that  he 
led  a  life  of  seclusion  there  unchequered  by  a  single  ray 
of  enjoyment. 3 

Repeatedly  in  his  letters  to  different  correspondents,  he 
compares  himself  at  Roanoke  with  Robinson  Crusoe  on 
his  desert  island.  In  a  letter  to  his  niece,  he  spoke  of 
himself  as  a  ' '  wild  man  of  the  woods ' ' 4 ;  (b)  and  in  another 
he  said:  "Here  then  I  must  live,  and  here  I  must  die, 
'a  lone  and  banished  man.'"5  In  still  another  letter  to 
the  same  friend,  he  declared  that  he  remained  at  Roanoke 
and  looked  at  the  trees  until  he  almost  conceited  himself 
a  dryad.6  "I  vegetate  like  the  trees  around  me,"  was 
another  expression  of  his  in  writing  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough. 
Even  the  cool,  green  crown  of  these  trees,  so  grateful  in  a 
warm  climate,  cast  only  a  heavy  oppressive  shadow  over 
his  spirits;  yet,  when  he  returned  on  one  occasion  from 
Washington  to  Roanoke,  and  found  that  one  of  his  over- 
seers had  cut  down  a  tree,  near  one  of  the  two  houses  in 
which  he  dwelt,  he  is  said  to  have  asked  him  sharply  why 
he  cut  it  down;  and,  when  told  because  it  was  in  the  way 

1  June  24,  1821,  Id.,  222.  2  Georgetown,  Feb.  5,  1813,  Id.,  133. 

3  Garland,  v.  2,  10.  «  Bryan  MSS. 

s  Garland,  v.  2,  130.  6  Id.,  v.  2,  no. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  345 

of  the  house,  to  have  exclaimed  impatiently:    "Why  did 
you  not  remove  the  house?" 

"You  do  not  over  rate  the  solitariness  of  the  life  I  lead  here," 
he  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley.  "It  is  dreary  beyond  con- 
ception except  by  the  actual  sufferer.  I  can  only  acquiesce  in 
it  as  the  lot  in  which  I  have  been  cast  by  the  good  providence 
of  God  and  endeavor  to  bear  it  and  the  daily  increasing  infirmi- 
ties which  threaten  total  helplessness  as  well  as  I  may.  'Many 
long  weeks  have  passed  since  you  heard  from  me.'  And  why 
should  I  write  ?  To  say  that  I  had  made  another  notch  in  my 
tally?  Or  to  enter  upon  the  monotonous  list  of  grievances 
mentally  and  bodily,  which  egotism  itself  could  scarcely  bear 
to  relate,  and  none  other  to  listen  to.  You  say  truly,  'There 
is  no  substitute'  for  what  you  name  'that  can  fill  the  heart.' 
The  bitter  conviction  has  long  ago  rushed  upon  my  own  and 
arrested  its  function;  not  that  it  is  without  its  paroxysms 
which  I  thank  Heaven  itself  alone  is  conscious  of.  Perhaps, 
I  am  wrong  to  indulge  in  this  vein;  but  I  must  write  thus 
or  not  at  all.  No  punishment  except  remorse  can  exceed  the 
misery  I  feel.  My  heart  swells  to  bursting  at  past  recollec- 
tions; and,  as  the  present  is  without  enjoyment,  so  is  the  future 
without  hope;  so  far  at  least  as  respects  this  world."1 

We  should  grow  sick  of  Randolph's  incessant  repinings 
and  moans  at  Roanoke  if  he  did  not  make  wretchedness 
such  a  musical  thing ;  but  how  can  we  get  out  of  patience 
with  a  man  who  could  run  his  hands  over  the  whole  key- 
board of  his  own  unhappiness,  from  lassitude  to  loneliness, 
from  loneliness  to  misery,  and  from  misery  to  Stygian 
despair,  and  yet  give  as  melodious  an  accent  to  every  sigh 
or  groan  as  if  he  were  but  an  academic  votary  of  the  tune- 
ful Nine  singing  unreal  sorrows? 

"My  best  respects  to  Mrs.  B.,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brocken- 
borough  from  Roanoke  in  the  summer  of  1819.  "These  glar- 
ing long  days  make  me  think  of  her.     I  lie  in  bed  as  long  as  I 

1  Roanoke,  Jan.  10,  1821,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.t  219. 


34^         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

can  to  shorten  them  and  keep  my  room  darkened.  Perhaps  *a 
straight  waistcoat  would  not  be  amiss.  .  .  .  Farewell.  If 
we  ever  meet  again  it  must  be  here.  Should  I  ever  get  in 
reach  of  a  ship  bound  to  any  foreign  land,  I  will  endeavor  to 
lose  sight  of  this  forever."1 

Occasionally,  from  the  mere  vacancy  of  his  existence 
he  would  go  to  bed  by  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  And 
when  did  the  tcedium  vita  ever  dye  a  letter  more  deeply 
than  it  does  this  one  to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter : 

"Roanoke,  Oct.  10,  1828. 

"My  dear  child, 

"I  write  not  only  because  you  request  it,  but  because  it  seems 
to  fill  up  a  half  hour  in  my  tedious  day.  No  life  can  be  more 
cheerless  than  mine.  Shall  I  give  you  a  specimen?  One  day 
serves  for  all.  At  daybreak,  I  take  a  large  tumbler  of  milk 
warm  from  the  cow,  after  which,  but  not  before,  I  get  a  refresh- 
ing nap.  I  rise  as  late  as  possible  on  system  and  walk  before 
breakfast  about  half  a  mile.  After  breakfast,  I  ride  over  the 
same  beaten  track  and  return  'too  weary  for  my  dinner,'  which 
I  eat  without  appetite,  to  pass  away  the  time.  Before  dark,  I 
go  to  bed,  after  having  drunk  the  best  part  of  a  bottle  of 
Madeira,  or  the  whole  of  a  bottle  of  Hermitage.  Wine  is  my 
chief  support.  There  is  no  variety  in  my  life;  even  my  morn- 
ing's walk  is  over  the  same  ground;  weariness  and  lassitude  are 
my  portion.  I  feel  deserted  by  the  whole  world,  and  a  more 
dreary  and  desolate  existence  than  mine  was  never  known 
by  man.  Even  our  incomparably  fine  weather  has  no  effect 
upon  my  spirits."2 

As  he  advanced  in  life,  he  fell  away  from  all  the  pas- 
times at  Roanoke,  one  by  one,  which  had  given  him  the 
most  pleasure  at  Bizarre  and  Roanoke. 

"I  have  had  a  visit  from  a  Struldbug — old  Mr.  Archibald 
B.,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenborough  in  1827.  "It  almost 
made  me  resolve  never  to  leave  my  own  plantation  again.  .  .  . 

x  Circa  Aug.  22,  18 19,  Garland,  v.  2,  in.  2  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  347 

I  have  been  obliged  to  give  up  riding  on  horseback  altogether. 
It  crucified  me,  and  I  did  not  get  over  a  ride  of  two  miles  in  the 
course  of  the  whole  day.  I  will  stay  at  home  and  take  your 
prescription."1 

He  was  not  to  give  up  riding  entirely  yet  by  any  means; 
but  his  zest  for  it  was  passing.  What,  however,  was  there 
to  take  him  out  riding,  when  even  on  another  fine  day  in 
October  in  the  benignant  climate  of  Roanoke  he  could 
bring  back  no  reflections  more  cheerful  than  these?  After 
observing  in  a  letter  to  his  niece  that,  when  a  boy,  he  was  a 
huge  admirer  of  the  poet  Thomson,  but  that,  as  his  taste 
had  become  more  chastened,  he  had  revolted  at  his  "turgid 
pomposity, "  he  said : 

"Neither  am  I  a  painter  nor  a  poet ;  and  Heaven  knows  I  am 
not  now  romantic.  Yet,  like  you,  I  am  an  enthusiastic  devotee 
of  nature,  and  this  is  my  favorite  season.  If  anything  could 
have  aroused  me  from  my  lassitude,  it  would  have  been  the 
heavenly  weather  of  the  last,  my  favorite,  month  [October]. 
My  sole  gratification  has  consisted  in  admiring  the  forest 
scenery  in  my  solitary  rides ;  indeed,  it  is  nowhere  seen  in  higher 
perfection  than  from  my  own  door.  There  is  a  pleasure  in  the 
pathless  woods.  .  .  .  The  trees  are  half  leafless,  and,  as  they 
shed  their  remaining  honors,  they  forcibly  remind  me  of  my 
own  approaching  destiny."2 

Long  before  this,  he  had  complained  in  a  letter  to  Dr. 
Brockenbrough  that  he  had  lost  his  relish  for  reading. 
This  last  letter  is  a  kind  of  pot  pourri  made  up  of  all  the 
sensations  felt  by  a  "soul  out  of  taste"  with  the  world,  to 
use  a  term  borrowed  by  Randolph  from  the  sick  when 
speaking  of  their  mouths  after  a  fever. 

"I  am  here  completely  hors  du  nionde,"  he  said.     "My 

neighbor ,  with  whom  I  have  made  a  violent  effort  to 

establish  an  intercourse,  has  been  here  twice  by  invitation: 

1  Roanoke,  June  12,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  292. 
'Roanoke,  Nov.  1,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 


348         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

W.  Leigh  as  often  on  his  way  to  court;  and,  on  Saturday,  I 
was  agreeably  surprised  by  stumbling  on  Frank  Gilmer,  who 
was  wandering  to  and  fro  in  the  woods  seeking  my  cabin.  He 
left  on  Tuesday  for  his  brother's  in  Henry.  Except  my  stand- 
ing dish,  you  have  my  whole  society  for  nine  weeks.  On  the 
terms  by  which  I  hold  it,  life  is  a  curse  from  which  I  would 
willingly  escape  if  I  knew  where  to  fly.  I  have  lost  my  relish 
for  reading;  indeed,  I  could  not  devour  even  the  Corsair  with 
the  zest  that  Lord  Byron's  pen  generally  inspires.  It  is  very 
inferior  to  the  Giaour  or  the  Bride.  The  character  of  Conrad 
is  unnatural.  Blessed  with  his  mistress,  he  had  no  motive  for 
desperation."1 

In  later  letters,  he  speaks  again  of  his  distaste  for 
reading  and  his  plantation  affairs.  "Even  Shakespeare 
and  Milton  have  lost  their  empire  over  me, "  he  wrote  to 
Elizabeth  T.  Coalter  in  1822,  and  then  he  quotes:  "Still 
drops  some  joy  from  withering  life  away."2  On  March 
31,  1825,  he  wrote  to  Francis  W.  Gilmer  that,  though 
after  a  journey  more  toilsome  and  perilous  than  a  voyage 
across  the  Atlantic,  he  had  reached  "his  dreary  and 
desolate  habitation  on  March  22,  he  had  not  yet  had 
strength  and  courage  enough  to  visit  any  of  his  planta- 
tions. "3  On  another  occasion,  he  mentions  the  fact  that 
he  had  not  visited  his  Bushy  Forest  estate  on  the  Little 
Roanoke,  which  was  only  about  ten  or  twelve  miles  from 
Roanoke,  for  some  two  and  a  half  years.  He  also  lost 
heart  for  the  shooting,  to  which  he  had  once  been  so 
eagerly  addicted.  "My  good  friend,"  he  wrote  to  Dr. 
Brockenbrough  in  1828,  "I  am  sick,  body  and  mind.  I 
am  without  a  single  resource  except  the  workings  of  my 
own  fancy.  Fine  as  the  weather  is,  and  has  been,  all  this 
month,  I  have  not  drawn  a  trigger."4  In  another  letter 
to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter,  he  says : 

1  Roanoke,  July  15,  1814,  Garland,  v.  2,  42. 

2  Dec.  29,  1822,  Bryan  MSS.  «  Mar.  31,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 
1  Oct.  28,  1828,  Garland,  v.  2,  311. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  349 

"The  face  of  nature  gives  plain  indication  of  the  approach 
of  autumn,  my  once  favorite  season;  but  it  now  comes  over  me 
in  shudderings  and  misgivings.  My  useless  gun  hangs  over 
the  fireplace,  my  dogs  in  vain  invite  me  to  the  field  in  language 
more  expressive  than  words,  and  my  horses,  like  their  master, 
grow  asthmatick  from  want  of  exercise."1 

Sometimes,  as  is  true  of  other  men  when  the  world  is 
not  served  up  to  them  with  just  the  condiments  which  they 
desire,  he  fancied  that  he  despised  it. 

"  I  can  no  longer  imagine  any  state  of  things  under  which  I 
should  not  be  wretched,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  in 
1827.  "I  mean  a  possible  state.  I  am  unable  to  enter  into 
the  conceptions  and  views  of  those  around  me.  They  talk  to 
me  of  grave  matters,  and  I  see  children  blowing  bubbles."2 

This  letter  was  written  from  Washington,  but  another, 
written  by  Randolph  a  few  years  earlier  from  Roanoke  to 
the  same  friend,  is  in  the  same  vein: 

"I  have  long  been  indebted  to  you  for  your  letter  by  Mr. 
Watkins,"  he  said,  "which  reminded  me  of  those  which  I  used 
to  receive  from  you  some  years  ago,  when  I  was  not  so  entirely 
unable  as  I  am  now  to  make  a  suitable  return  to  my  correspond- 
ents. I  feel  most  seriously  this  incapacity  and  deplore  it,  but, 
for  the  life  of  me,  I  cannot  rouse  myself  to  take  an  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  this  'trumpery  world,'  as  'the  Antiquary'  calls  it, 
and  with  a  curious  felicity  of  expression ;  for  it  is  upon  a  larger 
scale  what  a  strolling  play-house  is  upon  a  smaller,  all  outside 
show  and  tinsel,  and  frippery,  and  wretchedness.  There  are 
to  be  sure  a  few,  a  very  few,  who  are  what  they  seem  to  be. 
But  this  ought  to  concern  me  personally  as  little  as  any  one ;  for 
I  have  no  intercourse  with  those  around  me.  I  often  mount 
my  horse  and  sit  upon  him  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  wishing  to 
go  somewhere  but  not  knowing  where  to  ride;  for  I  would 
escape  any  where  from  the  incubus  that  weighs  me  down,  body 

1  Roanoke,  Aug.  25,  1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

2  Feb.  25,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  288. 


350         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  soul;  but  the  fiend  follows  me  'ex  croupa.'  You  can  have 
no  conception  of  the  intenseness  of  this  wretchedness,  which 
in  its  effect  on  my  mind  I  can  compare  to  nothing  but  that  of  a 
lump  of  ice  on  the  pulse  of  the  wrist,  which  I  have  tried  when  a 
boy.  And  why  do  I  obtrude  all  this  upon  you  ?  Because  from 
the  fulness  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  I  can  be  and  am 
silent  for  days  and  weeks  together,  except  on  indifferent 
subjects;  but,  if  I  address  myself  to  a  friend,  the  misery  that 
preys  upon  me  will  not  be  suppressed.  The  strongest  con- 
siderations of  duty  are  barely  sufficient  to  prevent  me  from 
absconding  to  some  distant  country,  where  I  might  live  and  die 
unknown.  There  is  a  selfishness  in  our  occupations  and 
pursuits,  after  the  first  gloss  of  youth  has  worn  off,  that 
hardens  us  against  our  fellow-men.  This  I  now  know  to  be 
the  necessary  consequence  of  our  nature,  but  it  is  not,  therefore, 
the  less  revolting.  I  had  hoped  to  divert  the  gloom  that 
overhangs  me  by  writing  this  letter  at  the  instigation  of  old 
Quashee,  but  I  struggle  against  it  in  vain.  Is  it  not  Dr. 
Johnson  who  says  that  to  attempt  'to  think  it  down 
is  madness'?"1 

In  1828,  the  fiend  was  still  following  Randolph  ex  croupa, 
for  he  wrote  to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter  from  Roanoke  in  that 
year:  "My  excellent  friend,  Mr.  William  Leigh,  who  lay 
here  last  night,  left  me  this  morning.  Even  his  presence 
seemed  hardly  to  exercise  any  power  over  the  foul  fiend 
that  annoys  me."2  And,  occasionally,  Randolph's  lan- 
guage is  that  of  the  blackest  dejection.  "  I  shall  be  found 
dead  here  one  of  these  days  like  a  rat  in  a  hole, "  he  wrote 
to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter  from  Roanoke  in  1823.3  But,  if 
Randolph  was  more  unhappy,  on  the  whole,  when  he  was 
at  Roanoke  than  when  he  was  elsewhere,  it  was  only  be- 
cause at  Roanoke  he  had  more  time  to  brood  over  his 
unhappiness  and  to  be  dogged  by  blue  devils.  There  are 
letters  written  by  him  from  Richmond  and  Washington 
that  are  fully  as  sad  and  splenetic  as  any  that  he  ever 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  in.  2  Oct.  7,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Oct.  23,  1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  35 * 

wrote  from  Roanoke.  It  was  from  Richmond  and  not 
Roanoke  that  he  wrote  to  Key  in  1 8 14:  M  In  short,  I  hope 
that  there  is  not  another  creature  in  the  world  as  unhappy 
as  myself."1  And  it  was  from  Washington,  and  not 
Roanoke,  that  he  wrote  to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter  about 
Feb.  26,  1823:  "Your  letters  constitute  my  almost  only 
resource  against  the  dark  spirit  that  persecutes  me."2 
It  was  from  Washington,  too,  that  he  wrote  to  Theodore 
Dudley :  "I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  spend  your  time  so 
agreeably .  Mine  is  spent  in  unintermitting  misery . " 3  The 
truth  is  that,  despite  the  forbidding  terms  in  which  Ran- 
dolph often  spoke  of  the  solitude  and  rudeness  of  his 
Roanoke  home  and  the  frequency  with  which  he  an- 
nounced his  intention  of  living  abroad,  he  entertained 
decidedly  mixed  feelings  about  the  place,  even  after  his 
life  had  fallen  into  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf  of  an  all  too 
precocious  old  age.  Writing  from  Washington  on  Dec. 
21,  1 8 19,  he  said:  "Here  I  find  myself  isole  almost  as 
entirely  as  at  Roanoke,  for  the  quiet  of  which  (although  I 
left  it  without  a  desire  ever  to  see  it  again)  I  have  some- 
times panted ;  or  rather  to  escape  from  the  scenes  around 
me."4  Some  six  years  later,  he  wrote  to  Elizabeth  T. 
Coalter:  "Your  thoughts  on  home  are  beautiful  and  just. 
I,  too,  have  my  thoughts  on  the  same  subject;  although 
not  the  same  thoughts.  Lonely,  and  (at  times)  irksome, 
as  it  is,  I  wish  I  could  pass  my  winter  at  my  home5 ; "  and, 
two  days  later,  he  wrote  to  the  same  niece  that  the  time 
was  drawing  near  for  his  departure  from  home  and  that  he 
would  leave  it  with  great  reluctance.6  But  what  could 
more  strikingly  illustrate  the  composite  nature  of  his 
feelings  about  Roanoke  than  this  remarkable  entry  in 
one  of  his  journals,    under  the  date  of  Feb.  21,  18 19: 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  36.  2  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

3  Dec.  9,  1820,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  227.  *  Garland,  v.  2,  112. 

s  Roanoke,  Nov.  20,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 
6  Nov.  22,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 


352         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"This  day  left  my  wretched  and  solitary  home.  Would 
it  were  never  to  return.  Impious  wish  ! "  *  If  for  no  other 
reason,  he  was  reconciled  at  times  to  Roanoke  for  the 
reasons  that  he  gave  to  his  niece  in  1821 : 

"I  am  much  obliged  to  you,  my  dear,  for  the  kind  interest 
you  express  in  my  comfort,  but  I  have  been  so  much 
accustomed  to  solitude  as  to  have  become  seasoned  to  it  and 
am  gradually  losing  all  relish  for  society,  like  the  poor  old  man 
who,  on  his  liberation  from  prison,  requested  to  be  carried 
back  to  his  cell,  where  he  had  worn  away  the  best  years  of 
his  life."2 

The  character  of  the  two  dwellings  occupied  by  Ran- 
dolph at  Roanoke,  one  inherited  and  the  other  built  by 
him,  was  hardly  calculated  to  endear  that  place  to  him  as 
a  home;  but  he  was  as  scrupulously  neat  in  his  care  of 
them  as  he  was  in  the  care  ot  his  person.  "His  modest 
dwellings,"  declared  John  Randolph  Bryan,  his  godson, 
who  was  frequently  under  his  roof  at  Roanoke,  in  a  letter 
published  in  the  Richmond  Dispatch  on  May  20,  1878, 
"were  more  free  from  everything  that  could  soil  a  house 
or  yard  than  any  other  place  I  ever  saw ;  no  fowls  of  any 
kind  were  allowed  on  his  premises ;  nor  was  a  horse  per- 
mitted to  graze  in  his  yard;  flies  shunned  the  place." 
Indeed,  they  might  well  have  done  so,  for  Randolph  had 
such  an  intense  aversion  to  them  that  we  can  almost 
imagine  him,  like  the  Emperor  Domitian,  giving  himself 
up  in  his  hours  of  relaxation  to  spitting  them  upon  a  bod- 
kin, (a) 

Randolph  evidently  had  a  good  menage  at  Roanoke, 
because  on  Oct.  9,  1829,  when  he  was  in  attendance  upon 
the  sessions  of  the  Virginia  Convention  of  that  year,  his 
friend  James  Hamilton,  of  South  Carolina,  lauded  Roa- 
noke in  these  terms  in  a  letter  to  Martin  Van  Buren : 

1  Va.  Hist.  Soc.       •  a  Roanoke,  July  29,  1821,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  353 

"I  write  you  from  the  residence  of  our  eccentric  and  gifted 
friend,  where,  by  the  delegated  hospitality  of  his  faithful  and 
kind  domestics,  we  have  been  detained  for  two  days.  His 
whole  establishment  is  so  unique  that  it  is  worth  going  a 
hundred  miles  to  see;  so  much  simplicity  combined  with  so 
much  elegance,  and  with  all  the  most  cheering  plenty  spread 
everywhere.  I  found  a  mandatory  letter  from  him  for  me  at 
[the]  court  house  insisting  on  my  stopping  to  refresh  myself, 
children  and  horses,  and  greatly  have  we  been  recruited  by  the 
comforts  of  his  homestead."1 

This  letter  certainly  indicates  that  there  was  no  lack  of 
comfort  and  good  cheer  at  Roanoke.  In  the  Diary,  there 
are  references  to  fruit  trees,  butchered  animals,  and  ice, 
which  tend  to  show  that  Roanoke  furnished  all  the  cheap 
supplies,  that,  together  with  the  domestic  service  peculiar 
to  slavery,  did  so  much  to  give  the  old  Virginia  plantation 
its  reputation  for  abundant,  if  not  super-abundant,  hos- 
pitality. There  are  few  references  in  Randolph's  writings 
to  his  vegetable  garden,  but  what  he  had  to  say  in  one  of 
his  letters,  from  which  we  have  already  quoted,  about  his 
asparagus,  is  enough  to  convince  us  that  he  had  a  good 
one;  for  asparagus  is  rarely  found  occupying  a  position  of 
isolated  excellence  in  a  kitchen  garden,  (a)  Dr.  James 
Waddell  Alexander  says  that  Randolph  never  would  allow 
a  carpet  to  be  on  his  floors  at  Roanoke2;  but  this  was  a 
mistake.  At  any  rate,  the  Diary  shows  that  he  bought 
some  carpets  or  rugs  at  Kidderminster  itself  on  April  15, 
1 822 ,  when  he  was  in  England.  The  Diary  shows  too  that 
he  had  a  considerable  amount  of  fine  silver,  and  Hugh 
Blair  Grigsby  expressed  the  opinion  that  his  library  was 
1 '  the  most  respectable  collection  of  pure  literature  made  by 
any  of  our  eminent  statesmen  in  Virginia  since  the  Revo- 
lution."3   His  books  at  Roanoke  were  what  we  might 

1  Oct.  9,  1829,  Van  Bur  en  Papers,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  40  Yrs*  Familiar  Letters,  v.  1,  270. 

3  South.  Lit.  Mess.,  v.  20,  79. 

vol.  11—23 


354         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

expect  of  a  man  whose  stores  of  knowledge  were  derived 
from  the  best  books  of  all  ages,  and  whose  intellect  had 
been  so  exquisitely  educated  by  them  that,  even  when  he 
was  insane  in  1832,  there  was  no  fault  to  be  found  with  the 
elegant  diction  which  still  flowed  from  his  lips. x  The  only 
respects,  in  the  opinion  of  Grigsby,  who  had  Randolph's 
love  of  books  himself,  in  which  the  Randolph  library  was 
deficient,  was  in  its  lack  of  scientific  works. 2 

But,  all  the  same,  Roanoke  must  have  been  in  many 
regards  a  bare  and  sombre  place  of  residence  for  a  man  of 
Randolph's  wealth  and  social  accomplishments;  retained 
by  him  only  because  the  Roanoke  estate,  as  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  saying,  had  never  belonged  to  anyone  except  the 
Red  Indians  and  his  ancestors3;  and  because  the  burden  of 
the  British  debt,  which  he  had  inherited  in  early  life,  made 
it  imperatively  necessary  for  him  to  cultivate  habits  of 
economy  so  long  that  when,  despite  the  deceit  which 
lurked  in  the  value  of  a  slave  plantation,  he  had  become 
easier  in  his  circumstances,  he  found  himself  more  inclined 
to  absorb  the  lands  of  his  neighbors  around  Roanoke  than 
to  build  himself  a  handsome  residence,  (a)  In  a  letter  to 
Theodore  Dudley,  he  speaks  of  this  home  as  their  "  little 
cabin."4  On  another  occasion,  he  concludes  a  letter  to 
Theodore  by  saying:  "I  write  this  by  candle  light  in  our 
solitary  cabin  with  the  back  of  the  only  pen  in  the 
house."5  This  was  certainly  a  sad  state  of  destitution 
for  a  man  whose  pen  was  hardly  less  prolific  of  words  than 
his  tongue. 

Apparently,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  flower  garden 
or  a  flower  bed  at  Roanoke.  The  nearest  approach  to 
anything  of  the  sort,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  is  mentioned 
in  a  letter  to  Theodore  Dudley,  in  which  Randolph  said : 

1  Testimony  of  Wm.  Leigh  in  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's 
Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va. 

2  South.  Lit.  Mess.,  v.  20,  79. 

3  Letter  to  Josiah  Quincy,  Richm.,  Mar.  22,  18 14,  Life  of  Quincy,  350. 
4 Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  154.  s  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  179. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  355 

"Pray  plant  some  Sweet  Briar  and  Swamp  Roses"1; 
anaemic  flowers  which  grew  wild  almost  anywhere  in 
Charlotte  County. 

Describing  Roanoke,  with  which  he  was  thoroughly 
familiar,  Wm.  H.  Elliott,  a  schoolmate  of  Tudor  Ran- 
dolph, says:  "The  house  was  so  completely  and  closely 
environed  by  trees  and  underwood  of  original  growth  that 
it  seemed  to  have  been  taken  by  the  top  and  let  down  into 
the  bosom  of  a  dense  virgin  forest. " 2  The  fullest  descrip- 
tion of  the  place,  so  far  as  our  knowledge  goes,  is  one  given 
by  Captain  Harrison  Robinson,  of  Danville,  Va.,  who  did 
not  visit  the  spot,  however,  until  six  years  after  the  death 
of  Randolph. 

"In  1839,  he  says,  being  a  student  at  Hampden-Sidney 
College,  I  visited,  in  company  with  several  fellow-students, 
the  residence  of  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke.  His  will  being 
at  that  time  the  subject  of  litigation,  his  estate  appeared  to  be 
in  a  condition  of  neglect.  The  grounds  surrounding  the 
dwelling  were  entirely  destitute  of  ornament.  The  negro, 
John,  who  had  been  Mr.  Randolph's  body-servant  and  con- 
stant attendant  for  many  years,  received  us  and  showed  us  the 
objects  of  interest  connected  with  the  place. 

"There  were  two  buildings,  one  a  log  house  with  two  rooms, 
the  floor  raised  but  a  foot  or  two  above  the  ground,  of  a  style 
and  material  the  rudest,  and  such  as  belonged  to  the  poorest 
class  of  white  persons  in  the  rural  districts  of  Virginia.  The 
single  door  opened  into  the  sitting  room,  which  communicated 
by  an  inner  door  with  his  bed  room.  The  other  building  was 
a  small  framed  house  which  stood  about  twenty  yards  off,  with 
large,  well-glazed  windows,  containing  two  rooms  on  the 
ground  floor,  raised  a  few  feet  above  the  ground,  evidently 
built  long  after  the  log  house,  of  better  material  and  more 
civilized  style  of  finish.  John  called  this  his  master's  'Sum- 
mer House';  the  log  house  his  'Winter  House.' 

"Entering  the  log  house,  we  found  every  article  of  furniture 
remaining  exactly  (John  assured  us)  as  it  had  been  left  by  Mr. 

1  Georgetown,  Feb.  18,  1817,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  192.  2  Bouldin,  78, 


356         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Randolph  at  the  time  of  his  departure  for  Philadelphia  on  his 
last  journey. 

"At  this  distance  of  time,  many  particulars  which  then 
interested  me  have  escaped  my  recollection.  The  furniture, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  articles,  was  very  plain.  I  recollect 
his  fowling  pieces,  pistols,  etc.,  of  exquisite  manufacture;  also 
his  fair  top  boots  of  the  best  materials  and  finish.  But  that 
which  I  recollect  with  most  distinctness,  in  regard  to  this 
sitting  room,  was  a  small,  old  fashioned  mahogany  stand,  upon 
which  laid  (sic)  a  plain  leather  portfolio,  a  candlestick,  and  a 
half-consumed  candle,  and  one  or  two  books.  John  informed 
us  that  this  stand  and  what  was  upon  it  remained  as  it  was  left 
by  his  master  when  he  ceased  reading  and  went  to  bed,  the 
night  before  he  started  for  Philadelphia.  One  of  the  books 
was  open  and  laid  upon  the  open  pages,  the  back  upwards,  as 
if  it  had  just  been  put  down  by  the  reader.  It  was  a  thin 
duodecimo  volume,  bound  in  discolored  sheepskin.  On 
examination,  I  was  surprised  to  find  this  book  was  McNish  on 
Drunkenness.  I  opened  the  portfolio  and  found  writing 
paper,  some  blank  and  some  manuscripts  in  Mr.  Randolph's 
own  handwriting.  I  recollect  particularly  a  sheet  of  foolscap 
which  had  not  been  folded,  with  the  caption,  'A  List  of  My 
Principal  Friends,'  followed  by  a  list  of  names,  numbered  I,  2, 
3,  4,  &c,  the  numbers  (if  my  memory  be  correct)  running  as 
high  as  20.  The  list  covered  two  or  three  pages.  On  the 
right  hand  side  of  the  pages,  opposite  to  each  name,  or  to  many 
of  the  names,  were  remarks  indicating  Mr.  Randolph's  esti- 
mate of  the  character  of  the  persons  named,  or  some  special 
circumstance  of  his  history  or  friendship.  Among  the  first, 
if  not  the  first,  was  the  name  of  Thomas  H.  Benton.  .  .  . 

"In the  bed  room  we  found  the  furniture  generally  of  the  same 
simple  description.  The  garments  and  personal  apparel  were 
in  some  instances  costly  and  elegant.  The  room  was  ill-lighted 
and  must  have  been  badly  ventilated  from  the  small  size  of  the 
windows,  unless  the  cracks  in  the  log  walls  aided  in  ventilation. 
On  the  wall  above  the  bed,  hung  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Randolph 
(in  oil).  I  have  forgotten  the  name  of  the  artist,  but  the 
painting  was  well  done.  I  distinctly  recollect  the  beardless, 
boyish  appearance  of  the  face.     In  the  'Summer  House,'  we 


Randolph  as  a  Man  357 

found  a  library  of  perhaps  more  than  a  thousand  volumes, 
embracing  many  of  the  standard  authors  of  pure  'English 
undented,'  of  choice  editions  and  binding;  also  a  number  of 
fine  engravings  (without  frames)  and  books  and  prints  of  art 
and  science.  I  saw  no  musical  instruments.  There  were 
many  manuscript  letters,  notes  and  cards,  invitations  to 
dinners,  &c,  which  had  been  received  by  Mr.  Randolph — 
some  of  them  from  persons  of  the  highest  distinction  both  in 
England  and  America.  Doubtless,  many  of  the  like  kind  had 
disappeared  before  our  visit ;  for  John  made  no  objection,  but 
rather  encouraged  us  to  take  away  some  of  the  notes,  invi- 
tations, cards,  etc.,  as  souvenirs  of  our  visit."1    (a) 

Such  was  the  home  of  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  the 
owner  of  8207^2  acres  of  productive  land  in  Charlotte 
County,  Va.,  assessed  at  $153,419. 12 2;  of  228  acres  of  land 
in  Halifax  County,  Va. 3 ;  of  three  small  lots  in  Farmville, 
Va.4;  of  383  slaves  of  all  ages,5  and,  in  addition  to  other 
farm  chattels,  of  a  stud  of  blooded  horses  worth  perhaps 
$30,000. 6  Begrudging  of  cash  balances  as  the  plantation 
system  may  have  been,  another  measure  of  the  profound 
despondency,  in  which  Randolph  was  so  often  enveloped, 
may  be  found  in  the  fact  that,  though  possessed  of  a  total 
estate,  which  could  hardly  have  fallen  short  in  value  of 
$300,000  or  $400,000 — a  large  fortune  for  his  day — he  con- 
stantly spoke  of  himself  as  reduced  to  a  condition  of 
impoverishment,   (a) 

In  1827,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough :  "If  property 
in  this  country  gave  its  possessor  the  command  of  money,- 
I  would  go  abroad  immediately ;  but  I  feel  that  I  am  fixed 
here  for  life."7    On  another  occasion,  during  the  same 

1  Bouldin,  262. 

2  List  of  J.  R.'s  Real  Estate  (1833),  Charlotte  C.  H.,  Va. 

3  Bouldin,  206. 

4  D.  B.  26,  p.  215,  Clk's  Office,  Prince  Edward  Co.,  Va. 

s  Registration  List  of  Negroes  emancipated  by  J.  R.,  Charlotte  C.  H. 

6  40  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  v.  I,  270. 

7  May  15,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  291. 


35$         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

year,  he  wrote  to  the  same  friend :  ' '  There  are  other  reasons 
why  I  should  stay  at  home.  I  have  no  clothes  and  no 
money;  in  fact  I  never  was  in  so  abject  a  state  of  misery 
and  poverty  since  I  was  born.  " »  In  1828,  he  wrote  to  his 
sea-captain  friend,  West :  "lamas  poor  as  a  rat.  " 2  And 
it  must  be  admitted  that  his  Congressional  salary  was  the 
only  item  of  income  upon  which  he  could  rely  with  entire 
confidence.  All  his  other  means  were  locked  up  in  land 
and  slaves,  and  his  returns  from  the  one  were  subject  to 
many  contingencies,  and  slaves,  except  in  his  early  life, 
when  the  first  pressure  of  the  British  debt  had  to  be  met, 
he  would  not  sell  at  any  price ;  though  they  increased  from 
year  to  year  with  a  rapidity  which  spoke  well  for  his  good 
management  and  benevolence.  Purchase  slaves,  however, 
he  did  whenever  he  needed  more. 

How  his  plantation  fared  under  Jefferson's  policy  of 
wounding  our  own  citizens  as  often  as  their  enemies 
wounded  them,  we  have  already  seen.  In  18 19,  the 
failure  of  the  firm  of  Tompkins  &  Murray,  of  Richmond, 
in  whose  hands  he  had  a  sum  of  money,  caused  him  to 
write  to  Francis  Scott  Key :  "By  the  late  bankruptcies 
I  am  reduced  from  ease  and  independence  to  debt  and 
straitened  circumstances.  I  have  endeavored,  in  vain,  to 
sell  a  part  of  my  property  at  a  reduced  price  to  meet  my 
engagements.  "3  And  then,  too,  even  when  there  was  no 
embargo  to  throw  his  corn  and  tobacco  back  upon  his 
hands,  and  no  general  financial  depression  like  that  of 
1 8 19,  and  no  scorching  drouth,  he  had  always,  as  the  Diary 
repeatedly  shows,  to  reckon  with  the  malevolent  River 
Spirit  which  issued  at  times  from  the  Staunton  and 
wreaked  its  rage  on  Randolph's  fair  alluvial  plains.  In 
1 813,  he  wrote  to  Francis  Scott  Key:  "We  have  been 
flooded.     This  river  has  not  been  so  high  since  August, 

1  June  12,  1827,  Id.,  293. 

2  Cartersville,  Apr.  30,  1828,  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  71. 

3  Garland,  v.  2,  107. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  359 

1795.  A  vast  deal  of  corn  is  destroyed;  I  fear  I  have  lost 
500  barrels  and  80  odd  stacks  of  oats."1  On  another 
occasion,  we  find  him  riding  about  up  to  his  saddle  skirts 
in  a  rising  flood  at  his  Ferry  Quarter,  produced  by  a  down- 
pour of  rain  which  rendered  the  bridge  over  the  Little 
Roanoke  at  Mossing  Ford  impassable,  as  many  another 
downpour  has  done  in  the  author's  day.2  Indeed,  the 
caprices  of  the  Staunton  River  are  a  thing  that  can  always 
be  counted  upon  to  keep  human  existence  along  its  banks 
from  sinking  into  a  state  of  stagnation.  A  remorseless, 
copper-colored  sky,  arid  brown  fields,  twisted  corn  blades, 
and  sickly,  spindling  tobacco  plants;  the  rumble  of  distant 
thunder,  the  heavens  slowly  knitting  their  black  brows, 
the  play  of  the  forked  lightning,  the  rush  of  the  wind 
through  the  tree  tops,  the  refreshing,  reviving  rain,  more 
precious  in  moderation  than  any  vintage  of  the  wine  cellar, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  long  steady  rainfall,  unher- 
alded by  the  voice  of  thunder,  or  the  glare  of  lightning,  or 
the  wings  of  the  wind,  which  continues  hour  after  hour 
until  the  hapless  husbandman,  listening  to  it,  as  it  falls  on 
his  roof,  like  clods  on  a  coffin,  grows  sick  and  faint  with 
dismay;  how  familiar  are  these  phenomena  to  every 
planter  who  knows  what  drouth  and  flood  mean  on  a 
Staunton  River  estate  like  Roanoke !   (a) 

But  the  profits  of  planting,  even  when  unaccompanied 
by  the  profits  of  slave  breeding,  were  not  so  uncertain  that 
Randolph,  who  began  with  2796  acres  of  land,  which  he 
had  derived  immediately,  or  mediately,  from  the  estate  of 
his  father, 3  could  not  end  with  three  times  as  many. 

Bodily  and  mental  depression  not  only  produced  in 
Randolph  disgust  with  Roanoke,  but  with  his  whole 
Southside  Virginia  environment  as  well.  "This  desert, " 
he  called  it  in  a  letter  to  Theodore  Dudley. 4 

1  Roanoke,  Sept.  26,  1813,  Id.,  v.  2,  22.  2  J.  R.'s  Diary. 

3  Letter  from  H.  B.  Chermside,  Clk.,  Charlotte  C.  H.,  to  author,  Nov. 
II,  1918.  4  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  204. 


360         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"In  a  few  years  more,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough, 
"those  of  us  who  are  alive  will  have  to  move  off  to  Kaintuck  or 
the  Massissippi,  where  corn  can  be  had  for  6  pence  a  bushel 
and  pork  for  a  penny  a  pound.  I  do  not  wonder  at  the  rage 
for  immigration.  What  do  the  bulk  of  the  people  get  here 
that  they  cannot  have  for  one-fifth  of  the  labor  in  the  western 
country?  Surely  that  must  be  the  Yahoo's  paradise,  where 
he  can  get  dead  drunk  for  the  hundredth  part  of  a  dollar."1 

In  1827,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough: 

"You  say  that  'without  something  of  the  sort  [cotton  spin- 
ning] Richmond  is  done  over.'  My  dear  friend,  she  is  'done 
over' ;  and  past  recovery.  She  wears  the  fades  hippocratica. 
That  is  not  the  worst — the  country  is  also  ruined — past 
redemption,  body  and  soul — soil  and  mind.  My  friend,  Mr. 
Barksdale,  has  resolved  to  sell  out  and  leave  Amelia.  He  is 
right,  and  would  be  so  were  he  to  give  his  establishment  there 
away.  If  I  live  through  the  coming  year,  I  too  will  break  my 
fetters.  He  was  almost  my  only  resource.  They  have  dried 
up  one  by  one,  and  I  am  left  in  the  desert  alone."2 

In  a  letter  to  Francis  W.  Gilmer,  Randolph  expressed 
the  opinion  that,  except  Ireland,  Southside  Virginia  was 
the  most  neglected  country  in  the  world.3  And,  in 
another  letter  to  Gilmer,  he  broke  out  into  this  gust  of 
impatience  with  the  same  region : 

"My  friend  it  will  not  do  to  compare  the  soft  flowing 
Afton  and  Guy's  Cliff  and  Warwick  Castle  and  Stoneleigh 
Abbey  and  Kenilworth  with  our  rivers  of  mud  and  gullied 
plantations:  lucus  a  non  lucendo.  For  my  part,  I  wish  there 
was  not  another  point  of  comparison,  from  which  I  wince  more 
sorely.  But,  as  Mrs.  Honour  says,  'comparisons  are  odious,' 
and  we  will  drop  them.  The  state  of  society  in  this  country 
is  intolerable ;  a  more  dreary,  monotonous,  joyless  existence  is 
not  to  be  found  than  the  life  led  by  the  richer  part  of  our 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  15.  2  Roanoke,  Nov.  26,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  2913. 

3  Roanoke,  Mar.  31,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 


»      £ 


Randolph  as  a  Man  361 

population.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  slaves  are  happier,  for 
they  have  some  hours  of  recreation  and  merrymaking.  Even 
music  has  no  charms  for  their  masters,  and,  for  want  of  some 
sensation,  whiskey  and  fanaticism  are  brought  into  play.  The 
last  music  I  heard  was  from  the  lips  of  Miss  Stevens. 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  that  Mr.  K.  is  'content  with  the  country.' 
I  think  his  delight  from  his  little  daughter  must  have  reconciled 
him  to  it.  In  any  view  of  it,  it  is  incomprehensible  to  me. 
My  friends,  Mr.  Leigh  and  H.  Tucker,  have  pressed  me  to  go 
over  our  mountains.  The  hope  of  meeting  Dr.  Brockenbrough 
and  yourself  in  that  dreary  country  could  alone  induce  me  to 
encounter  its  discomforts ;  to  say  nothing  of  those  on  the  road. 
Travelling  with  us  is  a  hard  penance.  In  New  Spain  and  South 
America,  the  traveller  finds  ample  recompense  for  all  his 
fatigues  and  privations  in  the  grand  and  beautiful  features  of 
the  country;  but  here "* 

What  are  we  to  think  of  a  Virginian  to  whom  even  "the 
Valley"  had  become  dreary?  In  justice  to  Randolph, 
however,  we  should  add  that  this  letter  was  written  after 
"deluges  of  rain"  had  finally  destroyed  his  tobacco  crop, 
and  that,  in  writing  it,  he  called  it  a  "splenetic  effusion, " 
a  term  which  could  be  aptly  applied  to  most  of  his  stric- 
tures on  Southside  Virginia  and  Virginia  at  large,  for  the 
reader  should  realize  that  the  cloud,  which  Randolph  saw 
at  this  time,  did  not  enfold  simply  Southside  Virginia, 
but  the  whole  of  Virginia,  if  not  the  whole  of  the  United 
States.  Read  this  extract  for  illustration,  from  a  letter 
written  by  him  to  his  niece  on  July  27,  1825: 

"I  had  omitted  to  notice  the  mention  of  my  late  friend, 
the  late  Col.  Wm.  Morton.  He  was  one  of  the  last  of  a  race 
of  men  that  cannot  be  found  in  times  like  these.  Perhaps, 
you  may  think  me  a  querulous  old  man,  praising  past  manners 
and  undervaluing  the  present.  So  is  Tacitus  who  prefers  the 
state  of  manners  under  the  Commonwealth  to  that  which 
prevailed  under  Tiberius  and  his  successors. 

1  Roanoke,  July  26,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 


362         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"The  truth  is  that  the  paper  and  land-jobbing  systems  have 
produced  an  entire  alteration  in  our  character.  A  greediness 
to  get  office,  and,  having  gained,  to  try  with  how  small  a  por- 
tion of  industry  and  ability  in  the  discharge  of  its  duties  we 
may  hold  the  place ;  a  shameful  exercise  of  the  patronage,  thus 
derived,  in  favour  of  our  own  connexions — these  and  other 
blotches  deform  the  fair  face  of  our  society.  From  being  a 
lively,  hospitable  people,  fond  of  music  and  dancing,  we  are  sunk 
into  gloom  and  fanaticisms,  and  the  solitary  joys  of  intoxication 
are  the  chief  solace  of  multitudes. 

"The  young  men  lounge  and  squirt  tobacco  juice  and  drink 
whiskey  grog.  The  young  women  are  too  'serious'  to  dance 
and  almost  to  sing.  So  that  we  are  sunk  down  into  a  state  of 
joyless  and  almost  monotonous  existence  that  ought  to  satisfy 
no  one  above  a  Hottentot.  He  who  has  mind  or  soul  must  be 
revolted  at  such  a  state  of  things.  Intellectual  enjoyments 
there  are  none.  Rational  piety  has  given  place  to  puritanical 
jargon;  Atterbury  and  Tillotson  and  Barrow  and  Sherlock 
and  South,  [to]  N.  England  sermons  and  trumpery  'tracts': 
meanwhile,  the  practice  of  Christianity,  of  moderation,  kind- 
ness, charity,  has  been  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  its  high-strained 
Calvinistic  theory.  Mammon  is  the  true  idol  of  our  worship. 
The  heart  is  with  him.  I  see  self-righteous  people,  who  grind 
the  faces  of  the  poor,  drive  their  slaves  to  the  top  of  their  speed, 
take  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  then  abuse  their 
neighbors  for  worldly-mindness  and  want  of  religion,  as  if  it 
were  a  piece  of  goods.  They  talk  of  getting  religion  as  one 
would  of  getting  a  coat  or  hat.  These  people  never  think  of 
those  who  cry  'Lord,  Lord,'  or  of  the  people  that  'draweth  nigh 
unto  me  with  their  mouth  but  their  heart  is  far  from  me.'  By 
this  time  you  are  tired  of  my  sermon;  but  mark  I  make  no 
application."1 

On  Christmas  Day,  in  1828,  he  takes  up  the  same  re- 
frain in  another  letter  to  his  niece : 

"My  dear  Child :     I  am  glad  to  learn  that  you  are  cheerful 
and  happy.     This  used  to  be  the  season  of  gladness  and  joy. 
1  Roanoke,  July  27,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  363 

But  times  are  changed  now.  I  am  well  aware  that  I  have 
changed  not  less,  and  that  no  degree  of  merriment  and  festivity 
would  excite  in  me  the  same  hilarity  that  I  used  to  feel.  But, 
laying  that  consideration  aside,  or  rather,  after  making  the 
most  ample  allowance  for  it,  I  cannot  be  deceived  in  the  fact 
that  we  are  an  altered  people,  and  altered  in  my  estimation 
sadly  for  the  worse.  The  very  slaves  have  become  almost 
forgetful  of  their  Saturnalia.  Where  now  are  the  rousing 
'Christmas  Fires'  and  merry,  kind-hearted  greetings  of  the 
by-gone  times  ?  On  this  day,  it  used  to  be  my  pride  to  present 
my  mother  with  not  less  than  a  dozen  partridges  for  an 
ample  pie.  The  young  people  [became]  merry  and  the  old 
cheerful. 

"The  principal  cause  in  this  change  in  our  manners  is  a 
gloomy  spirit  of  Fanaticism,  which,  under  the  name,  I  will  not 
say  mask,  of  religion,  has  overspread  our  land.  The  rational 
and  manly  piety  of  our  fathers  is  scoffed  at  as  hardly  better 
than  downright  infidelity,  and  God  is  first  to  be  invested  with 
the  attributes  of  the  evil  principle  before  he  can  be  worshipped. 
Morality  is  decried  as  something  superfluous,  if  not  dangerous, 
to  salvation,  and  men  of  the  vilest  moral  conduct  are  among 
the  pillars  of  the  Church ;  many  of  them  in  the  pulpit.  Our 
people,  weighed  down  by  their  public  and  private  burdens,  the 
fruits  of  iniquitous  legislation  and  their  own  improvidence,  like 
all  other  nations  under  oppression,  seek  in  austerities  of  opin- 
ion or  practice  to  propitiate  Heaven.  This  it  is  that  has 
peopled  the  deserts  of  upper  Egypt  with  solitary  ascetics ;  that 
impels  the  car  of  Juggernaut,  and  fills  our  temples  of  Belial  and 
Mammon.  Our  women,  such  is  the  invariable  law  of  this 
disease,  all  of  them,  to  the  neglect  of  their  domestic  duties, 
and  many  to  the  injury  of  their  reputations,  are  running  mad 
after  popular  preachers  or  forming  themselves  into  clubs  of 
one  sort  or  another  that  only  serve  to  gratify  the  love  of  self- 
ishness and  notoriety.  You  judge  rightly  of  the  inestimable 
value  of  temper.  It  is  worth  all  the  rest  put  together.  A  sour 
face  may  cover  a  good  heart,  but  its  unhappy  possessor  will 
never  confer  what  he  does  not  possess. 

"I  need  not  say  that  my  letters  are  for  no  eye  but  your  own. 
I  have  made  too  many  enemies  and  am  more  than  sufficiently 


3°4         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

hated  already.     But  the  animosity  of  a  detected  hypocrite,  of 
of  a  dupe,  whose  eyes  you  can't  open,  is  beyond  measure."1 

In  1829,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  in  these 
sweeping  terms: 

"As  to  State  politics,  I  do  not  wish  to  speak  about  them; 
the  country  is  ruined  past  redemption.  It  is  ruined  in  the 
spirit  and  character  of  the  people.  The  standard  of  merit  and 
morals  has  been  lowered  far  below  'proof.'  There  is  an 
abjectness  of  spirit  that  appals  and  disgusts  me.  Where 
now  could  we  find  leaders  of  a  Revolution?  The  whole  South 
will  precipitate  itself  upon  Louisiana  and  the  adjoining  deserts. 
Hares  will  huddle  in  the  Capitol.  'Sauve  qui  pent'  is  my 
maxim.  Congress  will  liberate  our  slaves  in  less  than  20 
years.     Adieu."2 

More  pessimistic  still  is  a  letter  written  by  Randolph 
to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  a  few  weeks  later;  in  which  he 
quotes  a  striking  passage  from  one  of  Macaulay's  Essays: 

"My  good  friend:  I  scratched  a  few  lines  to  you  on  Thurs- 
day (I  think)  or  Friday,  while  lying  in  my  bed.  I  am  now  out 
of  it,  and  somewhat  better;  but  I  still  feel  the  barb  rankling  in 
my  side.  Whether,  or  not,  it  be  owing  to  the  debility  brought 
on  by  disease,  I  can't  contemplate  the  present  and  future 
condition  of  my  country  without  dismay  and  utter  hopeless- 
ness. I  trust  that  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  (as  was  said  of  a 
certain  great  man)  are  always  of  the  opinion  of  the  book  last 
read.  But  I  met  with  a  passage  in  a  review  (Edinburgh)  of 
the  works  and  life  of  Machiavelli  that  strikes  me  with  great 
force  as  applicable  to  the  whole  country  south  of  Patapsco: 
'It  is  difficult  to  conceive  any  situation  more  painful  than  that 
of  a  great  man  condemned  to  watch  the  lingering  agony  of  an 
exhausted  country,  to  tend  it  during  the  alternate  fits  of 
stupefaction  and  raving  which  precede  its  dissolution,  to  see 

1  Christmas  Day,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Jan.  12,  1829,  Garland,  v.  2,  317. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  365 

the  signs  of  its  vitality  disappear  one  by  one,  till  nothing  is 
left  but  coldness,  darkness,  and  corruption.' "* 

Not  infrequently,  when  Randolph  was  at  Roanoke,  his 
melancholy  assumed  the  form  of  an  intense  craving  for 
human  society.     In  1821,  he  wrote  to  Francis  W.  Gilmer: 

"I  yearn  to  see  and  speak  to  somebody  who  is  not  indifferent 
or  distrustful  of  me,  and  there  are  moments,  when  the  arrival  of 
anyone  for  whom  I  feel  regard,  would  give  me  as  much  pleasure 
as  the  drawing  of  the  great  prize  in  the  Lottery  can  have 
afforded  your  brother  of  the  robe.  ...  I  sometimes  look 
towards  my  gate,  not  as  Sir  Arthur  Mandour,  who  looked  out 
upon  his  long,  straight  avenues,  for  there  is  no  feeling  of  ennui 
in  my  case,  but  with  a  sense  of  privation  of  human  intercourse 
and  a  gushing  of  the  heart  towards  the  individual  whom  I 
picture  to  myself  as  riding  or  driving  up.  If  I  were  a  poet  in 
fact  as  well  as  in  temperament,  I  would  embody  in  verse 
'feelings  that  lie  too  deep  for  tears.'  As  I  am  not,  I  must 
refer  you  to  the  Lake  School  whose  productions  I  never  have 
read  and  probably  never  shall."2 

To  his  niece  the  desire  for  congenial  companionship 
was  expressed  with  still  greater  intensity:  "At  this  mo- 
ment," he  wrote  to  her  in  1823,  "I  would  rather  see  the 
face  of  a  friend  than  fill  a  throne ;  but  I  am  so  unused  to 
the  voice  of  kindness  that  it  would  unman  me.  "3  But  it 
was  true  friends  that  he  wished  to  see;  not  mere  curious 
strangers,  nor  mere  nati  fruges  [aut  tetnpus]  consumer e. 
In  1828,  he  wrote  to  his  niece: 

''Had  you  and  your  brother  been  alone,  I  should  certainly 
have  seen  you  and  spent  one  day  at  least  with  you.  But  Mrs. 
C.  is  quite  a  stranger  to  me.  I  can  hardly  bear  the  gaze  of  the 
multitude,  but  I  shrink  from  the  eyes  of  those  who  know  me 
only  by  person  or  reputation.     It  may  be  an  improper  feeling, 

1  Washington,  Feb.  9,  1829,  Garland,  v.  2,  317. 

a  Roanoke,  Jul.  22,  1821,  Bryan  MSS. 

i  Roanoke,  Sep.  26, 1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 


366         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

but  it  is  a  deeply-seated  one.  Duty  to  the  kindest  of  con- 
stituents alone  could  drive  me  from  home.  It  is  a  heavy  pen- 
ance, but  light  in  comparison  with  carrying  my  wretched  ail- 
ments into  a  private  house.  .  .  .  Again  there  are  times  when 
silence  and  abstraction  are  as  necessary  to  me  as  sleep ;  and  yet 
I  can  stop  nowhere  but  at  a  country  inn  without  being  annoyed 
by  people  who  seem  to  think  it  impossible  that  a  traveller  can 
be  weary,  or  that  he  requires  rest  and  refreshment."1 

This  letter  was  written  from  Washington,  but  it  might 
as  well  have  been  written  from  Roanoke.  In  another 
letter  to  his  niece,  from  which  we  have  already  quoted,  he 
said :  ' '  The  people  whom  I  see  are  made  of  wood  and  wire, 
and  talk  like  the  cuckoos  in  a  Dutch  clock,  mechanically; 
and  even  such  as  these  I  hardly  see  once  a  month.  "2  It 
was  this  kind  of  people  who  had  caused  him  to  say  to  his 
niece  in  still  another  letter,  written  at  Roanoke  on  a  dark 
rainy  day:  "I  bless  God  that  I  have  a  tight  roof  over  my 
head,  and,  if  no  company,  no  bore.  "3 

Nowhere  in  his  correspondence  is  the  distinction  which 
he  maintained  between  visits  from  his  friends  and  agree- 
able neighbors  and  visitations  from  other  persons  more 
clearly  manifested  than  in  one  of  his  letters  to  his  niece: 

"I  have  made  up  my  own  scheme  of  life  for  the  few  sands 
that  remain  in  the  glass,"  he  said.  "Here  I  can  have  at 
absolute  command  all  I  want,  that  is  attainable;  accom- 
modations for  my  infirmities  that  I  should  be  unreasonable  to 
look  for  abroad,  except  in  an  English  Inn.  Not  a  soul  visits 
me;  neither  do  I  desire  the  society  of  such  as  are  unable  to 
instruct  or  amuse  me  by  their  conversation,  or  delight  me  by 
their  manners ;  and  where  are  these  to  be  found  ?  .  .  .  There- 
fore, I  go  nowhere,  and  give  it  distinctly  to  be  understood  that 
I  receive  none  but  friends.  Of  these  Mr.  Leigh  is  20  miles  off, 
bad  road,  with  a  ferry  and  dangerous  ford;  Mr.  Barksdale 

1  Washington,  Nov.  28,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Sept.  26,  1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

3  Nov.  1,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  367 

70,  and  Dr.  B,  ioo.  So  far  from  being  oppressed  by  solitude, 
altho'  I  acknowledge  that  I  should  like  a  neighbor  to  whose 
house  I  could  ride  and  take  an  unceremonious  dinner,  or  who 
would  partake  of  my  family  fare  and  afternoon  pipe  and  bottle, 
...  I  feel  a  little  alarm  when  the  click  of  the  gate  an- 
nounces the  approach  of  a  stranger.  The  morning  ride,  my 
affairs,  my  horses  and  dogs  afford  me  ample  occupation,  and 
over  my  coffee  and  wine  I  look  with  pity  upon  this  trumpery 
world,  where  my  actions  are  watched  and  words  set  down 
to  be  repeated,  not  always  as  they  are  uttered.  To  this  I 
except  the  presence  of  the  very  few  whose  company  is  not  irk- 
some to  me."1 

Occasionally,  of  course,  when  profoundly  a  la  mort 
Randolph  discharged  his  bile,  as  we  all  are  likely  to  do, 
under  the  same  circumstances,  in  reproaches  or  even  self- 
reproach.  In  1828,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough : 
"For  the  last  month,  I  have  been  sensible  of  a  dejection  of 
mind  that  I  can't  shake  off.  Perhaps  some  interchange  of 
the  courtesies  and  civilities  of  life  might  alleviate  it;  but 
these  are  unknown  in  this  region.  "2  Less  than  a  month 
later,  he  wrote  again  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  saying: 
"Sometimes,  in  a  fit  of  sullen  indignation,  I  almost  resolve 
to  abjure  all  intercourse  with  mankind;  but  the  yearning 
of  my  heart  after  those  whom  I  have  loved,  but  who, 
in  the  eagerness  of  their  own  pursuits,  seem  to  have 
cast  me  aside,  tell  me  better."3  Once,  in  a  letter,  he 
fell  into  poetic  quotation,  as  it  was  easy  for  him,  with  a 
memory  that  held  everything  in  its  grasp  like  a  spring- 
lock,  to  do,  and  compared  himself  with  Darius: 

1 '  Deserted  at  his  utmost  need 
By  those  his  former  bounty  fed."4 

1  Roanoke,  Aug.  18,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Roanoke,  Sept.  30,  1828,  Garland,  v.  2,  311. 

3  Roanoke,  Oct.  28,  1828,  Garland,  v.  2,  311. 

4  Dec.  6,  1831,  Bouldin,  228. 


368         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

More  painful  still,  because  our  self -chastisements  are 
much  more  likely  to  be  merited  than  our  chastisements  of 
others,  was  the  impulse  which  caused  him  to  declare  that 
he  knew  how  to  win  neither  love  nor  esteem. 

To  ignore,  when  reviewing  Randolph's  intemperance  of 
speech  and  conduct,  such  physical  pain  and  debility,  and 
such  mental  aberrations  as  those  upon  which  we  have 
dwelt,  would,  obviously,  be  to  violate  the  simplest  prin- 
ciples of  common  justice.  Few  men,  no  matter  how 
happy-tempered  originally,  could  be  so  continuously  har- 
assed as  he  was,  body  and  mind,  without  a  severe  loss  of 
good  nature  and  self-restraint.  Moreover,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  Randolph's  temper  was  not  only  jaundiced 
by  disease,  but  soured  by  domestic  misfortunes. 

It  has  also  been  thought  that  Randolph's  excesses  of 
temper  were  "due  in  no  little  measure  to  drink ;  but  we  have 
positive  testimony  to  the  effect  that  drink  usually  made 
him  rather  good-natured  than  otherwise.  ' '  My  opinion, ' ' 
Judge  Leigh  testified  in  the  Randolph  will  litigation,  "is 
that  the  effect  which  intoxication  produced  on  him  was 
to  impair  his  articulation  and  to  render  him  more  good- 
humored.  " l  Moreover,  we  are  convinced  that  Randolph 
by  no  means  drank  as  deeply  at  any  period  of  his  life  as 
has  been  supposed;  and  that  the  injustice,  that  has  been 
done  him  in  this  respect,  is  referable  mainly  to  failure  to 
properly  discriminate  between  the  man,  as  he  was  after 
his  return  from  Russia,  an  utter  wreck  physically  and 
mentally,  and  as  he  was  in  the  earlier  stages  of  his  exist- 
ence. That  he  consumed  large  quantities  of  spirits  and 
wine  after  his  return  from  Russia,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
On  that  point,  the  testimony  of  Wyatt  Cardwell,  John 
Marshall,  Judge  Leigh,  and  Joseph  M.  Daniel,  in  the 
Randolph  will  litigation,  is  conclusive;  but  even  Judge 
Leigh  testified  in  that  litigation  in  regard  to  this  period: 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  369 

"I  do  not  remember  that  I  saw  him  drinking  to  excess 
previous  to  the  first  week  in  March,  1832."  For  a  long 
time  after  his  return  from  Russia,  Randolph  did  not  have 
mind  enough  to  curb  any  urgent  physical  propensity,  and, 
even  if  his  intellect  had  not  been  overthrown,  he  might 
well  have  craved  liquor  as  he  craved  opium;  simply  as  an 
anodyne  with  which  to  lull  his  unbearable  misery  to  sleep. 
Until  his  return  from  Russia,  he  drank  very  little  spirits 
of  any  sort.  The  only  evidence  to  the  contrary,  so  far  as 
we  know,  is  that  furnished  us  by  James  W.  Bouldin,  who 
was  a  resident  of  Charlotte  County.     This  is  what  he  says : 

■ '  From  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  Mr.  Randolph  to  the  last — 
say  from  about  1808  or  '9  till  his  death — he  drank  very  hard — 
groat  quantities  of  all  kinds  of  intoxicating  drink.  He  gener- 
ally drank  the  best,  whether  wine  or  distilled  spirits;  but  he 
would  drink  bad  if  he  could  not  get  good. 

"This  had  various  and  very  singular  effects  on  him.  Some- 
times he  became  drunk  in  the  ordinary  way — lost  the  use  of  his 
limbs,  including  his  tongue,  and  his  mental  faculties  became 
almost  entirely  obscured.  This,  however,  I  presume  was 
seldom,  as  I  do  not  recollect  of  having  seen  it  happen  more 
than  two  or  three  times  in  all  my  acquaintance  with  him. 
Generally,  the  more  he  drank,  the  stronger  and  the  more 
brilliant  he  became,  until,  after  weeks,  sometimes  he  would 
become  suddenly  prostrate  and  sink,  and  so,  after  a  time,  he 
would  recover. 

"Although  he  drank  much  in  public,  he  drank  still  more  in 
private,  and,  although  this  fact  was  known  to  so  many,  yet  it 
is  a  matter  of  great  surprise  to  nine-tenths  of  persons  to  be  told 
that  he  drank  to  excess.  He  scarcely  ever  drank  with  the 
illiterate  or  vulgar  at  all,  even  during  the  highest  electioneering 
times.  I  scarcely  ever  saw  him  drinking  with  gentlemen,  but 
he  drank  more  than  any  of  them.  Still  he  had  the  power  of 
fascination  and  charm  to  such  an  extent  on  most  men  that, 
though  he  drank  much,  they  thought  it  had  no  effect  upon  him. 
One  of  the  most  talented  men  I  ever  knew,  General  J.,  told  me 
he  knew  that  when  he  boarded  with  Mr.  Randolph,  at  Craw- 


VOL.  II — 24 


370         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

ford's,  he  drank  more  brandy  (fifth  proof  French  brandy) 
than  any  man  he  ever  saw."1 


This  sounds  very  specific,  but  we  are  told  by  John  Ran- 
dolph Bryan  that  James  Bouldin's  acquaintance  with 
Randolph  was  so  limited  that  he  was  never  in  Randolph's 
home  as  an  invited  guest.  In  this  he  was  in  part  mis- 
taken, for,  in  his  Recollections,  Bouldin  states  that  he 
once  slept  in  the  same  room  at  Roanoke  with  Randolph 2 ; 
nor  are  references  to  Bouldin  in  Randolph's  Diary  and 
other  journals  lacking.  But  it  is  an  unquestionable  fact 
that  Bouldin  was  not  on  the  same  intimate  footing  with 
Randolph  as  either  William  Leigh  or  Dr.  Brockenbrough, 
if  on  anything  approaching  an  intimate  footing  with  him 
at  all.  This  being  so,  we  find  it  difficult  to  accept  his 
statements  in  regard  to  Randolph's  habits  to  their  full 
extent  in  the  face  of  what  Judge  Leigh,  who  was  for  years 
on  the  very  closest  terms  with  Randolph  at  Roanoke,  at 
his  own  home,  and  at  the  homes  of  common  friends  of 
theirs,  with  whom  they  frequently  dined  together,  has  to 
say  upon  the  same  subject  under  oath  in  the  Randolph 
will  litigation. 

"  I  do  not  remember,"  he  testified  in  this  litigation,  "to  have 
seen  Mr.  Randolph  under  strong  excitement  from  drinking 
spirituous  liquors  for  any  considerable  period  previous  to 
1 83 1-2  but  at  one  period — namely,  the  year  1820,  the  summer 
after  Commodore  Decaur's  death;  and  I  have  already  stated 
in  the  body  of  my  deposition  that  I  then  thought  him  de- 
ranged. .  .  .  Mr.  Randolph  very  rarely  drank  spirituous 
liquors.  His  drink  was  principally  wine  and  porter.  I  do  not 
now  remember  that  I  ever  saw  him  intoxicated  from  drinking 
spirituous  liquors  before  1831,  except  in  1820,  but  on  one 
occasion — at  Halifax  Court  House  in  the  year  1829.  On  that 
occasion,  he  exhibited  no  harsh  demeanor  or  irritable  feelings. 
On  that  occasion,  he  seemed  to  be  more  good-humored  than  he 

1  Bouldin,  105.  2  Id.,  11. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  37 1 

usually  was.     I  have  seen  him  at  his  own  house  in  the  evening 
intoxicated  several  times  from  drinking  wine." 

This,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  was  the  testimony  of 
a  man  who  was  not  only  for  many  years  as  familiar  with 
Randolph  as  any  one  brother  is  with  another,  and  enjoyed 
throughout  life  a  singularly  high  reputation  as  a  man  of 
veracity  and  integrity,  but  who  was  accustomed  as  a  judge 
to  weigh  his  words  most  scrupulously.  What  he  says,  it 
is  true,  does  not  exculpate  Randolph  from  the  charge  of 
excessive  drinking  at  times,  but  it  presents  him  to  us  as 
not  drinking  more  immoderately  than  some  of  his  political 
contemporaries  did  without  suffering  any  considerable 
amount  of  discredit. 

The  same  observations  might  be  made  with  even  more 
force  upon  the  testimony  of  Dr.  John  Brockenbrough,  who 
was  one  of  Randolph's  intimate  friends  from  1807  until 
the  day  of  Randolph's  death: 

"In  several  instances,"  he  said,  "Mr.  Randolph  exhibited 
very  outre  and  capricious  conduct  in  his  dress,  manners  and 
conversation;  but,  even  on  these  occasions,  he  would  converse 
with  a  friend  or  two  in  the  most  rational  and  interesting  man- 
ner, and  he  seemed  to  understand  perfectly  what  he  had  said 
or  done.  Such  conduct  as  I  have  referred  to  always  appeared 
to  me  to  be  much  aggravated  when  he  had  taken  wine,  which 
he  sometimes  took  to  excess — not  that  he  became  drunk,  but 
much  stimulated  and  excited." 

We  do  not  forget  what  Dr.  Lacy  said  about  the  amount 
of  rum  toddy  that  Randolph  drank  at  Ararat;  but  Ran- 
dolph drank  rum  toddy  there,  we  imagine,  because  he  had 
left  all  his  Madeira  behind  him  at  Roanoke.  Besides,  in 
determining  whether  Randolph  drank  inordinate  quan- 
tities of  rum  toddy  at  Ararat,  we  should  want  to  apply 
some  other  standard  to  what  he  drank  than  that  of  a  strict 
Presbyterian  clergyman,  such  as  Dr.  Lacy  was.      More- 


372        John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

over,  Dr.  Lacy  tells  us  that  Randolph  did  not  seem  to  be 
in  the  least  befuddled  from  what  he  drank ;  and  this  cer- 
tainly could  not  have  been  true  of  such  a  delicate  and 
excitable  man  as  Randolph  was  if  his  potations  had  been 
very  deep.  If  there  is  anything  certain  about  drink,  it  is 
that  when  taken  in  excess  it  makes  one  drunk. 

Nor  do  we  forget  that  Jacob  Harvey  tells  us  that  on  one 
occasion  when  the  worthy  Captain  of  the  Amity  insisted 
upon  their  drinking  "sweetheart  and  wives"  on  a  Satur- 
day, in  accordance  with  the  rule,  Randolph  "became 
rather  beside  himself";  but  he  adds,  "Not  drunk,  gentle 
reader,  but  noisy  and  somewhat  oblivious."1  Further- 
more, as  we  have  already  intimated,  one  of  Harvey's 
stories  is  sometimes  as  much  the  offspring  of  the  imagina- 
tion as  of  the  memory. 

Dr.  I.  B.  Rice  was  also  of  the  opinion  "that  much  of 
the  irregularity"  of  Randolph's  conduct  "proceeded  from 
disease  of  body  and  inebriety. " 2  For  all  that  his  context 
shows,  however,  this  opinion  may  have  been  based  upon 
Randolph's  habits  after  his  return  from  Russia. 

Moreover,  how  comes  it  that  James  W.  Bouldin  could 
have  stated  that  from  the  first  time  that  he  ever  saw 
Randolph,  which  was  about  1808,  or  1809,  until  Ran- 
dolph's death,  he  drank  "great  quantities  of  all  kinds  of 
intoxicating  drinks,"  and  yet  be  reported  by  Powhatan 
Bouldin  as  also  saying  that,  during  the  War  of  1812,  Ran- 
dolph drank  but  little  and  he  thought  only  wine?3 

Randolph  himself  has  some  confessions  to  make  on  the 
subject  of  drinking.  In  a  letter  written  to  Dr.  Brocken- 
brough  in  1826,  he  says:  "Now,  when  too  late,  I  am  a 
confirmed  toast  and  water  man.  My  convivialities  for 
15  years  (1807  to  1822)  are  now  telling  upon  me"4;  and, 
after  entering  in  the  Diary  on  different  occasions  dinners 
at  which  he  had  been  present  at  Col.  Morton's,  Col. 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  1,  314.  2  Bouldin,  114. 

3  Id.,  21.  *  March  4,  1826,  Garland,  v.  2,  268. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  373 

Clark's,  Isaac  Coles',  and  James  Bruce's,  he  adds  in  each 
case  the  word:  "Debauch."  Such  confessions  as  these 
should  not  be  taken  too  literally.  Randolph  had  a  very 
delicate  constitution  and  a  very  emphatic  tongue,  and,  as 
we  have  seen,  he  could  not  even  drink  a  little  Madeira 
with  Kidder  Randolph  without  declaring  that  he  had  given 
him  a  slice  of  his  constitution.  So  far  as  we  are  cognizant, 
there  is  no  evidence  whatever  that  Col.  Morton,  Col. 
Clark,  Isaac  Coles,  and  James  Bruce  were  not  among  the 
soberest  and  most  conservative,  as  they  were  undoubtedly 
among  the  most  conspicuous,  citizens  and  landowners  of 
Halifax  and  Charlotte  Counties. 

Then,  too,  if  Randolph's  testimony  against  himself  is 
to  be  weighed,  so  should  his  testimony  in  his  own  behalf. 
In  1822,  he  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley: 

"I  had  rather  die  than  drink  habitually  brandy  and  water. 
Look  around  you  and  see  its  ravages.  Thank  God  it  does  not 
possess  any  allurement  for  me!  I  have  sometimes  been  the 
better  for  a  little  brandy  toddy,  but  I  have  not  tasted  spirits 
for  six  weeks  or  more ;  and  never  shall  again  but  as  medicine. 
Genuine  Madeira  is  the  only  thing  except  good  water  that  I  can 
drink  with  pleasure  or  impunity;  not  always  with  the  last; 
sometimes  with  neither."1 

Later,  he  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley: 

"Yesterday  (or  'on  yesterday'  as  it  is  said  here)  I  dined  out, 
and,  although  I  carried  (or  rather  Johnny  did)  my  bottles  of 
toast  and  water  and  milk,  I  was  tortured  with  indigestion. 
My  night  has  been  a  most  wretched  one,  and  all  my  former 
symptoms  seem  aggravated.  I  will,  however,  persevere 
throughout  this  month  at  least ;  indeed  I  feel  no  great  difficulty 
in  abstaining — none  at  all  from  wine  and  all  fermented  and 
distilled  liquors.  The  odor  of  a  fine,  fat  canvas-back  some- 
times tries  my  self-denial.  Every  other  strong  drink  but 
wine  is  now  absolutely  distasteful  to  me,  and  I  have  no  great 
propensity  to  that."2 

1  Feb.  5,  1822,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  251.  2  Feb.  22,  1822,  Id.,  245. 


374       John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Much  was  made  by  public  gossip  of  Randolph's  famous 
call  when  he  was  speaking:  "Tims,  more  toast  and 
water."  But  Mrs.  Sea  ton,  who  knew  Randolph  well  at 
Washington,  declares  that  she  never  saw  him  affected  by 
wine. f  Nor  could  anything  be  more  clear  or  more  direct 
than  the  testimony  of  Thomas  H.  Benton,  who  lodged  in 
a  room  next  to  that  occupied  by  Randolph  during  the 
Congressional  Session  of  1821-22,  and  saw  Randolph  at 
all  hours  of  the  day  and  night : 

"Love  of  wine,"  Benton  said,  "was  attributed  to  him;  and 
what  was  mental  excitement  was  referred  to  deep  potations. 
It  was  a  great  error.  I  never  saw  him  affected  by  wine — not 
even  to  the  slightest  departure  from  the  habitual  and  scrupu- 
lous decorum  of  his  manners."2 

Equally  to  the  point  is  a  letter  from  Mark  Alexander, 
one  of  Randolph's  colleagues  and  intimate  friends,  which 
was  published  in  the  Richmond  Enquirer  on  Jan.  23,  1827. 
After  denying  that  Randolph  had  used  scurrilous  language 
about  one  of  his  fellow-Congressmen,  Alexander  said: 
"My  association  with  Mr.  Randolph,  under  the  same  roof 
for  many  winters  past,  enables  me  farther  to  state  that  the 
charge  of  drunkenness  is  equally  unfounded." 

But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Randolph  drank  Ma- 
deira freely  throughout  his  life  except  at  times  when  ill- 
health  compelled  him  to  renounce  it  altogether  for  a  time, 
as  in  1829. 3  "Peter,"  Randolph  remarked  on  one  occa- 
sion, when  his  cousin,  Peter  Randolph,  was  at  his  table 
at  Roanoke,  "You  see  I  have  not  forgotten  how  to  drink 
old  Madeira."  "It  would  be  very  strange,"  replied 
Peter  Randolph,  "if  one  so  well  versed  in  the  practice 
should  forget  it.  "4  Aside  from  the  years  of  Randolph's 
life,  which  followed  his  return  from  Russia,  and  the  few 

1  P.  474.  2  Thirty  Years'  View,  v.  I,  474. 

3  Apr.  21,  1829,  Garland,  v.  2,  322.  *  Bouldin,  24. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  375 

occasions  on  which  he  became  intoxicated  before  that  time, 
we  suspect  that  the  real  extent  on  the  whole  to  which  he 
used  intoxicating  beverages  is  pretty  well  summed  up  in 
the  letter  written  by  John  Randolph  Bryan  to  Robertson, 
to  which  we  have  already  referred. 

"The  idea  of  his  drinking  intemperately,"  this  letter  says, 
"has  no  foundation  in  fact.  He  drank  wine  habitually  for  the 
greater  part  of  his  life,  but  his  health  afterwards  forbade  him 
to  touch  it.  When  he  offered  us  a  glass,  which  he  did  sometimes, 
I  have  heard  him  say:  'My  son,  never  spur  a  willing  horse,'  as 
a  caution  to  us."1 

John  Randolph  Bryan  is  referring  to  the  period  of  four 
years  during  which  he  and  his  brother  Thomas,  of  whom 
we  shall  have  a  word  to  say  hereafter,  were  under  Ran- 
dolph's roof  when  they  were  not  off  at  school.2  In  a 
letter  to  John  Randolph  Bryan,  written  from  London  after 
the  latter  had  married  his  niece,  Randolph  adjured  Bryan 
to  have  a  good  apple  orchard,  and  to  banish  ardent  spirits 
as  a  beverage  from  his  table.  "If  at  the  beginning, "  he 
said,  "you  are  obliged  to  resort  to  spirits,  let  your  wife 
make  the  punch  or  toddy  by  measure  of  a  certain  strength, 
never  to  be  increased,  according  to  the  good  old  Virginia 
fashion.  "3  We  can  only  trust  that,  when  his  niece  read 
this  letter,  she  did  not  recall  the  one  which  her  uncle  had 
written  to  her  about  two  years  before  in  which  he  had 
informed  her  that  his  practice  was  to  go  to  bed  before 
dark  after  having  drunk  the  best  part  of  a  bottle  of  Ma- 
deira, or  the  whole  of  a  bottle  of  Hermitage.  In  1832,  his 
habits  in  this  respect  were  very  much  the  same,  because 
under  date  of  Oct.  20,  1832,  Dr.  Ethelbert  Algernon 
Coleman  makes  this  entry  in  his  Diary  just  after  a  visit  to 
Roanoke:  "He  seems  very  weak,  and  says  that  he  was 
worse  from  having  omitted  the  usual  opiate  the  night 

1  Bryan,  MSS.  2  Id.  3  Dec.  28,  1830,  Bryan  MSS. 


376         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

before.  At  dinner,  he  had  retired  to  his  room  but  a  cooler 
of  wine  and  a  wine-glass  was  carried  there. " 

The  truth  is  that,  though  Randolph  occasionally  re- 
nounced the  use  of  wine  entirely,  or  was  for  a  time  quite 
abstemious  in  its  use,  he  always  had  a  plenteous  supply  of 
Madeira  on  hand  and  consumed  it  profusely  in  accord- 
ance with  the  habits  of  his  convivial  day.  In  1817,  he 
writes  to  Dr.  Dudley  from  ' ' Babel" : ' ' I  have  bought  a  fine 
pipe  of  Madeira.  Did  Quashia  [one  of  his  wagoners] 
bring  up  the  quarter  cask?"1  The  Diary  evidences  the 
fact  that  he  bought  a  hogshead  of  Madeira  in  1803,  and 
also  that,  on  Oct.  2j,  1812,  he  had  210  bottles,  2  carboys, 
and  3  case  bottles  of  Madeira  of  different  vintages. 
Opposite  to  another  Madeira  entry  in  the  Diary,  dated 
Sept.  5,  1808,  is  this  dolorous  observation:  "Drank  in  the 
past  year  10  dozen  and  3  bottles.  N.  B.  Very  little  at 
home."  But  this  wine  would  seem  to  have  been  con- 
sumed in  Washington,  where  he  was  frequently  a  host. 
We  also  know,  through  a  letter  from  John  Randolph  Clay, 
to  His  Excellency,  General  Bibikoff,  that  a  cask  of  Ma- 
deira which  belonged  to  Randolph,  was  shipped  to  him 
at  St.  Petersburg  from  Copenhagen  when  he  was  minister 
to  Russia. 2 

Randolph  was  fond  of  saying  that  we  never  learn  from 
the  experience  of  others,  but  his  own  success  in  making 
palatable  cider  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  things  that  led 
him  to  advise  John  Randolph  Bryan  to  plant  an  apple 
orchard.  At  any  rate,  in  one  of  his  briefer  journals,  under 
date  of  March  20,  1830,  he  mentions  the  fact  that  he  had 
drawn  off  104  bottles  of  cider. 

The  revivifying  effect  of  a  little  Madeira  on  Randolph, 
when  he  was  sick  and  languid,  was  so  great  that  his  guests 
must  have  been  quick  to  condone  his  resort  to  it,  if  it 
always   produced   the   consequences   described   by   Dr. 

1  Jan.  14,  1817,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  182. 
3  Nov.  13,  1830,  Clay  Papers,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  377 

Robert  L.  Dabney,  the  celebrated  Presbyterian  divine, 
in  his  Reminiscences  of  John  Randolph. 1 

"Dr.  Wm.  Morton,"  Dr.  Dabney  says,  "was  the  son  of  old 
Maj.  James  Morton,  of  Willington — 'Old  Solid  Column' — 
whom  Randolph  greatly  admired  for  his  steady  integrity,  (a) 
This  regard  for  the  father,  combined  with  a  certain  sympathy 
of  classical  tastes  to  make  the  young  Doctor  a  favorite  with 
Randolph.  One  day,  he  received  a  note  from  him,  written 
in  terms  of  exquisite  courtesy  and  elegance,  inviting  him  to 
visit  Roanoke.  The  note  stated  that  his  adopted  son,  Dr. 
Dudley,  and  one  of  the  young  Bryans  were  there;  that,  as  his 
own  health  was  very  bad,  he  feared  the  two  young  men  were 
having  but  a  dull  time,  and  he  wished  Dr.  Morton  to  come  up 
and  assist  him  in  entertaining  them.  He  accepted  the  in- 
vitation. He  found  Mr.  Randolph  an  invalid  from  his  old 
chronic  diarrhoea,  and  occupying  the  small,  two-roomed  cot- 
tage. The  young  men  slept  and  had  their  meals  in  the  new 
library  building.  One  morning,  the  black  valet,  John,  came 
in  as  they  were  finishing  their  breakfast  and  said  his  master 
sent  him  to  invite  them,  if  they  felt  inclined,  to  join  him  in  the 
little  house  in  his  family  prayers.  Of  course,  the  young  men 
went  over.  They  found  Mr.  Randolph  looking  feeble  and 
languid,  sitting  in  his  large  padded  arm-chair,  wearing  the 
dressing  gown  which  he  had  on  at  his  duel  with  Henry  Clay, 
and  still  showing  the  two  bullet  holes  made  by  Clay's  bullet. 
He  invited  the  young  men  to  seats  and  said:  'I  hope  my 
domestics,  young  gentlemen,  attend  to  all  your  wants  and  have 
given  you  a  comfortable  breakfast.  I  have  taken  the  only 
breakfast  my  bad  health  allows  me,  my  crackers  and  cup  of 
black  tea,  and,  as  this  is  the  time  for  our  family  prayers,  I  am 
glad  that  you  join  me  in  them. '  He  had  at  his  elbow  a  little 
stand  supporting  the  family  Bible  and  prayer-book,  and  the 
domestics  about  the  place  had  taken  their  places.  Dr. 
Morton  said  that  he  read  the  Scriptures  and  prayers  with  all 
the  propriety  and  solemnity  which  would  have  been  shown  by 
old  Dr.  Moses  Hoge,  or  Dr.  Alexander.  The  young  men  then 
made  motions  to  leave  the  room,  when  Mr  Randolph  said  to 

1  Union  Seminary  Magazine,  1894-95,  v-  6t  14-21. 


378         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

them :  'My  young  friends,  I  know  the  society  of  a  sick  old  man 
may  not  be  very  attractive,  but,  if  you  have  time  to  sit  awhile, 
you  will  really  do  me  a  favor,  as  I  am  not  well  enough  to  do  any 
study.'  They  resumed  their  seats,  of  course,  hoping  to  hear 
much  of  his  brilliant  and  instructive  conversation.  But  he 
seemed  languid  and  disinclined  to  talk.  The  young  men  had 
to  make  conversation  in  which  he  took  but  small  part.     After 

a  time,  one  of  them  mentioned  a  recent  escapade  of who 

then  took  occasional  but  terrible  sprees.  It  was  reported  in 
one  of  these  he  had  recently  become  so  violent  towards  his 
wife  that  she  felt  constrained  to  flee  from  her  own  house  at  a 
dead  hour  of  the  night  in  her  sleeping  apparel,  and  take  refuge 
in  the  overseer's  house.     Dr.  Dudley  commented  on  this  with 

severity,  remarking  that  Mrs. was  a  lady  of  high  family, 

of  exemplary  virtues  and  piety,  and  a  faithful  wife  and  mother 
of  his  numerous  children.  Dudley  said  that  the  husband,  who 
could  maltreat  his  own  wife  under  these  circumstances,  was  a 
monster,  and  hanging  was  too  good  for  him.  Here  Mr. 
Randolph  checked  him,  and,  with  all  the  gravity  of  the  most 
saintly  pastor,  addressed  him  about  as  follows:  'Oh,  my  young 
friend,  do  not  be  severe;  remember  the  good  rule,  "Judge  not, 
that  ye  be  not  judged."  Doubtless  the  Wise  Being,  who 
uttered  this,  had  a  far  tenderer  conscience  than  any  of  us,  and  a 
far  keener  disapprobation  of  all  sin;  yet  he  enjoined  this  as 
the  rule  of  charity  for  us  towards  our  fellow  sinners.     You 

think  you  see  the  grossness  of 's  fault,  but  probably  you 

do  not  know  his  temptations  nor  the  depth  of  his  repentance. ' 
This  pious  rebuke,  of  course,  damped  the  conversation  a  little. 
After  awhile,  Mr.  Randolph  said  in  a  weak  and  weary  tone: 
'My  infirmities  are  so  extreme  that  they  constrain  me  to 
expedients  which  I  greatly  dislike.  Without  some  stimulant, 
my  weakness  becomes  a  burden  greater  than  I  can  bear.  John, 
you  will  have  to  give  me  a  glass  of  that  old  Madeira.'  The 
servant  took  down  a  bottle  of  wine  from  a  shelf,  and  a  straw- 
stem  wine  glass,  and  placed  them  on  the  stand  beside  him. 
Mr.  Randolph  slowly  sipped  one  glass,  and,  in  a  few  minutes, 
it  produced  a  change  in  him.  A  faint  color  came  to  his  pallid 
cheeks,  his  wonderful  eyes  kindled,  he  sat  more  erect  in  his 
chair,  his  voice  lost  its  languor,  and  he  showed  a  disposition  to 


Randolph  as  a  Man  ^  379 

take  interest  in  the  conversation.  The  young  men  were  only 
too  glad  to  give  him  the  lead.  He  became  animated  and 
fluent.  One  racy  incident  or  witticism  followed  another,  while 
he  filled  another  glass  of  wine  and  drank  it.  This  continued 
till  he  had  taken  about  a  half  a  dozen,  and  Dr.  Morton  felt 
sure  that  he  was  as  unconscious  of  doing  so  as  the  habitual 
snuff-taker  is  of  the  number  of  pinches  he  inhales  while  his 
mind  is  absorbed.  Mr.  Randolph  became  first  animated,  then 
brilliant,  and  then  bitter  and  profane.     His  talk  returned 

to  *s  treatment  of  his  wife,  when,  forgetting  his  own 

rebuke  of  Dr.  Dudley,  he  denounced  him  as  a  monster  who 
should  be  burned  alive.  Dr.  Morton's  explanation  was  that 
his  digestive  organs  were  so  enfeebled  by  disease,  and  so 
sensitive  that  a  small  portion  of  wine,  such  as  would  have 
been  entirely  temperate  for  him  when  in  health,  produced  at 
first  a  mental  intoxication  under  which  he  at  once  lost  his  self- 
control  and  almost  consciousness  of  his  own  actions." 


Of  the  high  temper  of  Randolph,  even  when  not  goaded 
by  stimuli  of  any  sort,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  "Like 
many  other  men  of  genius,"  Dr.  Brockenbrough  testified 
in  the  Randolph  will  litigation,  "he  was  of  the  irritable  in 
his  temper,  and  in  some  cases  his  feelings  seemed  to  be 
excited  almost  to  frenzy. "  But  we  have  a  new  and  soft- 
ening sense  of  the  strange  amalgam,  which  constituted 
Randolph's  nature,  when  Dr.  Brockenbrough  adds:  "But, 
even  on  these  occasions,  he  soon  became  mild  and  gentle 
towards  his  friends  and  would  hear  any  remonstrance  from 
them  against  his  intemperance;  provided  there  was  no 
third  person  present. "  *    (a) 

If  anything  derogatory  to  the  reputation  of  Randolph 
has  been  held  back  by  us,  we  do  not  know  whac  it  is;  and 
now  we  assert,  without  hesitation,  that  sins  of  high,  and 
to  some  extent  bad,  temper,  and  occasional  intemperance 
aside,  the  character  and  conduct  of  Randolph,  when  he 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 


380  ^      John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

was  sane,  were  altogether  admirable;  and  this,  too,  even 
in  some  respects  in  which  he  has  been  grossly  maligned. 
All  the  royal  organs  of  human  character,  to  borrow  a 
phrase  from  the  old  Anatomists,  were  in  him  highly  devel- 
oped. He  was  unflinchingly  courageous;  nicely  truthful 
and  punctiliously  honorable.  How  richly,  so  far  as  public 
integrity  goes,  he  is  entitled  to  a  share  in  the  collective 
credit  which  led  Lowell  to  term  Virginia  the  "  mother  of 
States  and  unpolluted  men,"  we  have  already  seen;  and 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  anything  more  about  his 
courage.  It  belonged  to  him  as  naturally  as  a  red  comb, 
a  lively  plumage,  a  pair  of  sharp  spurs,  and  a  death-defying 
spirit  belong  to  a  game-cock.  One  day  in  his  early  life, 
when  someone  on  the  streets  of  Petersburg  told  him  that  a 
desperado  near  its  market  had  committed  some  outrage, 
and  was  refusing  to  surrender  to  an  officer  of  the  law,  he 
sought  the  man  out  at  once  and,  fixing  his  eye  upon  him, 
walked  fearlessly  up  to  him,  laid  his  hand  upon-him,  and 
called  out :    ' '  Constable,  do  your  duty ! ' '  ■ 

John  Randolph  Bryan  tells  us  that  Randolph's  advice 
to  him  as  a  schoolboy  was  that,  if  he  could  really  forgive 
anyone  for  Christ's  sake,  always  to  do  so;  but  never  to 
mistake  the  love  of  God  for  the  fear  of  man. 2  In  one  of 
his  letters  to  his  niece,  he  said:  "No,  my  dearest  child,  I 
fear  God  too  much  to  fear  man  at  all. " 3  If  this  was  not  a 
veracious  vaunt,  it  was  only  because  few  vaunts  are 
entirely  veracious.  On  one  occasion,  he  goes  to  Hampden- 
Sidney  College  to  hear  Dr.  Hoge,  and  then,  the  same  day, 
swims  the  swollen  Appomattox  River  on  horseback,  as  if 
the  latter  thing  was  as  ordinary  an  occurrence  as  the 
former. 4  Frail  as  he  was,  he  would  not  have  hesitated, 
we  think,  to  have  backed  Bucephalus.  Any  suggestion 
of  assistance,  when  he  was  handling  a  restive  horse,  was 
met  by  him  with  disdainful  impatience.     When  he  was 

1  Bouldin,  167.  *  J.  C.  Grinnan  MSS. 

3  Mar.  30,  1828,  Bryan  MSS.  <  J.  R.'s  Diary. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  381 

almost  in  the  last  stages  of  physical  decay,  a  man  offered 
to  lead  his  horse  over  a  stream  at  a  difficult  crossing. 
"No man  takes  hold  of  my  steed  when  I  am  on  him," 
was  Randolph's  sharp  reply. *  (a)  On  another  occasion, 
about  the  same  time,  a  horse,  on  which  he  was  riding,  took 
fright  at  a  bush.  Randolph  stuck  his  spurs  deeply  into 
the  animal's  sides,  and  he  plunged  and  reared  so  madly 
that  one  of  Randolph's  overseers  became  alarmed  for  his 
employer's  safety,  and  so  expressed  himself.  "It  is  as 
easy  to  throw  a  new  girth  from  a  saddle  as  to  throw  me,  V 
was  Randolph's  proud  exclamation;  and  he  did  not  cease 
to  ply  his  spurs  until  he  had  made  the  horse  go  up  to  the 
bush.2  Such  a  man  as  this  was  certainly  speaking  with 
studied  moderation  when,  after  one  of  the  Randolphs  had 
tweaked  Andrew  Jackson's  nose  at  Fredericksburg — a 
dangerous  feat,  not  unlike  that  of  taking  the  breeks  aff  a 
Hielander — he  declared  in  his  last  speech  at  Charlotte 
Court  House :  "I  never  could  suffer  to  be  imposed  upon ; 
I  cannot  permit  a  man  to  pull  my  nose  or  kick  my  backside. 
I  am  very  far  from  being  clear  of  the  same  faults  that 
Jackson  has."3 

Speaking  of  Randolph  at  the  time  of  his  duel  with  Clay, 
when  Tatnall  was  loading  his  pistols  for  him,  just  before 
the  exchange  of  shots  took  place,  General  James  Hamilton 
says:  "I  took  his  hand;  there  was  not  in  its  touch  the 
quivering  of  one  pulsation.  "4  (b)  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  a  man  of  such  well-established  reputation  for  intrep- 
idity should  not  have  consistently  frowned  upon  duelling, 
so  far  as  it  was  possible  for  a  public  man  to  do  so  in  Ran- 
dolph's day.  Benton  tells  us  that,  at  one  time,  doubtless 
during  the  period  of  his  religious  enthusiasm,  Randolph 
declared  that  he  would  neither  give  nor  receive  a  chal- 
lenge; but  afterwards,  Benton  says,  he  hit  upon  a  train  of 
reasoning,  founded  upon  analogies  derived  from  public 

1  Bouldin,  33.  2  Bouldin,  102.  3  Bouldin,  187. 

4  Garland,  v.  2,  259. 


382         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

warfare, ■  which  brought  him  back  to  the  conviction  which 
he  harbored  when  he  made  this  entry  in  his  Diary: 
1 '  Duelling :  A  man  may  shoot  him  who  invades  his  char- 
acter as  he  may  shoot  him  who  breaks  into  his  house. 
Johnson,  Boswell's  Life.''  The  view  which  this  entry 
indicates  was  still  held  by  Randolph,  when  the  Virginia 
Convention  of  1829-30  was  in  session;  for,  in  that  body, 
he  strenuously  opposed  a  proposition  which  sought  to 
inflict  disqualification  for  public  office  upon  any  person 
fighting  or  abetting  a  duel ;  declaring,  among  other  things, 
that  he  had  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  place  a  man's 
honor  in  one  scale,  and  all  the  offices  in  the  gift  of  King 
or  Kaiser  in  the  other,  a  man  of  honor  would  spurn  them 
all  in  comparison  with  his  violated  feelings  and  his  violated 
reputation. 2  But  Randolph,  in  this  connection,  at  least 
deserves  the  credit  of  having  endeavored  to  lift  the  duel 
above  the  level  of  ordinary  affrays,  fought  without  any 
regard  to  decorum  or  fairness,  and  to  relieve  the  challenged 
party  of  the  obligation  to  fight  any  challenger,  whether  he 
had  any  honor  to  be  wounded,  or  standing  to  be  lost,  or 
not.  The  principles,  by  which  the  conduct  of  Randolph, 
in  relation  to  the  duel,  was  regulated,  are  presented  in  a 
pointed  manner  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Nicholson : 

"Your  account  of  Mr.  Wright's  death  is  truly  melancholy. 
For  my  part,  I  always  thought  of  Duelling  that  [it]  is  to  be 
tolerated  as  a  necessary  evil  (by  no  means  encouraged),  and 
my  opinion  on  that  head  remains  unchanged.  The  manners 
of  the  people  of  our  country  have  certainly  undergone  a  great 
change  for  the  worse  even  within  my  remembrance.  The 
character  of  the  country  is  disgraced  by  a  brutality  which 
breaks  forth  very  often  in  the  conduct  of  a  duel  as  well  as  in 
the  circumstances  which  lead  to  it,  but  which  the  fear  of  such 
an  appeal  does,  in  some  degree,  contribute  to  repress. 
Assassinations  have  become  not  uncommon  in  this  State  since 
the  act  to  suppress  duelling.     Yet,  dreadful  as  the  state  of 

1  jo  Yrs.'  View,  475.  2  Debates,  782. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  383 

society  is  with  us,  I  would  not  exchange  it  for  the  puritanical 
manners  of  N.  England.  In  ordinary  cases,  I  think  that  man 
more  to  be  pitied  who  kills  his  adversary  than  the  party  who  is 
killed — but  yet  I  am  clear  that  all  that  is  worth  living  for 
requires  that  the  risk  should  sometimes  be  encountered.  In 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  both  parties  are  decidedly  wrong — fool- 
hardy, perhaps;  or  cowards,  at  heart,  trying  to  get  a  name  as 
fighting  men.  There  is  no  necessity  for  a  gentleman  to  meet 
such  chaps,  and  the  professed  duelist  is  infamous.  But  there 
are  cases  (I  need  not  specify  them;  they  will  suggest  themselves 
at  once  to  you)  where  gentlemen  must  fight — like  gentlemen, 
or  blackguards. 

"Friday,  June  29. 

"I  have  been  interrupted,  and  I  dare  say  you  wish  that  it  had 
been  the  means  of  putting  an  untimely  end  to  this  prosing  epis- 
tle. As  however  ours  is  a  weekly  post,  it  gives  me  leisure  to 
bore  you  still  further.  I  have  no  hesitation  (nor  would  you 
either,  my  friend,  if  you  were  brought  to  the  alternative)  in 
preferring  the  gentleman's  mode  of  deciding  a  quarrel  to  the 
blackguard's — and  if  men  must  fight  (and  it  seems  they  will) 
there  is  not,  as  in  our  politics,  a  third  alternative.  A  bully 
is  as  hateful  as  a  Drawcansir:  Abolish  dueling  and  you 
encourage  bullies  as  well  in  number  as  in  degree,  and  lay  every 
gentleman  at  the  mercy  of  a  cowardly  pack  of  scoundrels.  In 
fine,  my  good  friend,  the  Yahoo  must  be  kept  down,  by 
religion,  sentiment,  manners  if  you  can — but  he  must  be  kept 
down."1 

Randolph's  pride  in  his  veracity  was  like  his  pride  in  his 
courage — instinctive;  repellent  of  the  slightest  intimation 
of  reproach.  "Not  that  my  testimony  wants  evidence. 
I  should  like  to  see  the  man  who  would  question  it  on  a 
matter  of  fact, "  were  his  words  when  the  Missouri  ques- 
tion was  pending,  and  he  was  inveighing  against  the  bad 
treatment,  which  he  believed  that  he  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  Henry  Clay,  as  the  Speaker  of  the  House.2 

1  Roanoke,  June  24,  181 1,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Garland,  v.  2,  130. 


384         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Rarely  has  any  man  spoken  so  much  and,  in  language  so 
much  heightened  by  the  lively  coloring  of  the  fancy  and 
imagination,  and  yet  so  rarely  fallen  into  inaccuracy  or 
misrepresentation.  Baldwin  truly  declares:  "He  was  a 
man  of  a  scrupulous  and  religious  veracity  in  word,  act 
and  thought."1 

In  his  history  of  the  United  States,  Schouler  says  that 
Randolph  seems  to  have  taken  a  touch  of  Indian  treachery 
and  dark  reticence  of  purpose  into  his  nature. 2  (a)  This 
observation  is  worthy  of  one  of  those  academic  writers 
who  cut  out  their  historical  figures  from  paper  in  forms 
to  suit  their  own  a  priori  conceptions.  There  was  not 
a  trace  of  treachery  or  sinister  reticence  in  Randolph's 
nature.  A  man  more  incapable  of  intrigue  or  invidious 
finesse  in  either  public  or  private  life,  it  would  be  hard  to 
conceive.  In  all  his  words  and  actions,  except  when  pride 
or  distrust  kept  him  silent,  he  was  frank,  candid,  out- 
spoken, sometimes  almost  ridiculously  so,  as  we  shall  see. 
Most  conclusively  does  his  whole  life  bear  out  the  state- 
ment of  Randall,  who  was  an  uncompromising  Jefferson- 
ian,  and  by  no  means  an  unreserved  admirer  of  Randolph : 
' '  He  scorned  meanness,  duplicity  or  cowardice.  His  loves, 
like  his  hates,  were  sincere  and  vehement.  "3 

Nor  was  Randolph  more  courageous  and  truthful  than 
he  was  upright.  He  was  a  very  honest  man  with  a  great 
fund  of  good  sense,  is  the  verdict  of  James  Parton,  who 
was  writing  just  after  the  Civil  War,  when  it  was  difficult 
for  any  man,  North  or  South,  to  see  anything  except 
through  the  cracked  lens  of  sectional  prejudice.  We  will 
not  repeat  the  tributes  paid  by  Randolph's  contemporaries 
to  his  sterling  integrity  both  as  a  public  man  and  a  private 
gentleman.  Nor  is  there  any  contradictory  testimony 
whatever  calling  for  the  revision  of  another  conclusion 
reached  by  Randall  in  his  life  of  Jefferson :  "His  integrity 

1  Party  Leaders,  by  J.  G.  B.,  263.  2  V.  1,  453-454. 

3  Life  of  Jefferson,  v.  3,  156. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  385 

was  unquestionable."1  Indeed,  for  many  years  Ran- 
dolph led  a  life  of  the  most  rigid  self-denial,  in  order  to 
discharge  his  share  of  the  British  debt,  due  by  his  father's 
estate,  which  would  have  crushed  him,  if  John  Wickham, 
the  attorney  for  his  creditors,  had  not  given  him  a  long 
credit. 

"My  fortune,  such  as  it  is,"  he  once  said  in  a  letter  to 
Tazewell,  "is  solely  due  to  my  own  self-denial  in  not  spending 
money  that  I  had  not,  and  patiently  practicing  forbearance, 
until  I  could  extricate  my  own  and  my  brother's  estate  from 
the  heavy  mortgages  that  were  eating  it  up.  This  I  awk- 
wardly effected.  I  actually  lived  in  a  cabin,  covered  with 
pegged  shingles,  because  I  had  not  one  dollar  to  buy  nails, 
and  would  not  'go  to  the  store'  for  them ;  and  many  a  drenching, 
the  effects  of  which  I  now  feel,  have  I  sustained  in  consequence 
of  the  leaky  roof  when  the  wind  was  high.  Old  Major  Scott 
[Major  Joseph  Scott,  his  manager]  came  in  for  a  share  too." 

"Now, "  he  goes  on,  "I  am  called  upon  to  educate 
orphans  and  those  who  are  not  orphans ;  to  pension  widows 
and  portion  maidens."2  Randolph  simply  loathed  debt. 
"Mr.  Speaker, "  he  broke  out  on  one  occasion  in  Congress, 
"I  have  discovered  the  philosopher's  stone!  It  is  this, 
Sir :  pay  as  you  go !  pay  as  you  go ! " 3  But  his  pecuniary 
prudence  went  hand  in  hand  with  a  perfectly  sound  and 
wholesome  comprehension  of  the  precise  function  that 
money  should  perform  in  a  well-ordered  life. 

"The  muck  worm  whose  mind  'knows  no  other  work  than 
money  keeping  or  money  getting,'"  he  wrote  to  Josiah 
Quincy,  "is  an  object  of  pity  and  contempt;  but  I  hold  it 
essential  to  purity,  dignity  and  pride  of  character  that  every 
man's  expenses  should  bear  a  due  relation  to  his  means  and 
prospects    in    life,    and    conceive   few    habits    to    me   more 

*V.  3,  156. 

2  Washington,  Feb.  29,  1826,  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  Jrv  MSS. 

3  Life  of  Quincy,  343. 

VOL.  II — 25 


386         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

destructive  of  all  that  is  noble  and  manly  about  us  than  a  habit 
of  profusion  exceeding  beyond  all  bounds  those  prospects."1 

Could  Poor  Richard  and  Benjamin  Franklin  together 
have  assigned  more  judiciously  to  money  its  proper  posi- 
tion in  the  management  of  a  human  life?  Indeed,  now 
that  we  speak  of  Poor  Richard,  we  might  recall  one  of 
Randolph's  favorite  sayings,  which  is  quite  in  Poor  Rich- 
ard's manner:  "Get  the  money  first  and  the  thing  after- 
wards. "2  The  truth  is  that  his  long  struggle  with  the 
British  debt  gave  him  a  first-hand  insight  into  the  misery 
and  meanness  bred  by  pecuniary  imprudence  which  no 
precepts,  unimproved  by  his  own  personal  experience, 
could  ever  have  imparted  to  him.  There  are  few  sager 
reflections  to  be  found  anywhere  than  some  of  his  observa- 
tions on  spendthrifts.  After  warning  Dr.  Dudley,  in  one 
of  his  letters,  against  a  precious  scoundrel,  he  continues  in 
these  words : 

"But  there  is  another  description  of  persons,  of  far  inferior 
turpitude,  against  all  connexion  with  whom,  of  whatsoever 
degree,  I  would  seriously  warn  you.  This  consists  of  men 
of  broken  fortunes,  and  all  who  are  loose  on  the  subject  of  pe- 
cuniary engagements.  Time  was,  when  I  was  fool  enough 
to  believe  that  a  man  might  be  negligent  of  such  obligations, 
and  yet  be  a  very  good  fellow,  &c. :  but  long  experience  has 
convinced  me  that  he,  who  is  lax  in  this  respect,  is  utterly 
unworthy  of  trust  in  any  other.  He  might  do  an  occasional 
act  of  kindness  (or  what  is  falsely  called  generosity)  when  it 
lay  in  his  way,  and  so  may  a  prostitute,  or  a  highwayman ;  but 
he  would  plunge  his  nearest  friends  and  dearest  connexions,  the 
wife  of  his  bosom,  and  the  children  of  his  loins,  into  misery 
and  want,  rather  than  forego  the  momentary  gratification  of 
appetite,  vanity,  or  laziness.  I  have  come  to  this  conclusion 
slowly  and  painfully,  but  certainly.  Of  the  Shy  locks,  and  the 
smooth-visaged  men  of  the  world,  I  think  as  I  believe  you  do. 
Certainly,  if  I  were  to  seek  for  the  hardest  of  hearts,  the  most 

1  Life  of  Quincy,  p.  343.  3  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  387 

obdurate,  unrelenting,  and  cruel,  I  should  find  them  among  the 
most  selfish  of  mankind.  And  who  are  the  most  selfish  ?  The 
usurer,  the  courtier,  and,  above  all,  the  spendthrift. 

"If  I  press  this  subject,  it  is  because  (you  will  pardon  me) 
I  have  observed  in  you,  upon  it,  a  sort  of  perversion  of  the 
intellectual  faculty;  an  apparent  absence  to  what  is  passing 
in  the  world  around  you,  and  an  ignorance  of  the  events  and 
characters  of  the  day,  that  has  caused  in  me  I  know  not 
whether  most  of  surprise  or  vexation.  My  terms  are  strong, 
and  such  as  you  are  in  no  danger  of  hearing  from  the  sort  of 
people  I  speak  of;  unless,  indeed,  you  should  happen  to  owe 
them  money  which  it  is  not  convenient  to  pay.  Try  them 
once  as  creditors,  and  you  will  find  that  even  the  Shylocks,  we 
wot  of,  are  not  harder.  Indeed,  their  situation  enables  them 
to  give  the  victim  a  sort  of  respite  which  the  others  cannot 
grant."1 

The  same  thoughts  are  presented  in  an  even  more 
attractive  garb  in  a  letter  which  Randolph  wrote  to  Dr. 
Brockenbrough  in  1826: 

"I  can't  help  being  sorry  for  that  poor  man,  to  whom  you 
were  called  the  morning  you  wrote,  although  he  did,  some 
twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  (how  time  passes!),  attempt  by  a 
deep-laid  scheme  of  .  .  .,  to  beggar  a  family  that  I  was  much 
attached  to;  one,  too,  with  which  he  was  nearly  connected, 
and  that  he  kept  upon  the  most  friendly  terms  with.  His 
debts  have  floored  him.  It  is  strange,  passing  strange. 
People  will  get  in  debt;  and,  instead  of  working  and  starving 
out,  they  go  on  giving  dinners,  keeping  carriages,  and  covering 
aching  bosoms  with  smiling  faces,  go  about  greeting  in  the 
market-places,  &c.  I  always  think  that  I  can  see  the  anguish 
under  the  grin  and  grimace,  like  old  mother  Cole's  dirty 
flannel,  peeping  out  beneath  her  Brussels  lace.  '  This  killed 
poor  H.  H.,  and  is  killing,  like  a  slow  poison,  all  persons  so 
circumstanced,  who  possess  principle  or  pride.  I  never  see 
one  of  these  martyrs  to  false  pride  writhing  under  their  own 

1  Washington,  Jan.  17,  1822,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  234. 


John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 


that  I  am  not  in  some  degree  irmrirri  to 
the  physical  fire  that  I  cany  in 


This  letter  was  written  during  one  of  the 
Randolph's  reasoning  undoubtedly  forsook  him.  bat 
another  illustration  of  the  fact  that,  even 
else,  that  made  him  what  he  was,  when  i 
deserted  him  at  such  crises,  Ins  command  of  pore, 
English  and  his  provident  turn  of  mind  did  not- 

Indeed,  all  of  Randolph's  instincts  were  correct  and 
virtuous  and  true  to  the  best  moral  and 
of  the  race  oversea  from  which  he  sprang.  Who, 
ing  one  of  those  Engtfsh  types  of  character,  winch  are  as 
genumeandsterlmgasthea^Miwatch,ortiiea^^ 
woolens  and  boots  that  he  wore,  could  do  it  better  than  he 
did  in  tins  description  of  CoL  Joel  Watirins,  a  man  whose 

fragrant  herb  about  an  old-time  chest: 


"On  Sunday,  the  2d  of  January,  1820,  departed  this  life  at 
an  advanced  age,  beloved,  honored  and  lamented  by  all  who 
knew  Mm,  CoL  Joel  Watkins,  of  the  County  of  Charlotte,  and 

State  of  Virginia. 

"Without  shining  abilities  or  the  advantages  of  education, 

'■  T..i:r.  ^r.:  '~~b..^'.~:' .     ir~  :'.::::.       ■_'...-.    —  ; — .. 

okL-fesMoned  honesty  and  practical  good  sense,  heaccumu- 
lated  an  ample  fortune  in  which  it  is  firmly  befieved  by  all  who 
knew  Mm  there  was  not  #«tiltr*?  *MK«f  - 

**The  fnrits  of  Ms  own  labors  he  distributed  with  a  prompti- 
tude  and  Bberafity,  seldom  equalled,  newer  uu  passed,  in 
suitable  provision  to  his  children,  at  their  entrance  into  fife, 
and  on  ewy  deserving  object  of  private  benevolence  or  pub- 
fic  spirit;  reserving  to 


1'.:"    "j r.'':*^r. ".=.*".  1-;  .'.  1'ET. '.'=.. :'"•'. 
"Nor  was  he  liberal  of  Ms  money  only;  Ms  time,  Ms  trouble 

*F«h.  6,  1*26,  Gadaad,  v-  2,  265. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  389 

"If,  as  we  are  assured,  the  peace-makers  are  blessed,  who 
shall  feel  stronger  assurance  of  blessings  than  must  have 
smoothed  this  old  man's  passage  to  the  unknown  world?"1 

Randolph's  training  and  bias  were  highly  aristocratic, 
but  his  respect  was  bestowed  upon  every  honest,  worthy 
man  of  his  acquaintance,  however  humble  his  station  in 
life.  In  this  regard,  however,  he  did  not  differ  from  the 
other  leading  members  of  his  class,  who  had  a  way  in  both 
peace  and  war  of  keeping  in  close  and  sympathetic  working 
relations  with  the  common  mass  of  the  whites  about  them, 
whose  self-respect  and  independence  of  character  main- 
tained quite  as  distinct  reservations  as  their  own. 

Nor  was  Randolph's  esteem  for  an  estimable  man  any 
keener  than  his  reverence  for  a  fine  woman,  matron  or 
maid.     In  1822,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley: 

"You  know  my  opinion  of  female  society.  Without  it,  we 
should  degenerate  into  brutes.  This  observation  applies  with 
ten-fold  force  to  young  men  and  those  who  are  in  the  prime 
of  manhood ;  for,  after  a  certain  time  of  life,  the  literary  man 
may  make  a  shift  (a  poor  one  I  grant)  to  do  without  the  society 
of  ladies.  To  a  young  man  nothing  is  so  important  as  a  spirit 
of  devotion  (next  to  his  Creator)  to  some  virtuous  and  amiable 
woman,  whose  image  may  occupy  his  heart  and  guard  it  from 
the  pollution  which  besets  it  on  all  sides."3 

And  Jacob  Harvey  narrates  an  incident  which  demon- 
strates how  careful  Randolph  was  to  see  that  any  girl,  to 
whom  this  important  office  was  to  be  entrusted,  should 
herself  not  be  exposed  to  contamination : 

"I  was  one  morning  looking  over  his  books  for  my  own 
amusement,"  says  Harvey,  "and  observed  that  several  of  the 
prettiest  editions  were  marked  'this  for  Miss  ." 

"'How  is  this,'  said  I?  'Some  fair  lady  seems  to  have  en- 
chained you.' 

1  Bouldin,  81.  »  Jan.  21,  1822,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  236. 


39o         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

'"Oh,  replied  he,  if  you  only  knew  her;  the  sweetest  girl  in  the 
'Ancient  Dominion';  a  particular  favorite  of  mine,  Sir,  and 
I  shall  have  all  these  books  beautifully  bound  in  London,  Sir, 
fit  to  grace  her  centre-table  on  my  return.' 

"I  took  up  one  of  them —  a  volume  of  old  plays — and,  after 
reading  a  few  pages,  exclaimed:  'Surely  you  have  not  read 
these  plays  lately,  Mr.  Randolph,  or  you  could  not  present 
this  book  to  Miss  ?     It  is  too  lascivious  for  her  eyes.' 

"He  instantly  ran  his  eye  over  the  page;  then  took  the  book 
out  of  my  hands  and  immediately  endorsed  on  the  back :  'Not 
fit  for  Bet,'  [Elizabeth  T.  Coalter]  and,  turning  to  me,  said 
with  warmth:  'You  have  done  me  an  infinite  service,  Sir. 
I  would  not  for  worlds  do  aught  to  sully  the  purity  of  that 
girl's  mind.  I  had  forgotten  those  plays,  Sir,  or  they  would 
not  have  found  a  place  in  my  box.  I  abominate  as  much  as 
you  do,  Sir,  that  vile  style  of  writing  which  is  intended  to 
lessen  our  abhorrence  of  vice  and  throw  ridicule  on  virtuous 
conduct.  You  have  given  me  the  hint,  Sir.  Come,  assist  me 
in  looking  over  all  these  books  lest  some  other  black  sheep  may 
have  found  its  way  into  the  flock.' 

"We  accordingly  went  through  the  whole  box,  but  found  no 
other  volume  deserving  of  condemnation;  much  to  Randolph's 
satisfaction.  He  then  presented  me  with  several  books  as 
keepsakes;  and  he  wanted  to  add  several  more,  but  I  had  to 
decline  positively.  His  generosity  knew  no  bounds ;  and,  had 
I  been  avaricious  of  mental  food,  I  might  have  become 
possessed  of  half  his  travelling  library."1 

And  like  a  spotless  lily  of  the  valley,  modestly  lifting 
its  head  above  its  tuft  of  green  frondage,  is  the  figure  of 
Marion  Coleman  as  it  is  presented  to  our  eye  by  a  tender 
letter  from  Randolph  to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter: 

"I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  William  Leigh 
informing  me  that  Marion  Coleman  is  at  the  point  of  death. 
She  is  the  descendant  of  my  Aunt  Murray  (great-grand- 
daughter) and  consequently  a  relation  of  mine.  Her  father 
lives  just  opposite  to  my  Lower  Quarter,  and  she  seemed  to  be 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  I,  370. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  391 

the  only  person  in  that  neighborhood  who  felt  a  lively  interest 
in  my  health  and  welfare.  Exceedingly  pious,  but  without 
cant,  all  her  friends  looked  up  to  her.  I  was  in  the  habit  of 
sending  little  presents  to  her,  and  receiving  others  and  kind 
notes  and  messages  in  return.  Hardly  a  week  passed  that  I 
did  not  receive  some  evidence  of  her  regard.  It  was  a  pure 
friendship  on  both  sides.  She  was  the  only  link  in  that  part 
of  the  world  that  seemed  to  connect  me  with  my  species.  A 
purer  being  never  lived.  She  seemed  ever  conscious  that  she 
stood  in  the  presence  of  her  Maker,  and  her  heart  overflowed 
with  love  for  him  and  her  fellow-creatures.  She  had  declined 
many  matrimonial  offers,  and  devoted  herself  to  her  family  and 
her  neighbors.  This  intelligence  sinks  my  spirits  more  than  I 
could  have  thought."1 

In  describing  a  friend  of  Delia,  the  wife  of  his  friend, 
Joseph  Bryan,  Randolph  himself  resorted  to  the  fair 
forms  of  the  flower  garden  for  the  purpose  of  picturing  her 
as  he  saw  her  through  the  medium  of  his  own  refined  sen- 
sibilities. 

"The  natural  association  of  Delia  with  Charlotte,"  he  wrote 
to  Nicholson,  "recalls  me  to  the  untimely  blight  of  that  'mod- 
est crimson-tipped  flower.'  Had  she  lived  to  feel  the  ecstacy 
of  a  mother,  to  hug  the  dear  cause  of  all  her  sufferings  in  her 
arms,  I  could  scarcely  have  regretted  her  fate.  Nicholson,  my 
friend,  when  we  think  on  the  doom  which  nature  as  well  as 
society  has  pronounced  upon  the  better  half  of  our  race,  should 
we  not  rejoice  when  they  are  snatched  away  before  they  have 
drained  the  bitter  cup  of  neglect  and  sorrow?  You  have 
sometimes  told  me  that  I  am  romantic;  perhaps,  at  this 
moment,  I  am  under  the  influence  of  such  a  sentiment,  but  I 
feel  that  I  could  not  bewail  the  lot  of  a  sister  of  mine  taken 
from  the  world  before  she  had  tasted  of  calamity.  I  should 
commiserate  myself,  her  husband  and  her  friends,  but  for  her  I 
should  rejoice."2 

'Washington,  Feb.  18,  1829,  Bryan  MSS. 

a  Bizarre,  Nov.  8,  1805,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


392         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Nicholson  was  right  when  he  said  that  Randolph  was 
romantic.  Could  any  homage  short  of  that  inspired  by 
some  Laura  or  Beatrice  surpass  that  of  the  following  letter 
to  his  niece  ? 

"I  agree  with  you  entirely  about  Mrs.  Bell,  whose  manners 
are  as  perfect  as  her  form — and  that  is  faultless.  Did  you  ever 
behold  such  a  shape?  I  never  did  in  scultpure  or  painting, 
although  I  have  seen  a  cast  of  the  Venus  De  Medici  and  a  proof 
engraving  of  that  of  Canova.  Her  temper,  manners  and 
principles  and  her  whole  deportment  and  conduct  through  life 
have  corresponded  with  that  form  She  has  borne  the  reverses 
of  fortune,  as  she  ought  to  have  done,  with  a  becoming  forti- 
tude, which  is  very  different  from  insensibility  or  thoughtless 
gaiety.  She  is  now  called  upon,  I  grieve  to  say  it,  to  exert  still 
greater  resignation.  I  feel  assured  that,  under  this  trial,  she 
will  not  be  found  wanting ;  which  may  He,  who  tempers  the 
wind  to  the  shorn  lamb  and  binds  up  the  broken-hearted, 
in  his  infinite  mercy,  grant  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  Amen! 
When  you  see  her,  make  her  sensible  to  my  profound  re- 
spect and  sympathy  for  her. 

"She  gave  me  a  plant  of  Citronalis  (I  hope  Mr.  G.  [Francis 
W.  Gilmer]  has  given  you  a  taste  for  botany)  which  I  fear  was 
swept  away  in  the  wreck.  I  set  out  to  save  it,  but  had  to  stop 
by  the  way  on  account  of  the  weather.  If  you  can  speak  to 
her  on  such  a  subject,  get  another  for  me  and  keep  it.  I  will 
send  ioo  miles  for  it.  I  had  vainly  enquired  after  the  orphans 
to  whom  she  has  been  more  than  a  mother.  Are  they  gone 
home  to  their  friends  in  England?  They  will  never  find  one 
like  their  uncle's  wife  and  widow  I  must  now  say."1 

It  was  impossible,  of  course,  for  anyone  to  place  woman 
upon  such  a  high  pedestal  as  this  without  having  man 
grovelling  at  its  base,  and  a  letter  from  Randolph  to  his 
sister,  Fanny  Bland  Coalter,  not  only  brings  out  the  fact 
that  he  thought  Virginia  wives  entirely  too  good  for  their 
husbands,  but  contains  some  general  observations  on 
marriage  that  are  worth  recalling : 

1  Washington,  Feb.  5,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  393 

"Of  an  ardent  and  enthusiastic  temper  in  my  early  day,  I 
carried  my  confidence  in  mankind  to  a  blamable  and  pernicious 
excess.  No  man  ever  poured  out  his  whole  soul  [more  freely] 
in  friendship  or  in  love  than  your  poor  old  brother. 

"'And  what  is  friendship  but  a  name? 
And  love  is  still  an  emptier  sound !' 

A  great  and  good  man  has  said  that  marriages  would  be  not 
less  happy  if  they  were  made  by  the  Lord  Chancellor,  without 
regard  to  the  wishes  of  the  parties.  Now,  although  I  have  at 
least  as  much  confidence  in  you  as  in  our  citizen  Chancellor, 
yet  I  am  unwilling  you  should  marry  me  without  marriage 
articles  stipendiary  for  separate  maintenance.  It  must  be 
specially  provided  that  the  lady  never  has  fits,  except  sola, 
never  at  table,  and  without  change  of  color;  and  provided  the 
lady  would  be  satisfied  with  one  house,  whilst  I  occupied 
another,  part  of  my  objections  might  be  overcome.  Take 
notice !  this  is  upon  honor  and  must  go  no  further. 

"My  dearest  sister,  long  experience  has  convinced  me  that 
anyone  of  your  sex  for  whom  I  feel  any  sentiment  of  love  or 
regard  may  torture  me  at  will;  that  I  lie  entirely  at  her 
mercy;  and  that  my  whole  life  must  be  rendered  wretched  in 
order  that  she  may  have  daily  and  visible  evidence  of  her 
power  over  me.  When  she  is  satisfied  of  this  fact,  she  then 
commiserates  my  sufferings  and  repents  her  of  her  cruelty,  like 
the  boy  who  torments  his  bird  to  death  and  then  cries  over  it ; 
only  to  do  so  again  the  next  time.  An  unhappy  human  face 
is  no  very  delightful  spectacle  at  any  time,  but  in  the  power 
of  a  woman,  and  a  woman  that  one  loves,  it  is  agony  to  behold 
it.  At  the  same  time,  from  my  heart  I  believe  that  the  women 
of  Virginia  are  the  best  wives  in  the  world  and  that,  generally 
speaking,  they  are  too  good  for  the  grog-drinking  beasts  to 
whom  they  are  yoked ;  but  it  has  been  my  lot  to  see  two  of  the 
most  uxorious  of  men  rendered  wretched  by  the  intolerable 
caprice  and  ill-temper  of  their  wives;  women  who  had  every- 
thing but  that  one  thing  needful  to  recommend  them,  like  the 
play  of  Hamlet,  in  which  the  part  of  Hamlet  was  omitted, 
owing  to  the  indisposition  of  an  actor,  and  how  often  have 


394         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

I  seen  the  most  amiable  and  worthy  of  mankind  received  with 
cold  and  austere  looks,  his  affection  barely  tolerated,  his 
friends  slighted,  his  house  that  the  master  would  have  made 
the  temple  of  hospitality  cold  and  repulsive;  himself  feebly 
striving  against  his  situation,  and  at  last  sinking  under  it,  the 
whole  man  changed,  countenance,  voice,  manners,  dress."1 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  outspoken  letter  was  received 
in  good  part  by  Mrs.  Coalter,  whose  own  letters  show  that 
she  had  a  husband  for  whom  she  entertained  the  most 
devoted  affection. 

Randolph  was  not  insensible  to  any  of  the  infirmities  of 
women,  much  as  he  was  inclined  to  rhapsodize  about  them : 
"Graces  d,  Dieu,  I  make  a  shift  to  get  along  without  quite 
as  many  heartaches  as  I  have  been  made  to  feel  by  female 
caprice  and  affectation,"  he  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley, 
shortly  after  his  removal  from  the  home  of  Judith  Ran- 
dolph at  Bizarre  to  his  own  house  at  Roanoke.2  The 
ejaculation  is  evidently  a  hit  at  Judith,  whom  he  sincerely 
admired  and  loved,  but  whose  temper  occasionally  col- 
lided with  his  own  and  struck  off  a  momentary  spark  of 
petulant  impatience.  ! '  To  Bizarre !  What  a  reception ! ' ' 
is  one  entry  in  the  Diary  under  the  date  of  Oct.  15,  18 10. 
"Tantrums  of  Mrs.  R. "  is  another  which  he  made,  appar- 
ently, in  the  year  1809,  stopping  short  with  these  words 
as  if  Prudence  had  suddenly  laid  her  finger  upon  his  lips. 
In  a  letter  to  his  niece,  he  admonishes  her  to  take  care  of 
herself,  not  by  housing  and  coddling,  but  by  good,  warm, 
substantial  clothing  (not  fashionable  fig-leaf  attire).3 
In  another  letter  to  his  niece,  he  has  something  to  say 
about  women  on  whose  honor  no  shade  of  suspicion  could 
be  cast,  and  who  were  notable  and  not  ill-natured  in  their 
families,  but  whose  ungovernable  tongues  rendered  them 
more  odious  and  noxious  than  some  of  their  frailer  sisters 

1  Georgetown,  Dec.  10,  1812,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Roanoke,  Nov.  30,  18 10,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.f  78. 
4  Washington,  Feb.  5,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  395 

on  whom  they  would  look  down  with  scorn — maybe  with 
compassion. x   (a) 

"You  greatly  misunderstand  my  true  meaning,"  he  once 
wrote  to  his  niece,  "if  you  suppose  that,  in  decrying  the  ro- 
mantic, I  would  lean  towards  the  worldly-minded.  The  silly 
girl,  who  throws  herself  away  on  some  self -imagined  hero,  is  an 
object  of  contemptuous  pity;  but  the  woman,  who  barters  her 
person  away  in  marriage,  when  she  cannot  bestow  her  heart,  is 
in  my  eyes  the  most  odious  object  in  all  nature.  No,  my  child, 
so  far  from  seeking  to  repress,  much  less  extinguish,  such  feel- 
ings as  you  have  poured  forth,  I  would  cherish  them  as  the 
source  of  the  highest  enjoyment  which  the  world  can  neither 
give  nor  take  away.  God  knows  (I  take  not  his  name  in  vain) 
that  to  me  they  have  been  the  fountain  of  all  that  partook  of 
happiness,  and,  whenever  a  gleam  of  joy  passed  over  my  soul, 
it  is  to  them  alone  I  am  indebted  for  it."2 

"I  concur  most  heartily  in  the  sentiments  you  express,"  he 
wrote  on  another  occasion  to  his  niece,  "and  I  have  seen  such 
miserable  effects  from  match-breaking  and  match-making  that 
I  hold  match-makers  and  match-breakers  in  greater  abhor- 
rence than  any  other  species  of  incendiary,  whether  in  the 
shape  of  old  tabbies,  their  kittens,  or  certain  gossips  of  the  male 
kind  who  are  ashamed  of  their  sex  and  trench  upon  the  privi- 
leges of  the  envious  sisterhood."3 

This  was  a  singular  thing  for  a  man  to  have  said  who 
was  believed  by  his  friend  Joseph  Bryan  to  have  exercised 
no  little  influence  in  bringing  about  the  match  between 
Delia  and  himself.  Decidedly  pungent,  too,  are  these  re- 
flections in  one  of  Randolph's  letters  to  Theodore  Dudley : 

"The  love  of  power  and  of  admiration  (and  the  last  is 
subordinate  and  instrumental  to  the  first)  is  woman's  ruling 
passion.     Whatever  be  the  affectation  of  the  day  it  is  pushed 

1  Mar.  6,  1824,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

2  Roanoke,  Nov.  20,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Mar.  20,  1824,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 


396         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

to  the  extreme.  Is  it  timidity,  she  shrinks  from  a  mouse. 
Is  it  fortitude,  she  braves  Heaven  itself."1 

But,  apart  from  a  few  pettish  aspersions  like  these,  Ran- 
dolph was  a  staunch  champion  and  a  warm  admirer  of 
women,  and  regarded  marriage  and  all  the  wholesome 
interests  that  spring  from  it  with  a  degree  of  profound 
approval  of  which  no  one  without  strong  domestic  affec- 
tions is  capable. 

"I  am  reading  for  the  second  time,"  he  once  wrote  to 
Theodore  Dudley,  "an  admirable  novel  called  Marriage.  It 
is  commended  by  the  great  unknown  in  his  Legend  of  Mon- 
trose. I  wish  you  would  read  it.  Perhaps,  it  might  serve  to 
palliate  some  of  your  romantic  notions  (for  I  despair  of  a  cure) 
on  the  subject  of  love  and  marriage.  A  man  who  marries  a 
woman  that  he  does  not  esteem  and  treat  kindly  is  a  villain; 
but  marriage  was  made  for  man  and,  if  the  woman  be  good- 
tempered,  healthy  (a  qualification  scarcely  thought  of  now-a- 
days,  all  important  as  it  is),  chaste,  cleanly,  economical  and  not 
an  absolute  fool,  she  will  make  a  better  wife  than  9  out  of  10 
deserve  to  have.  To  be  sure,  if  to  these  beauty  and  under- 
standing be  added,  all  the  better.  Neither  would  I  quarrel 
with  a  good  fortune,  if  it  has  produced  no  ill  effect  on  the 
possessor — a  rare  case.  I  was  in  hopes  you  would  not  let  G. 
[Gilmer]  carry  off  E.  [Elizabeth  T.  Coalter]  from  you.  That 
you  may  soon  possess  her  or  some  other  fair  lady  is  my  earnest 
wish. 

"The  cock  crows  for  day,  I  suppose,  but  it  is  yet  dark  and  I 
wish  you  good  morning.  'It  vanished  at  the  crowing  of  the 
cock.'"2 

"I  am  well  persuaded,"  he  also  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley, 
"that  few  love  matches  are  happy  ones.  One  thing  at  least  is 
true — that,  if  matrimony  has  its  cares,  celibacy  has  no  pleasure. 
A  Newton  or  a  mere  scholar  may  find  employment  in  study;  a 
man  of  literary  taste  can  receive  in  books  a  powerful  auxiliary, 
but  a  man  must  have  a  bosom  friend  and  children  around  him 

1  Bizarre,  Nov.  16,  18 10,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  74. 

2  5  o'clock,  Feb.  4,  1822,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  249. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  397 

to  cherish  and  support  the  dreariness  of  old  age.  Do  you 
remember  A.  V.  [Abram  Venable?].  He  could  neither  read 
nor  think;  any  wife,  even  a  scolding  one,  would  have  been  a 
blessing  to  that  poor  man.  After  all,  'suitability'  is  the  true 
foundation  for  marriage.  If  the  parties  be  suited  to  one 
another  in  age,  situation  in  life  (a  man  indeed  may  descend, 
where  all  else  is  fitting),  temper  and  constitution,  these  are  the 
ingredients  of  a  happy  marriage — or,  at  least,  a  convenient 
one,  which  is  all  that  people  of  experience  expect."1 

Commenting  tolerantly  in  a  letter  to  his  niece  on  the 
marriage  of  an  old  man,  he  said : 

"I  can  conceive  of  nothing  so  divine  as  the  union  between 
two  souls  (and  bodies  too)  and  suited  to  each  other  in  every 
respect,  and  each  feeling  for  the  other  that  sentiment  so  much 
talked  of,  so  little  felt,  and  consequently  so  little  understood, 
called  Love,  which  is  in  everybody's  mouth  and  in  almost 
nobody's  heart.  These  are  the  grand  prizes  in  the  lottery 
which  fall  to  so  few  that  they  can  hardly  come  into  the  calcu- 
lation of  probabilities.  Weak  people  play  the  fool  on  all 
occasions,  but  the  wisest  men  have  shown  that  in  this  matter 
they  can  play  the  fool  too.  It  has  so  happened  to  me  that  I 
never  had  a  connection  or  friend  who  married  to  please  me, 
with  one  exception,  and  I  have  found  in  each  instance,  save 
that  one,  a  woeful  falling  off  in  the  regard  of  my  married 
friends  towards  me."2 

In  another  letter  to  his  niece,  he  makes  the  lugubrious 
assertion  that  even  a  funeral  was  as  nothing  in  point  of 
seriousness  to  a  wedding.3  The  marriage  of  a  youthful 
pair,  with  which  he  was  in  any  way  connected  by  ties  of 
relationship  or  friendship,  was  always  an  important  event 
to  Randolph:  "Give  to  the  bride  and  bridegroom  my 
cordial  congratulations  on  the  event,"  he  said  in  one  of 

1  Washington,  Feb.  5,  1822,  Sunrise,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  252. 

2  Roanoke,  Aug.  18,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Washington,  Dec.  15,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 


398         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

his  letters  to  Theodore  Dudley.  "I  know  not  how  to 
offer  them  to  my  worthy  old  neighbor — to  whom  present 
me  in  the  most  friendly  terms.  ',J 

Once,  after  telling  Theodore  Dudley  that  certain  per- 
sons, including  a  Mr.  W.,  had  made  friendly  inquiries 
about  him,  he  adds:  "So  did  Mrs.  W.,  who  is,  'as  ladies 
like  to  be  who  love  their  lords, '  and  will  present  him  in  a 
very  short  time  with  a  chopping  boy  or  girl;  perhaps 
both."2  Some  four  years  later,  he  wrote  to  Theodore 
Dudley  from  Roanoke:  "I  have  seen  W.  M.  W.  [Wm.  M. 
Watkins  ?]  once  by  accident  on  the  road ;  rather  I  rode  as 
far  as  his  lane  and  met  him.  Asked  him  to  dine  with  me, 
but  Mrs.  W.  was  in  daily  expectation  of  the  sage  femme, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  watch  the  incubation. ' ' 3  That  rich 
vocabulary  never  lacked  a  delicate  paraphrase  with  which 
to  veil  or  shade  any  reflection  or  idea.  Nor  did  Ran- 
dolph's interest  in  marriage  cease  with  the  usual  harbingers 
of  matrimonial  f ruitf ulness ;  as  witness  this  letter  to  Nich- 
olson written  just  after  Mrs.  Nicholson  had,  or  was  sup- 
posed to  have,  given  birth  to  "a  fine  child. " 

"  I  am  not  indeed  so  happy  as  to  be  a  father,  and,  perhaps,  I 
am  incapable  of  entering  fully  into  the  feelings  of  a  parent; 
yet  I  am  not  insensible  to  any  circumstance  in  which  you  are 
so  deeply  interested.  Nor  am  I  without  a  strong  conception  of 
what  the  emotions  of  a  parent,  and  more  especially  of  a  hus- 
band, must  be  on  such  an  occasion.  A  new  object  of  regard 
is  created  to  him,  a  new  tie  binds  him  to  the  partner  who  pre- 
sents it;  it  is  at  once  a  pledge  and  source  of  their  affection. 
I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  a  man  in  the  world  so  fond  of 
children  as  myself,  and  I  am  unable  to  account  for  my  having 
lived  so  long  without  them.  There  is  no  object  so  interesting 
to  me  as  a  beautiful  woman  with  an  infant  in  her  arms,  clinging 
to  her  breast."4 

1  Dec.  31,  1816,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  181. 
2Richm.,  Mar.  12,  1817,  Id.,  199. 

3  Roanoke,  June  24,  1821,  Id.,  222. 

4  Feb.  15,  1800,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  399 

Randolph,  of  course,  had  pronounced  ideas  about  the 
limits  to  which  the  province  of  womanhood  should  be 
extended.  Returning  from  a  concert  in  1820,  he  says  to 
Dr.  Brockenbrough : 

"I  felt  very  much  ashamed  of  being  there;  not  because  the 
room  was  mean  and  badly  lighted  and  dirty,  and  the  com- 
pany ill-dressed,  but  because  I  saw  for  the  first  time  an  Ameri- 
can woman  singing  for  hire.  I  would  import  our  actors,  sing- 
ers, tumblers  and  jack-puddings,  if  we  must  have  such  cattle, 
from  Europe.  Hyde  de  Neuville,  a  Frenchman,  agreed  with 
me  'that,  although  the  lady  was  universally  admitted  to  be 
very  amiable,  it  was  a  dangerous  example.'  At  first  (on  dit), 
she  was  unaffected  and  sang  naturally,  and  I  am  told,  agree- 
ably enough;  but  now  she  is  a  bundle  of  'affectations'  (as  Sir 
Hugh  hath  it)  and  reminds  me  of  the  little  screech  'owels'  as 
they  say  on  'The  Southside.'  Her  voice  is  not  bad,  but  she 
is  utterly  destitute  of  a  single  particle  of  taste  or  judgment."1 

But  Randolph  was  not  one  of  those  early  Americans 
who  was  so  modest  as  to  think  that  even  the  legs  of  a  piano 
should  be  clothed  with  pantalettes.  Ladies,  he  once 
wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley,  had,  as  Theodore  knew,  no 
legs. 2 

All  this  brings  us  back  to  our  first  point,  that  Randolph 
had  that  deep  respect,  partly  inborn  and  partly  inbred, 
for  pure,  good  womanhood,  without  which  a  human  being, 
whatever  else  he  may  be,  can  never  be  a  true  gentleman. 
Reproaching  his  niece  on  one  occasion  for  not  writing  to 
him,  he  said : 

"Now  that  we  might  interchange  a  letter  every  two  or  three 
days,  your  pen  is  to  me  no  longer  vocal.  A  surly  bachelor 
might  impute  this  to  female  caprice,  but  I  know  from  experi- 
ence that,  in  that  respect,  our  sex  has  nothing  to  boast  of  over 
yours,  while,  in  a  great  many  others,  you  are  far  before  us. 

1  Gailand,  v.  2,  134. 

3  Baltimore,  Feb.  18,  1816,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  174. 


400         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

You  are  less  selfish,  capable  of  stronger  and  more  constant 
attachments,  and  less  swayed  (whatever  satirists  may  say  or 
sing)  by  wealth  or  power."1 

We  can  readily  believe  John  Randolph  Bryan  when  he 
tells  us  that,  in  the  society  of  ladies,  Randolph's  manner 
was  graceful,  magnetic,  and  deferential  to  a  degree  that 
made  him  greatly  admired  by  them2;  and  the  forms  of 
many  beautiful  and  graceful  or  benignant  women,  besides 
those  of  his  own  mother,  sister-in-law  and  niece  and  Maria 
Ward  and  the  other  women  whom  we  have  already  men- 
tioned, are  mirrored  in  his  letters.  There  are,  for  example : 
Delia,  a  Forman  of  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  the 
wife  of  his  friend,  Joseph  Bryan,  whom  he  pronounced 
"a  charming  woman,"  and  whom,  like  another  Cassio, 
wooing  another  Desdemona,  for  another  Othello,  he  seems 
to  have  courted  as  assiduously  for  his  friend  as  his  friend 
courted  her  for  himself;  and  Miss  Pratt,  another  "Eastern 
Shore  belle,"  whom  he  declared  to  be  as  amiable  and 
accomplished  as  Delia. 3 

"  I  do  not  know  how  it  is,"  he  once  wrote  to  Nicholson,  an 
Eastern  Shoreman,  "that  your  State,  and  particularly  your 
side  of  the  Bay  (to  which  we  must  annex  Annapolis)  shines  in 
fine  women.  There  is  a  marked  character  of  excellence  in  their 
manners  which  is  seldom  seen  elsewhere,  at  least  out  of  Vir- 
ginia.    You  see  there  is  no  combatting  State  prejudices."4 

But,  however  sectional  Randolph  may  have  been  in 
other  respects,  there  was  nothing  sectional  in  the  devoirs 
that  he  paid  to  attractive  women,  who,  even  in  the  darkest 
days  of  sectional  discord,  had  a  way  peculiar  to  them- 
selves of  setting  aside  geographical,  as  well  as  other, 
barriers  created  by  the  passions  or  whims  of  men.     One 

1  Jan.  31,  1824,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

2  Mar.  27,  1878,  Letter  to  Mr.  Robertson,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Letter   to  Nicholson,  Bizarre,  July  1,  1804,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr  Cong. 

4  Ibid. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  401 

of  the  most  agreeable  passages  in  that  agreeable  book, 
Figures  of  the  Past,  by  Josiah  Quincy,  is  that  in  which  he 
tells  us  how  fervently  Randolph  extolled  in  his  presence 
the  charms  and  virtues  of  a  Boston  lady  (doubtless  Mrs. 
Christopher  Gore).  What  he  said,  Quincy  declares,  could 
be  compared  only  to  the  rhapsody  of  a  lover. ■  When  this 
lady  was  on  one  occasion  en  route  from  Washington  to 
New  England,  he  wrote  repeatedly  to  Theodore  Dudley, 
who  was  then  a  medical  student  in  Philadelphia,  urging 
him  not  to  let  her  and  her  husband  pass  through  Phila- 
phia  without  seeing  them.  In  one  letter  to  Dudley,  who 
had  become  a  capital  sportsman  at  Bizarre  and  Roanoke, 
he  said :  "I  hope  you  will  not  miss  them  in  their  passage 
through  Philadelphia.  You  are  good  at  a  flying  shot.  "2 
But  he  never  paid  Mrs.  Gore  a  handsomer  compliment 
than  just  after  his  defeat  in  1813,  when  he  might  well  have 
felt  its  smart  too  keenly  not  to  have  been  thinking  of  the 
ingratitude  of  men  to  the  utter  exclusion  of  the  blandish- 
ments of  women.  "It  releases  me  from  an  odious  thral- 
dom," he  wrote  to  Dudley,  "and  I  assure  you,  my  dear 
Theodore,  I  have  thought,  and  yet  think,  much  more  of 
the  charming  Mrs.  G.  than  of  the  election."3  Not  so 
heartfelt,  however,  was  this  declaration  as  one  which  he 
made  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  when  he  heard  that  Mrs. 
Brockenbrough  had  been  deeply  affected  by  his  defeat  in 
1827.  The  tear  shed  by  her  eyes,  he  said,  was  more 
precious  in  his  own  than  the  pearl  of  Cleopatra. 4  Other 
captivating  Maryland  women  besides  Delia  and  Miss 
Pratt  won  his  admiration.  "Tell  Mrs.  G.,"  he  wrote  to 
Theodore  Dudley  on  one  occasion,  "that  her  friends,  the 
Goldsboroughs  [of  Maryland],  are  quite  well;  that  Miss 
Anna  Maria  is  as  beautiful  as  ever. " s    In  the  same  letter, 

1  P.  21 1.  2  Washington,  Feb.  II,  1813,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  137. 

3  Farmville,  Apr.  16,  1813,  Id.,  141. 

4  Jan.  20,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  284. 

s  Feb.  10,  1813,  Letters  to  a  Y  R.,  136. 
vol.  11 — 26 


4°2         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

he  says:  "Mrs.  Horsey,  with  whom  I  dined  today,  and 
Mrs.  Bayard  enjoy  their  usual  good  health,  good  humor 
and  good  spirits. "  In  another  place,  he  speaks  of  Anna 
Maria,  who  afterwards  became  the  wife  of  Wm.  Fitzhugh, 
of  Virginia,  as  "La  Belle  Goldsborough. "  *  After  a  visit 
to  Nicholson  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland  in  1801, 
he  asks  Nicholson,  when  he  sees  Mrs.  Lloyd,  or  the  young 
ladies,  or  his  charming  relation,  Miss  M.,  to  present  him 
to  them  in  Nicholson's  best  manner;  and  then  he  adds: 
"The  sweet  notes  of  'Lucy'  still  vibrate  in  my  ear. " 2 

In  many  cases,  Randolph's  habit  of  initialing  proper 
names  in  his  letters  is  not  a  matter  of  much  concern  to  us ; 
but  at  times  his  letters  are  so  profusely  besprinkled  with 
such  initials  that  we  feel  as  if  we  were  moving  about  at  a 
masked  ball. 

A  Maryland  "Miss,"  mentioned  by  Randolph  in  his 
letters,  is  one  of  the  three  Catons,  granddaughters  of 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  who  afterwards  married 
respectively,  the  Earl  of  Stafford,  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  and 
the  Marquis  of  Wellesley.3 

How  necessary  the  society  of  women  was  to  Randolph, 
we  may  partially  infer  from  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  his 
niece  in  the  year  1823: 

"You  describe,"  he  said,  "that  to  which  I  have  been  for 
many  months  a  perfect  stranger — refined  female  society.  My 
infirmities  have  disabled  me  for  evening  parties,  and  indeed 
those  of  Washington  are  so  crowded  and  promiscuous  that 
little  enjoyment  can  be  derived  from  them.  Mrs.  Decatur,  I 
am  told,  has  a  small,  select  company  assembled  at  her  house 
once  or  twice  a  week,  but  it  is  four  miles  off,  and  I  have  not 
seen  her  since  poor  Decatur's  death.  I  called  last  year  as  soon 
as  I  understood  she  received  company,  but  she  had  not  the 
courage  to  see  me,  and,  to  say  the  truth,  I  was  not  sorry  to  be 

1  Richmond,  Mar.  20,  1814,  Id.,  157. 

2  Bizarre,  July  18,  1801,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

3  Richm.,  Mar.  20,  18 14,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  156. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  403 

spared  the  interview.  I  have  not  the  pleasure  to  know  the 
Mrs.  N.  you  mention,  although  I  am  well  acquainted  with  her 
father  and  slightly  with  her  husband.  We  have  a  very 
sensible  and  agreeable  lady  in  this  house  (Mrs.  Benton)  but 
we  see  very  little  of  her ;  her  time,  when  she  is  not  abroad,  being 
engrossed  by  a  charming  little  girl  not  quite  a  year  old.  I 
sometimes  meet  Miss  Spear  upon  the  walk  before  our  door. 
She  is  a  very  intelligent,  well-informed  and  well-bred  woman, 
and  I  find  in  our  interviews  of  10  or  12  minutes'  promenade 
much  entertainment.  Do  you  ever  see  my  old  friend  Mrs. 
Cunningham?  When  you  do,  pray  present  my  best  respects 
to  her.  I  verily  believe  that  I  owe  my  life  to  her  and  her 
husband's  kindness  six  years  ago  when  I  was  ill  at  their 
house."1     (a) 

Mrs.  H.,  "a  most  charming  woman, "  and  "pretty  Mrs. 
W. "  are  two  other  women  whom  he  mentions  in  one  of  his 
letters  to  Theodore  Dudley.2  To  Mrs.  Cunningham  he 
was  not  more  grateful  than  he  was  to  the  daughter  of 
Philip  Barton  Key  for  nursing  him  in  his  sickness,  and  to 
her  he  paid  this  cordial  tribute  in  a  letter  to  her  cousin, 
Francis  Scott  Key: 

"Miss  Key  (your  Uncle  Philip's  daughter)  is  I  presume 
'unmarried,'"  he  said,  "for  there  was  nobody  in  the  District 
deserving  of  her  when  I  knew  it ;  and  she  has  too  much  good 
sense  to  throw  herself  away  on  flimsy  members  of  Congress  or 
diplomatic  adventurers.  I  often  think  of  the  pain  I  suffered 
at  her  father's  more  than  11  years  ago,  of  the  kindness  and 
attention  I  then  received.  Cripple  as  I  then  thought  myself, 
I  had  no  forecast  that  in  so  short  a  time  I  should  be  almost 
superannuated. ' ' 3 

Nor  should  we  by  any  means  omit  a  paragraph  from  one 
of  his  letters  to  Theodore  Dudley  written  from  Richmond, 

1  Feb.  6,  1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

a  York  Bldgs.,  Dec.  27,  1814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  170. 

3  Garland,  v.  2,  109. 


404         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

in  which  his  admiration  for  fine  women  ranged  over  the 
whole  Atlantic  Coast  from  Richmond  to  Boston : 

"There  are  two  not  'unknown,'  but  unmentioned,  ladies  who 
have  spoken  of  you  to  me  in  very  flattering  terms ;  the  fashion- 
able Miss  M. and  the  elegant  Mrs.  W. .     The  latter 

expressed  her  regret  at  being  from  home  when  you  called. 
Mrs.  Bell  often  inquires  after  you.  She  is  my  chief  resource  of 
female  society  and  reminds  me  of  Mrs.  G!  The  dignity 
and  elegance  of  her  pursuits,  compared  with  the  frivolous 
occupations  or  inane  indolence  of  our  ladies  in  general,  give  a 
new  charm  to  the  beauty  of  her  person  and  the  polish  of  her 


So,  it  is  evident,  after  all,  that  it  is  not  a  Maryland  or 
a  Virginia,  but  a  New  England,  woman — the  marvelous 

Mrs.  G ,  who  was  in  his  eyes  of  "her  gentle  sex  the 

paragon."  (a) 

Scattered  through  Randolph's  journals,  too,  are  the 
names  of  many  Southside  Virginia  ladies  whom  he  met 
from  time  to  time  in  his  social  circuits  in  that  region,  or 
received  at  Roanoke;  such  as  Mrs.  Tabb,  Mrs.  Banister, 
Mrs.  Deane,  Madame  Carrington,  and  the  Ladies  Bruce. 
"Ladies, "  is  a  word  which  frequently  recurs  in  these 
intimate  records  of  his  private  life.  Once,  in  amusing 
juxtaposition  to  one  of  the  meteorological  jottings  in  which 
they  abound,  he  makes  this  confusing  entry,  which  is 
certainly  suggestive  of  glowing  charms:  "Ladies  760."2 

The  pleasure  that  Randolph  derived  from  the  society 
of  women  is  enough  in  itself  to  negative  the  idea  that  he 
was  a  mere  gloomy  misanthrope.  This  idea  was  enter- 
tained by  even  such  a  writer  as  Baldwin.  "He  was  the 
most  unsocial  of  men, ' '  he  says  in  one  place 3 ;  and  in  another 
he  terms  him  an ' '  aristocratic  anchorite. ' ' 4  This  erroneous 
conception  of  Randolph's  life  and  character  is  doubtless 

1  Richm.,  Mar.  20,  18 14,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  156.  2  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 

3  Party  Leaders,  228.  4  Id.,  214. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  405 

attributable  to  the  fact  that  Baldwin  wrote  his  essay  at  a 
time  and  under  circumstances  that  made  him  dependent 
mainly  upon  Garland's  Life  of  Randolph  for  his  knowledge 
of  Randolph's  social  traits.  Unfortunately,  the  social  side 
of  that  biography  is  principally  made  up  of  the  unreserved 
letters  in  which  Randolph  laid  bare  the  most  secret 
recesses  of  his  soul  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  after  his  body 
and  mind  had  become  deeply  cankered  by  disease.  He 
was  not  "the  most  unsocial  of  men, "  nor  was  he  an  aris- 
tocratic or  any  other  sort  of  anchorite.  It  is  true  that 
with  advancing  years  and  growing  infirmities  he  some- 
times became  peevish  when  some  rustic  neighbor  taxed 
his  time  and  strength  unduly  with  his  uncongenial  com- 
panionship, or  he  was  called  upon  to  receive  "unmeaning 
visits"  from  some  one  whose  call  was  inspired  by  mere 
curiosity  or  conventionality.  But  his  letters,  when  read 
as  a  whole,  and,  above  all,  his  Diary  and  other  journals 
demonstrate  beyond  the  possibility  of  reasonable  contro- 
versy that,  except  when  tortured  by  physical  anguish,  or 
transformed  by  mental  distraction,  he  was  an  intensely 
social  being.  And,  indeed,  no  matter  how  miserable  he 
was,  his  yearning  for  the  society  of  those,  who  were  truly 
dear  to  him,  underwent  but  little  change.  All  agree  that 
in  his  happier  hours  he  was  a  charming  conversationalist 
and  a  delightful  companion.  Testifying  in  the  Randolph 
will  litigation,  Dr.  Thomas  Robinson  deposed  that  he  had 
had  many  years  of  close  intimacy  with  Randolph  before 
he  removed  from  Prince  Edward  County  to  take  up  his 
residence  in  Petersburg,  and  that,  during  the  interval 
between  1800  and  1805,  Randolph  was  "remarkably  gay 
in  his  temper  and  warm  in  his  affections";  and  that,  even 
after  he  had  become  more  serious  and  reserved  and  was 
more  sleepless  than  any  person  whom  the  witness  had  ever 
known,  in  consequence  of  his  love  affair,  and  would  fre- 
quently, in  the  course  of  the  night,  exclaim,  "Macbeth 
hath  murdered  sleep,"  he  recovered  in  a  degree,  and  re- 


406         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

sumed  in  a  measure,  his  gaiety  and  cheerfulness. " 1  This, 
the  reader  should  bear  in  mind,  is  the  testimony  of  a  man 
who  was  not  friendly  to  Randolph  during  the  later  years 
of  his  life,  and  fixes  the  real  beginning  of  Randolph's 
mental  disturbances  at  quite  an  early  period.  "His  con- 
versation," we  are  told  by  Sawyer,  who  knew  him  well, 
"was  as  agreeable  and  instructive  as  his  manners  were 
polished,  gentlemanly  and  polite.  "2  In  another  place  in 
his  biography,  Sawyer  pays  a  still  more  emphatic  tribute 
to  Randolph's  social  gifts : 

"He  was  fond  of  a  social  circle  around  his  parlor  fire  of  an 
evening,"  he  says.  "He  was  the  soul  of  conversation,  every 
person  preferring  to  hear  him  than  to  hear  themselves  talk. 
He  was  as  brilliant  and  original  on  these  occasions  as  he  was  on 
the  floor  of  Congress,  and  would  sit  up  till  midnight  if  he  found 
a  few  friends  willing  to  remain  as  long  to  listen  to  his 
discourses."3 

To  Sawyer  we  owe  two  stories  about  Randolph  which, 
though  destitute  of  any  great  degree  of  point,  show  how 
facetious  and  light-hearted  he  could  be  in  1807  at  Wash- 
ington with  the  members  of  his  mess.  On  one  occasion, 
when  Randolph  was  complaining  of  a  hard  bargain  to 
which  he  had  been  held  by  Melvil,  his  tailor,  a  member  of 
the  mess  interrupted  him  and  said  that  Randolph  was  not 
acquainted  with  the  mode  of  shopping  prevalent  in  Wash- 
ington; that  the  Washington  merchants  had  two  prices — 
an  asking  price  and  a  taking  price,  and  that  it  had  been 
his  own  habit  to  send  his  wife  around  to  make  all  the  pur- 
chases for  the  family,  by  which  he  had  effected  a  saving  of 
15  to  20%.  To  this  interruption  Randolph  merely  re- 
plied: "I  had  rather  my  wife  should  make  a  living  any 
other  way  but  one  than  that. "  a  reply  which  Sawyer  says 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  VS.  Randolph's  Exor.,Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

3  P.  118.  *  Id.,  p.  45. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  407 

his  character  as  an  old  bachelor  made  even  more  comical 
than  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  A  few  evenings  after- 
wards, Randolph  took  his  turn  at  interruption.  James  M. 
Garnett,  who  had  recently  been  shooting  canvas-back 
ducks,  was  telling  a  story  about  another  sportsman  whom 
he  had  met  on  his  little  excursion. 

"The  man,"  he  said,  "had  followed  a  large  flock  till  it 
entered  a  cove,  and  secreted  himself  behind  a  log,  to  await  an 
opportunity  to  get  a  number  in  a  range.  After  waiting  in  the 
cold  for  sometime,  and  finding  a  fair  chance  to  place  his  gun 
over  the  log  to  take  rest,  and  just  as  he  had  taken  sight,  and 
was  ready  to  pull  trigger,  what  should  he  see  but  another  long 
gun  directly  opposite,  aiming  at  the  same  object.  He  had 
hardly  time  to  drop  down  behind  the  log  before  away  blazed 
the  other  sportsman,  the  whole  load  coming  into  the  log 
behind  which  he  was " 

"Lying, "  broke  in  Randolph  hilariously,  to  the  great 
diversion  of  the  company.1 

This,  of  course,  was  when  Randolph  wore  the  rose  of 
youth  upon  him,  so  far  as  the  premature  decline  of  his 
health  ever  permitted  him  to  wear  a  fresh  one  at  all.  But, 
even  14  or  15  years  later,  the  social  vivacity  which  these 
stories  manifest  had  not  died  out,  because  it  is  of  this 
period  in  Randolph's  life  that  Thomas  H.  Benton  is  speak- 
ing when  he  bears  instructive  testimony  to  Randolph's 
social  accomplishments.  ' '  His  temper  was  naturally  gay 
and  social,  and  so  indulged,  when  suffering  of  mind  and 
body  permitted.  He  was  the  charm  of  the  dinner  table, 
where  his  cheerful  and  sparkling  wit  delighted  every  ear, 
lit  up  every  countenance,  and  detained  every  guest.  "2 

The  intimacy  between  Randolph  and  Dr.  Brocken- 
brough  was  such  that  Randolph  spent  weeks  at  a  time  in 
the  house  of  the  latter  at  Richmond,  which  afterwards, 
when  it  was  the  official  home  of  Jefferson  Davis,  became 

1  Sawyer,  30.  2 30  Years'  View,  474. 


408         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

known  as  "  the  White  House  of  the  Confederacy' ' ; ■  and  Dr. 
Brockenbrough  is  credited  with  the  statement  that  Ran- 
dolph was  the  "most  agreeable  and  interesting  inmate 
imaginable. " 2  "In  conversational  powers, ' '  the  Reminis- 
cences of  Jacob  Harvey  declare,  "he  was  surpassed  by 
none,  and  rarely  equalled  by  any,  of  his  distinguished 
contemporaries."3  Harvey  further  says  that  he  could 
not  imagine  a  greater  delight  than  it  would  be  to  him  to 
repeat  the  voyage  on  which  Randolph  was  his  fellow- 
passenger  in  1822. 4  John  Lambert,  an  English  traveller, 
after  expressing  an  unfavorable  opinion  of  Randolph's 
physical  appearance,  adds: 

"His  voice  is  somewhat  feminine;  but  that  is  little  noticed 
the  moment  he  has  entered  fully  upon  his  subject,  whether  it 
be  at  the  convivial  table  or  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  defects  of  his  person  are  then  forgotten  in  one  continued 
blaze  of  shrewd,  sensible  and  eloquent  remarks."5 

In  his  notes,  Nathan  Loughborough  expresses  regret 
that  there  had  been  no  Boswell  to  preserve  Randolph's 
"brilliant  colloquial  displays."6 

All  this  praise  is  so  absolute  that  we  feel  as  if  we  were 
treading  upon  somewhat  safer  ground  when  we  find  the 
same  laudation,  dashed  with  a  little  acerbity,  in  the  letters 
of  Elijah  H.  Mills,  a  Senator  from  Massachusetts.  In  a 
letter  written  in  1816,  Mills  thus  describes  Randolph: 

"He  is  really  a  most  singular  and  interesting  man;  regard- 
less entirely  of  form  and  ceremony  in  some  things,  and  punctil- 
ious to  an  extreme  in  others.  He  yesterday  dined  with  us. 
He  was  dressed  in  a  rough,  coarse  short  hunting-coat,  with 
small  clothes  and  boots,  and  over  his  boots  a  pair  of  coarse 

1  Va.  Homes  &c,  by  Lancaster,  130.  2  Id.,  133. 

3  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2.  120.  4  Id. 

s  Travels  Through  Canada  and  The  U.  S.,  v.  2,  417. 
6  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  409 

cotton  leggings  tied  with  strings  round  his  legs.  He  engrossed 
almost  the  whole  conversation,  and  was  exceedingly  amusing 
as  well  as  eloquent  and  instructive."1 

In  another  letter  written  in  1822,  Mills  said: 

"Our  Massachusetts  people,  and  I  among  the  number,  have 
grown  great  favorites  with  Mr.  Randolph.  He  has  invited 
me  to  dine  with  him  twice  and  he  has  dined  with  us  as  often. 
He  is  now  what  he  used  to  be  in  his  best  days;  in  good  spirits, 
with  fine  manners  and  the  most  fascinating  conversation.  .  .  . 
For  the  last  two  years,  he  has  been  in  a  state  of  great  pertur- 
bation, and  has  indulged  himself  in  the  ebullitions  of  littleness 
and  acerbity,  in  which  he  exceeds  almost  any  man  living.  He 
is  now  in  better  humor,  and  is  capable  of  making  himself 
exceedingly  interesting  and  agreeable.  How  long  this  state  of 
things  may  continue  may  depend  upon  accident  or  caprice. 
He  is  therefore  not  a  desirable  inmate  or  a  safe  friend,  but, 
under  proper  restrictions,  a  most  entertaining  and  instructive 
companion."2 

A  view  that  Mills  gives  us  of  Randolph  in  1826,  four 
years  later,  was,  doubtless,  tinged  by  impressions  left  upon 
him  by  the  unsettled  condition  of  Randolph's  mind  in  that 
year.  Mills  was  then  sick,  and  Randolph  was  calling  on 
him  oftener  than  usual  tor  that  reason. 

"He  now  lives  within  a  few  doors  of  me,  and  has  called  almost 
every  evening  and  morning  to  see  me.  This  has  been  very 
kind  of  him,  but  is  no  earnest  of  continued  friendship.  In 
his  likings  and  dislikings,  as  in  everything  else,  he  is  the  most 
eccentric  being  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  is  as  likely  to 
abuse  friend  as  foe ;  hence,  among  all  those  with  whom  he  has 
been  associated  during  the  last  30  years,  there  is  scarcely  an 
individual  whom  he  can  call  his  friend.  At  times,  he  is  the 
most  entertaining  and  amusing  man  alive,  with  manners  the 
most  pleasant  and  agreeable;  (a)  and,  at  other  times,  he  is 

1  Jan.  19,  1816,  Proceedings  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  (1881-2),  v.  19,  19. 
a  Jan.  15,  1822,  Proceedings  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  (1881-2),  v.  19,  32. 


4io         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

sour,  morose,  crabbed,  ill-natured  and  sarcastic,  rude  in 
manners  and  repulsive  to  everybody.  Indeed,  I  think  he  is 
partially  deranged  and  seldom  in  the  full  possession  of  his 
reason."1 

What  Randolph  thought  of  Mills  we  have  little  means 
of  knowing,  beyond  an  exclamation  in  one  of  his  letters : 
"Poor  little  Mills!"2  But  this  abrupt  way  of  disposing 
of  a  man  is  entirely  too  much  in  the  manner  of  Thomas 
Carlyle  to  be  at  all  final.  One  thing  is  certain :  If  Mills 
had  not  been  a  very  sensible,  worthy  man,  Randolph 
would  never  have  sought  his  society  as  he  did. 

One  of  the  impressions  left  upon  the  mind  of  Randolph's 
time  by  his  conversation  was  that  of  a  memory  almost 
preternaturally  retentive.  In  his  Figures  of  the  Past, 
Josiah  Quincy  tells  us  that,  in  the  course  of  a  conversation, 
which  he  had  with  Randolph  at  Washington  in  1826, 
Randolph,  when  asked  by  him  just  where  he  would  find  a 
paragraph  in  the  works  of  Edmund  Burke,  which  the  for- 
mer had  quoted  during  the  conversation,  referred  him  to 
a  copy  of  Burke  in  the  Congressional  Library,  and  speci- 
fied unerringly  from  memory  the  very  shelf  and  the  very 
place  on  it  where  the  volumes  stood  and  the  number  and 
page  of  the  particular  volume  in  which  the  paragraph 
would  be  found. 3 

In  his  Recollections  of  John  Randolph,  we  are  informed 
by  the  Rev.  Wm.  S.  Lacy  that,  on  one  occasion,  when  a 
quotation  from  Sallust,  used  by  Wm.  B.  Giles  in  a  political 
essay,  which  Randolph  was  reading  aloud  to  a  group  of 
his  friends  under  the  ancient  elms,  that  shaded  the  court 
house  yard  at  Prince  Edward  Court  House,  was  pro- 
nounced very  apt  by  some  of  Randolph's  auditors,  Ran- 
dolph remarked :  "It  is  good  Latin,  but  it  is  not  Sallust's 
Latin  " ;  and,  taking  out  his  pencil,  wrote  on  the  margin  of 

1  Mar.  10,  1826,  Id.,  49.  2  Garland,  v.  2,  272. 

3  Figures  of  the  Past,  214. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  41 * 

the  newspaper  from  which  he  had  been  reading  what  he 
remembered  as  the  true  version  and  said:  "Here,  gentle- 
men, is  the  language  that  Sallust  uses  in  usum  Delphini, 
and  I'll  bet  my  Betsy  Robertson  [his  riding  mare]  against 
the  sorriest  gelding  on  the  ground  I  am  right  and  Mr. 
Giles  is  wrong" ;  and  so  it  proved  when  a  copy  of  Sallust 
was  shortly  afterwards  produced  and  examined. * 

The  testimony  of  Jacob  Harvey  on  the  same  subject  is 
equally  amazing;  indeed  so  much  so  that  we  cannot  but 
again  suspect  that  Harvey's  genius  was  just  a  little  too 
lively  for  the  responsibilities  of  sober  narration.  Accord- 
ing to  his  account,  which  is  extraordinary  enough,  even 
when  the  bright  froth  on  its  surface  has  been  blown 
away,  Randolph  had  a  knowledge  of  the  geography  and 
topography  of  Great  Britain  which  Pennant  might  have 
envied.  He  even  exhibited  the  most  intimate  familiarity 
with  the  most  important  light-houses  and  the  principal 
headlands  on  the  British  coast;  indeed  with  the  latitude 
and  longitude  of  different  points  on  it.  In  bet  after 
bet  between  Randolph  and  the  Captain  of  the  Amity, 
the  Captain,  Harvey  tells  us,  was  floored  by  Randolph's 
superior  knowledge  in  these  respects.  Later,  the  Captain, 
after  looking  at  the  compass  at  Randolph's  request,  told 
him  how  the  ship  was  heading;  whereupon  Randolph 
offered  to  bet  him  a  pipe  of  wine  or  of  Schuydam  gin  that, 
if  the  Amity  continued  exactly  on  her  present  course,  she 
would  strike  Sligo  Head.  The  Captain,  not  unmindful  of 
his  previous  disappointments,  refused  to  bet,  but  said  that 
he  thought  that  they  would  hit  the  "Mull  of  Cantiro." 
Upon  reference  to  the  chart,  however,  it  was  ascertained 
that  Randolph  was  right.2  Nor  was  this  all.  Harvey 
found  that  Randolph  was  intimately  acquainted  with 
every  part  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  not  merely 
with  their  cities,  towns,  and  villages,  including  the  streets, 

1  Union  Seminary  Mag.  (1893-94),  v.  5,  I-IO. 

2  The  New  Mirror,  v.  I,  313,  389. 


4i2         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

lanes,  and  alleys  of  London,  but  also  with  their  country- 
seats;  and  that  he  could  repeat  the  pedigree  of  every  noted 
race  horse  then  alive,  describe  every  celebrated  horse-race 
which  had  occurred  within  the  last  fifty  years,  and  even 
remembered  the  names  of  the  riders  who  took  part  in 
them. x   (a) 

The  root  of  this  minute  knowledge  of  Great  Britain  and 
British  conditions  was,  of  course,  Randolph's  deep-seated 
partiality  for  England.  Harvey  says  that,  when  the 
Amity  was  running  along  the  coast  of  Ireland,  Randolph 
stated  facts  about  its  physical  features  which  might  have 
fallen  from  the  lips  of  an  Irish  country  gentleman  rather 
than  from  those  of  a  Virginia  planter  who  had  never  been 
across  the  Atlantic  before;  and  that,  when  Randolph 
obtained  his  first  view  of  England,  he  shed  tears  of  delight, 
exclaiming:  ''Thank  God  that  I  have  lived  to  behold  the 
land  of  Shakespeare,  of  Milton,  of  my  forefathers!  May 
her  greatness  increase  through  all  times!"2 

But  love  England  as  he  did,  he  never  lost  sight  of  her 
duty  to  Ireland.  "An  Irish  Tory,  Sir,  I  never  could 
abide, "  he  said  on  one  occasion  to  Harvey.3 

Even  at  Roanoke,  alien  to  England  as  were  its  two 
crude  dwellings,  its  slave  cabins,  its  black  bondsmen,  its 
unsubdued  woods,  and  its  only  partially  subdued  fields, 
an  English  coach,  English  harness  and  saddlery,  English 
plate,  English  clothes  and  boots,  English  books,  and  an 
English  newspaper,  side  by  side  with  the  Richmond  En- 
quirer, 4  evidenced  the  fact  that  to  Randolph  at  any  rate 
the  American  Revolution  had  not  been  one  of  those  mighty 
erosive  agencies  which  leaves  nothing  behind  it  but  an 
unbroken  sea  separating  two  completely  divided  head- 
lands.    The  latter  part  of  the  Diary  contains  a  mass  of 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  i,  313;  v.  2,  28,  30.  3  Id.,  v.  I,  391. 

3  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  6. 

« Letter  from  J.  R.  to  James  Monroe,  Feb.  28,  1894,  Monroe  Papers,  v.  10, 
1252,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  413 

information  relating  to  English  peers,  peeresses,  common- 
ers, scapegraces,  and  wantons,  which  we  should  be  glad  to 
have  had  displaced  by  a  mass  of  similar  information  more 
in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  our  own  age  and  country. 
He  was  almost  as  much  at  home  in  London  as  was 
Benjamin  Franklin: 

M  My  physical  comforts  here,"  he  wrote  to  his  niece  in  1830, 
"are  greater  than  I  could  have  at  home,  and  there  you  know  I 
am  without  society.  I  have  also  many  other  resources;  a 
London  newspaper  (how  unlike  our  low  scurrilous  press!) 
for  my  daily  breakfast;  the  National  Gallery  of  Pictures  by 
great  masters  not  150  yards  off.  The  grand  menagerie  of  wild 
beasts  where  I  can  see  God  in  his  creatures  is  close  at  hand. 
I  have  not  been  to  any  theatre  or  public  place  except  to  be 
presented  to  the  King,  and  very  few  of  my  old  acquaintances 
know  of  my  being  in  London.  My  chiefest  pleasure  and 
delight,  walking  through  the  streets  and  observing  upon  the 
inexhaustible  wonders  of  London,  is  cut  off,  and  with  it  many 
a  lucky  purchase  of  books  which  I  used  to  rummage  out  of  the 
holes  and  corners  of  this  miraculous  city."1 

So  wedded  was  Randolph  to  England  that,  after  his 
return  from  England,  even  his  devoted  friend,  Wm.  Leigh, 
thought  that  it  would  be  better  for  him  to  live  in  England 
than  at  Roanoke.  He  could  not  go  through  a  stormy 
session  of  Congress;  neither  could  he  live  in  solitude  at 
home,  Judge  Leigh  believed. 2 

One  of  the  most  interesting  forms  that  the  tenacious 
memory  of  Randolph  assumed  was  that  of  frequent  and 
apt  quotations  from  the  ancient  and  English  classics. 
Calhoun  thought  that  he  quoted  too  much.  A  third  per- 
son might  well  think  that  Calhoun  himself  quoted  too 
little.  We  can  only  say  that  no  public  speaker  ever 
quoted  prose  or  poetry  more  appositely,  or  was  less  sub- 

1  London,  Dec.  21,  1830,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Letter  to  Clay,  Halifax,  Mar.  10,  1833,  Clay  Papers,  Libr.  Cong. 


4H         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

ject  to  the  reproach,  just  or  unjust,  which  caused  Disraeli 
on  a  memorable  occasion  to  advise  Sir  Robert  Peel  to  stick 
to  quotation  because  he  never  quoted  anything  that  had 
not  already  received  the  meed  of  parliamentary  appro- 
bation. To  realize  how  infinitely  superior  in  point  of  real 
culture  Randolph  was  to  most  of  his  parliamentary  con- 
temporaries in  Congress,  we  have  but  to  compare  his 
quotations  with  theirs,  and,  even  if  he  did  use  a  trite  Latin 
phrase,  or  quote  one  or  more  commonplace  lines  of  poetry, 
the  tame  words,  transmuted  by  their  highly  original  con- 
text, seemed  to  undergo  a  change  like  that  which  is 
wrought  when  a  common  twig  or  blade  of  grass  becomes 
incrusted  with  bright  frost  crystals  in  the  night.  His 
memory  bore  his  stores  of  knowledge  so  lightly  that  an 
implement  received  by  him  from  the  hand  of  another 
seemed  to  fit  his  as  readily  as  one  of  his  own.  What  he 
knew  he  did  not  acquire  by  a  process  of  veneering,  but 
by  a  process  of  absorption  and  saturation. 

In  addition  to  his  lively  temperament,  his  social  sym- 
pathies, and  his  intellectual  endowments,  Randolph  pos- 
sessed most  of  the  tastes  which  help  to  promote  the 
happiness  of  human  society  in  its  narrower  sense.  He 
was  not  only  fond  of  singing,  but  he  had  a  good  voice 
himself. 

"I  once  staid  all  night  with  Mr.  Randolph,"  says  James  W. 
Bouldin  in  his  Recollections,  "and  for  some  reason,  which  I  do 
not  remember,  I  slept  in  the  same  room  with  him.  Having 
gone  to  bed,  Mr.  Randolph  at  a  late  hour  of  the  night,  roused 
me  by  setting  his  books  to  rights  and  singing: 

'"Fresh  and  strong  the  breeze  is  blowing, 
As  your  bark  at  anchor  rides.' 

I  thought  his  singing  as  far  surpassed  other  men's  singing  as  his 
speaking  surpassed  other  men's  speaking."1 
bouldin,  ii. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  4J5 

He  was  a  good  whist  and  chess  player.1  He  was  not 
indifferent  to  good  fare  when  his  health  was  such  as  to 
make  food  something  more  than  a  mere  staff  of  life  to  him ; 
smoked  cigars  occasionally,  at  any  rate,  and  wished  for  a 
companion  with  whom  to  share  a  pipe  and  bottle,  (a) 
How  addicted  he  was  to  racing,  an  eminently  social  pas- 
time, and  to  shooting,  a  social  pastime  with  all  but  the 
grossly  selfish,  we  shall  presently  see.  If  Baldwin  could 
have  read  the  Diary  and  briefer  journals  of  Randolph, 
before  expressing  the  opinion  that  the  latter  lacked  a 
social  spirit,  he  would  have  recanted  his  incorrect  con- 
ception of  Randolph's  character.  Of  course,  when  Ran- 
dolph resided  at  Bizarre  or  Roanoke  he  was  not  in  the 
midst  of  such  a  stream  of  people  as  when  he  was  at  Wash- 
ington or  Richmond.  Both  Bizarre  and  Roanoke  were  in 
sequestered  and  sparsely  settled  regions,  and  no  little 
space  had  to  be  traversed  by  the  individuals  who  made  up 
the  social  life  of  those  places  to  render  them  real  social 
centres;  but,  scattered  everywhere  throughout  the  terri- 
tory in  Virginia  south  of  the  James  and  north  of  the  Roa- 
noke, which  stretched  from  the  foothills  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
to  Petersburg,  were  plantation  homes  which  created  a  true 
social  life  that,  natural  and  simple  as  it  was,  and  powerless 
to  vie  with  the  ostentatious  luxury  and  display  of  other 
communities  of  the  United  States  at  the  present  time  as 
it  would  be,  was  distinguished  by  no  common  degree  of 
dignity  and  refinement.  In  most  of  these  homes,  Ran- 
dolph was  throughout  his  life  a  frequent  and  a  welcome 
guest,  and  not  a  few  of  them  were  those  of  beloved  rela- 
tions and  friends.  No  detailed  description  of  the  Bizarre 
mansion  house,  which  was  sustained  by  a  plantation  of 
some  1, 800  or  1,900  acres,  lying  on  both  sides  of  the 
Appomattox,  is  known  to  us.  We  only  know  that  it  was 
the  second  house  that  had  stood  upon  the  same  site,  and 
Latrobe  simply  says  of  it  that  there  was  nothing  about  its 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  1,  331. 


416         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

appearance  to  suggest  oddity.1  In  a  letter  written  by 
Randolph  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  however,  we  do  get 
an  interesting  glimpse  of  its  domestic  economy  and  of  its 
efficient  and  proud-spirited  mistress — Judith  Randolph. 
Indeed,  the  whole  letter,  with  the  exception  of  its  con- 
cluding paragraph,  is  a  vignette  which  might  well  have 
been  added  to  our  description  in  the  preceding  pages  of 
chis  book  of  Southside  Virginia.  It  was  written  after 
Randolph  had  returned  from  his  asylum  in  the  home  of  his 
friend  John  Marshall,  to  his  own  home  at  Roanoke,  and 
had  again  reached  mentally  something  like  a  state  of 
stable  equilibrium : 

1 '  Dear  Marshall  :  On  taking  out  my  chariot  this  morning, 
for  the  first  time,  since  I  got  from  your  house,  to  clean  it  and 
the  harness  (for  the  dreadful  weather  has  frozen  us  all  up  until 
today),  the  knife  was  found  in  the  bottom  of  the  carriage, 
where  it  must  have  been  dropped  from  a  shallow  waist-coat 
pocket,  as  I  got  in  at  your  door,  for  I  missed  the  knife  soon 
afterwards.  When  I  got  home,  I  had  the  pockets  of  the 
chariot  searched,  and  everything  there  taken  out,  and  it  was 
not  until  John  had  searched  strictly  into  my  portmanteau  and 
bag,  taking  out  everything  therein,  that  I  became  perfectly 
convinced  of  what  I  was  before  persuaded,  that  I  had  left  the 
knife  in  my  chamber  in  your  house  on  Tuesday  the  6th,  and, 
when  I  heard  it  had  not  been  seen,  I  took  it  for  granted  that 
your  little  yellow  boy,  having  'found  it,'  had,  according  to  the 
negro  code  of  morality,  appropriated  it  to  himself.  In  this,  it 
seems  I  was  mistaken,  and  I  ask  his  pardon  as  the  best  amends 
I  can  make  to  him;  and,  at  the  same  time  to  relieve  you  and 
Mrs.  M.  from  the  unpleasant  feeling  that  such  a  suspicion  would 
occasion,  I  dispatch  this  note  by  a  special  messanger,  although 
I  have  a  certain  conveyance  tomorrow.  I  make  no  apology  to 
yourself  or  to  Mrs.  M.  for  the  frank  expression  of  my  suspicion, 
because  truth  is  the  Goddess  at  whose  shrine  I  worship,  and  no 
Huguenot  in  France,  or  Morisco  in  Spain,  or  Judaizing  Christ- 
ian in  Portugal  ever  paid  more  severely  for  his  heretical  schism 

1  June  12,  1796,  The  Journal  of  Latrobe,  11. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  417 

than  I  have  done  in  leaving  the  established  church  of  falsehood 
and  grimace.  I  am  well  aware  that  ladies  are  as  delicate  as 
they  are  charming  creatures,  and  that,  in  our  intercourse  with 
them,  we  must  strain  the  truth  as  far  as  possible.  Brought  up 
from  their  earliest  infancy  to  disguise  their  real  sentiments 
(for  a  woman  would  be  a  monster  who  did  not  practice  this 
disguise)  it  is  their  privilege  to  be  insincere,  and  we  should 
despise  [them]  and  justly  too,  if  they  had  that  manly  frankness 
and  reserve,  which  constitutes  the  ornament  of  our  character, 
as  the  very  reverse  does  of  theirs.  We  must,  therefore,  keep 
this  in  view  in  all  of  our  intercourse  with  them,  and  recollect 
that,  as  our  point  of  honour  is  courage  and  frankness,  theirs 
is  chastity  and  dissimulation,  for,  as  I  said  before,  a  woman 
who  does  not  dissemble  her  real  feelings  is  a  monster  of 
impudence.  Now,  therefore,  it  does  so  happen  (as  Mr. 
Canning  would  say)  that  truth  is  very  offensive  to  the  ears  of  a 
lady  when  to  those  of  a  gentleman  (her  husband  for  instance) 
it  would  be  not  at  all  so.  To  illustrate — Mrs.  Randolph  of 
Bizarre,  my  brother's  widow,  was  beyond  all  comparison  the 
nicest  and  best  house-wife  that  I  ever  saw.  Not  one  drop  of 
water  was  suffered  to  stand  upon  her  sideboard,  except  what 
was  in  the  pitcher,  the  house  from  cellar  to  garret,  and  in  every 
part  [was]  as  clean  as  hands  could  make  it,  and  everything  as  it 
should  be  to  suit  even  my  fastidious  taste. 

"I  lived  there  after  my  brother's  death  from  1796  to  18 10, 
inclusive,  and  never  did  I  see  or  smell  anything  to  offend  my 
senses  or  my  imagination  but  once.  The  chamber  pots  were  as 
sweet  and  as  clean  as  the  tea  cups,  being  constantly  washed 
and  sunned,  and  the  necessary  was  as  clean  as  the  parlour,  and, 
except  in  autumn,  I  would  defy  you  to  find  a  leaf  or  a  feather 
in  the  yard.  No  poultry  were  permitted  to  come  into  it ;  and 
we  had  no  dirty  children,  white  or  negro,  to  make  litter  and 
filth.  A  strong  enclosure  of  sawn  plank,  eight  feet  high,  fenced 
in  the  kitchen,  smoke-house,  ice-house,  pigeon  house,  veal- 
house,  and  wood-house,  in  which  the  wood  for  the  use  of  the 
house  was  stacked  away  under  lock  and  key.  The  turkey  and 
hen  houses  were  in  the  same  enclosure,  which  had  two  doors, 
one  next  the  dwelling  house,  for  the  use  of  the  mistress  and 
house  servants,  and  large  enough  to  admit  a  wagon  on  the  back 

vol.Pii— 27 


4i8         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

or  north  side ;  beyond  which  was  a  well  built  quarter,  with  two 
brick  chimneys  and  two  rooms  and  four  rooms  without  for 
servants.  There  was  also  what  I  had  forgot,  a  spinning  and 
weaving  house.  At  night,  the  doors  of  this  enclosure  were 
locked  up,  not  a  servant  being  allowed  to  sleep  within  it, 
although  every  one  of  them  was  in  sound  of  the  lady's  bell. 
On  one  unhappy  day,  in  a  very  hot  and  damp  spell  of  weather 
of  long  continuance,  a  piece  of  cold  lamb  was  brought  to  table 
that  was  spoiled,  the  first  and  last  instance  in  nearly  fifteen 
years  of  the  slightest  neglect  in  household  economy.  I  ordered 
the  waiter  to  take  it  away;  it  being  spoiled.  Mrs.  R.  resented 
this  and  flatly  contradicted  me,  and,  altho'  the  lamb  absolutely 
stunk,  she  ate  a  part  of  it  to  prove  her  words  true;  and  was 
affronted  with  me  almost  past  forgiveness.  I  dare  say,  if  I 
had  not  noticed  the  lamb,  she  might  have  given  a  hint  to  the 
servant  to  take  it  away,  but  the  honest,  naked  truth  was  not  to 
be  borne.  We  had  no  company  but  Dudley  and  her  younger 
son,  then  school  boys,  and  an  Englishman  named  Knowles, 
who  acted  as  overseer  or  steward,  and  dined  with  us  until  he 
took  to  drink. 

"Mrs.  R.  stoutly  denied  that  the  lamb  could  be  spoiled,  be- 
cause it  had  been  boiled  only  the  day  before  and  had  been  in 
the  ice-house  ever  since.  I  admitted  her  facts  but  denied  her 
logic,  which  was  truly  a  woman's.  I  maintained  that  the  highest 
evidence  was  that  of  the  senses,  that  we  must  reason  from 
facts,  where  we  could  get  at  them,  and  it  was  only  where  we 
could  not  that  it  was  fair  to  argue  from  probabilities ;  that  the 
lamb  stunk,  and,  therefore,  was  not  sound.  This  she  denied, 
and,  to  prove  her  words,  actually  made  a  shift  to  swallow  half  a 
mouthful,  which,  under  other  circumstances,  she  would  not 
have  done  for  a  thousand  dollars.  So  much  for  the  ladies, 
charming  creatures,  the  salt  of  the  earth,  whom,  like  Uncle 
Toby  and  all  other  old  bachelors,  I  never  could  thoroughly 
understand  for  want  of  the  key  of  matrimony,  which  alone  can 
unlock  their  secrets  and  make  plain  (as  many  a  husband  can 
tell)  all  the  apparent  contradictions  in  their  character.  Yes, 
so  much  for  the  fairer  and  better  part  of  the  creation ;  as  from 
my  soul  I  believe  them  to  be,  but  who,  as  the  Waverly  man 
says  of  kings,  are  Kittle  Cattle  to  shoe  behind,  and  so  it  ought 


Randolph  as  a  Man  419 

to  be,  for  it  is  their  poor  and  almost  only  privilege  to  kick, 
while  we  roam  where  we  will,  and  they  must  sit  still  until  they 
are  asked.  I,  therefore,  am  for  upholding  them  in  all  their 
own  proper  privileges,  so  long  as  they  don't  encroach  upon 
those  of  men.  A  woman  who  unsexes  herself  deserves  to  be 
treated  and  will  be  treated  as  a  man."1 

The  first  entry  in  the  Diary  is  under  date  of  Sept.  I, 
1808,  and  the  last  under  date  of  Feb.  15,  1815.  It  covers 
a  period,  therefore,  of  only  some  63^  years.  After  its  last 
date,  the  book  was  used  down  to  the  date  of  Randolph's 
death  merely  as  a  repository  for  memoranda  of  the  most 
miscellaneous  descriptions  relating  to  almost  every  con- 
ceivable subject  of  which  he  desired  to  preserve  a  perma- 
nent record.  Even  between  1796  and  18 10,  Randolph 
was  frequently  at  Roanoke,  where  he  seems  to  have  made 
adequate  provision  for  his  occasional  reception  though  he 
was  not  living  there  permanently.  After  18 10,  he  resided 
at  Roanoke  until  his  death,  and,  during  the  whole  period, 
covered  by  the  Diary,  his  habits  were  very  social,  even 
when  he  was  not  engaged  in  political  canvassing.  When 
he  resided  at  Bizarre,  one  day  we  find  him  at  Bizarre ;  the 
next  day  he  is  off  to  Charlotte  Court  House  and  Roanoke, 
where  he  entertains  his  friends  William  Leigh  and  William 
B.  Banks;  on  another  day,  we  find  him  at  a  barbecue;  on 
another,  at  a  muster ;  on  another,  at  an  election  in  Cumber- 
land County,  and,  on  still  another,  at  a  f£te  at  Farmville 
given  to  him  by  his  friends  in  honor  of  his  triumphant  re- 
election to  Congress.  Now,  diarizing  irregularly,  de  die  in 
diem,  he  notes  that  he  slept  at  the  Dillons' ;  or  that  he  break- 
fasted with  his  friend  Booker,  or  dined  at  George  Skipwith's, 
or  killed  25  partridges  with  the  aid  of  Blake  Woodson  and 
Theodore  Dudley.  These  are  but  typical  illustrations  of 
his  movements,  when  he  resided  at  Bizarre,  gathered  at 

1  Roanoke,  Saturday,  Dec.  17,  1831,  Y2  past  12,  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Ran- 
dolph's Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va, 


42o         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

random  from  the  first  few  pages  of  the  Diary.  In  con- 
nection with  his  oscillations  between  Washington  and 
Bizarre  or  Roanoke,  the  reader  has  already  been  apprized 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  hospitable  country  seats  be- 
tween Bizarre  and  Washington  sometimes  supplied  him 
with  a  series  of  easy  stepping-stones.  How  hot  he  kept 
his  thoroughbred's  hoofs,  when  he  was  in  transit  from  one 
point  to  another,  we  may  imagine  after  reading  this  entry 
in  the  Diary  under  date  of  March  27,  1809 :  ■ '  Left  Bizarre 
at  24ths  past  6;  stopped  at  Cheshire's  and  Ca  Ira  1  hour 
and  Hi-  Reached  New  Canton  at  }/i  Pas<t  I2-  Brunette 
not  at  all  fatigued.  Mon.  27.  Rode  from  court  in  two 
hours.  Mare  looked  as  full  as  if  she  had  not  been  used ; 
appetite  or  spirits  never  flagged  in  the  least;  she  anxious 
to  come  faster." 

And  not  only  does  the  Diary  show  that,  when  Randolph 
resided  at  Bizarre,  he  was  frequently  visiting  the  houses 
of  his  friends  in  the  surrounding  territory,  but  that  they 
were  often  visiting  him  at  Bizarre;  and  occasionally  visi- 
tors from  remote  points  would  be  lodged  under  its  roof. 
Among  the  families,  with  whom  he  was  most  intimate, 
when  he  lived  at  Bizarre,  were  those  of  his  innumerable 
Randolph  kinsfolk  south  of  the  James  and  west  of  Peters- 
burg; the  Johnstons,  the  Bookers,  the  Creed  Taylors,  the 
Cunninghams,  the  Dillons,  the  Woodsons,  the  Daniels, 
the  Skipwiths,  of  Hors  du  Monde,  the  Carringtons,  the 
Branches,  the  Mortons,  the  Robinsons,  the  Venables,  the 
Heths,  the  Millers,  the  Murrays,  and  the  Watkinses, 
whose  homes,  collectively  speaking,  stretched  all  the  way 
from  the  James  to  the  Roanoke.  During  the  period, 
covered  by  the  Diary,  after  Randolph  left  Bizarre,  his 
spirit  at  Roanoke  was  not  less  social  than  it  had  been  at 
Bizarre.  Over  and  over  again,  while  he  resided  at  Roa- 
noke, we  find  him  sleeping,  breakfasting,  or  dining  under 
the  roofs  of  many  of  the  leading  families  of  Halifax, 
Charlotte,    Prince  Edward,    Cumberland,    Buckingham, 


Randolph  as  a  Man  421 

Amelia,  Nottoway,  Chesterfield,  and  Powhatan  Counties, 
in  addition  to  all  or  most  of  those  just  mentioned,  such  as 
the  Coleses,  the  Leighs,  the  Clarks,  the  Colemans,  the 
Bruces,  the  Skipwiths,  of  Prestwould,  the  Bouldins, 
the  Reads,  the  Legrands,  the  Hubbards,  the  Wilsons, 
the  Nelsons,  the  Deanes,  the  Pembertons,  the  Scotts,  the 
Farrars,  the  Tabbs,  the  Banisters,  the  Bathurst  Ran- 
dolphs, the  Womacks,  the  Flournoys,  the  Mosbys,  the 
Merrys,  the  Johnsons,  the  Hardaways,  the  Harrisons, 
the  Cabells,  the  Spencers,  the  Barksdales,  the  Redfords, 
the  Berkeleys,  and  the  Irbys.  The  Diary  shows  also  that, 
during  the  same  period,  Randolph  so  frequently  extended 
the  hospitality  of  his  home  to  his  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances, some  from  communities  as  remote  as  North 
Carolina,  that  it  would  be  simply  an  imposition  upon  the 
reader  to  name  them,  or  to  say  how  frequently  they 
crossed  his  threshold.  His  1817,  1818,  1819,  and  1824 
journals  tell  the  same  story  of  social  activity,  and  so  does 
his  1830  journal,  so  far  as  it  was  kept  before  he  sailed  for 
Russia. 

In  the  course  of  little  more  than  a  week,  in  October, 
1 8 10,  he  dined  with  his  friends  the  Deanes  on  Friday; 
dined  at  Captain  Pemberton's  on  Saturday;  spent  a  quiet 
day  at  Thomas  Miller's  on  Sunday,  and  on  Monday 
pushed  on  to  Wm.  Scott's,  where  his  friend  Major  Wm. 
Scott  was  very  low;  and  thence,  on  Tuesday,  proceeded  to 
Richmond  by  the  Manakin  Town  Ferrry ;  and  thence,  four 
days  later,  reversing  his  course  to  the  Ferry,  returned  to 
Roanoke  by  way  of  Hors  du  Monde  and  Bizarre.  With 
the  numerous  Carringtons  about  him,  he  maintained  for 
many  years  a  commerce  of  social  amenities  which  was 
rarely  interrupted,  and,  when  in  18 13,  the  two  Pauls,  as 
he  called  the  two  Paul  Carringtons  of  his  day,  to  signalize 
their  conversion  from  the  damnable  doctrine  of  Federalism 
to  the  true  Madisonian  faith,  kindly  banished  him  for  a 
time  from  Sinope,  he  still  kept  up  something  like  an  inter- 


422         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

change  of  society  with  some  good  fellows  in  Halifax.  We 
use  his  own  words.  * 

In  using  them,  Randolph  expressed  himself  but  feebly, 
because  his  journal  entries  make  it  plain  that  he  thought 
no  more  of  riding  off  1 5  or  20  miles  to  dine  and  play  whist 
with  a  group  of  his  Halifax  County  friends,  at  Wm. 
Leigh's,  or  James  Bruce's,  or  one  of  the  Clarks',  or  Coleses', 
than  an  inhabitant  of  Richmond  at  the  present  time  would 
of  going  a  few  miles  into  its  suburbs  in  a  motor  car  to  do  a 
similar  thing.  And  very  joily  gatherings  these  must  have 
been,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  reluctance  with  which  the 
individuals,  who  constituted  them,  parted  company  with 
each  other.  For  instance,  on  July  9,  181 1,  after  spending 
the  preceding  day  with  Mr.  Coleman  in  Halifax,  Ran- 
dolph went  on  to  one  of  the  Clarks'  and  spent  the  day 
there  with  Ragland,  Isaac  H.  Coles,  and  James  Bruce; 
and,  on  the  next  day,  accompanied  by  Clark,  Coleman, 
Ragland,  Coles,  and  Bruce,  returned  to  Roanoke  where 
they  all  dined  together,  with  the  addition  of  one  of  the 
Watkinses  and  William  Leigh,  who  had  arrived  there 
during  Randolph's  absence.  Two  days  later,  Randolph 
goes  off  with  Leigh  and  Bruce  to  Bruce's,  to  dine  with 
Bruce  again,  and  thence,  in  the  evening,  to  Wm.  Leigh's. 
Nor  did  the  banishment  from  Sinope  continue  very  long; 
for  few  names  recur  oftener  in  Randolph's  journals  than 
those  of  the  Carringtons. 

This  was  a  part  of  his  social  itinerary  in  August,  181 7: 
On  Aug.  6,  he  spent  the  night  at  the  residence  of  Dr. 
Bathurst  Randolph,  Obsto  (I  stop  you),  the  very  name  of 
which  suggests  the  arresting  hand  of  cordial  hospitality; 
the  night  of  Aug.  7,  he  slept  at  D.  Meade's;  and  then, 
after  spending  Aug.  8  and  9  in  Richmond,  on  Aug.  10  he 
came  back  to  Clay  Hill,  the  home  of  Mrs.  Tabb,  in  time  for 
dinner;  whence,  after  taking  dinner,  he  proceeded  to 
Obsto,  where  he  remained  some  two  weeks  in  the  society 

1  Roanoke,  July  9,  1813,  J.  H.  Whitty  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  423 

of  his  host  and  his  host's  family  and  of  his  friends,  Dr. 
Banister  and  Mrs.  Tabb,  who  resided  in  the  neighborhood 
and  had  him  to  dinner  at  their  houses  on  different  days 
before  he  went  back  to  Roanoke.  On  Sept.  3,  he  was 
again  in  the  same  hospitable  locality  and  again  for  two 
weeks  the  recipient  of  the  same  warm-hearted  attentions 
at  the  hands  of  its  inhabitants. 

"In  his  house,"  Randolph  said,  in  a  letter  to  his  niece  after 
the  death  of  Dr.  Bathurst  Randolph,  "I  spent  many  weeks 
in  succession  every  year  and  never  felt  less  at  home  than  in 
my  own.  Indeed,  the  warmth  and  cordiality  of  the  attentions 
I  received  from  every  member  of  the  family  rendered  my  time 
as  agreeable  as  it  could  be  made."1 

In  July,  1 8 10,  he  went  all  the  way  to  Warrenton,  North 
Carolina,  spending  a  night  at  Prestwould  both  going  and 
returning,  and  receiving  many  social  attentions,  while  in 
North  Carolina;  but,  being  so  unfortunate  on  his  return, 
when  he  was  almost  in  sight  of  his  home,  as  to  have  his 
chair  shafts  broken,  when  he  was  crossing  the  Little  Roa- 
noke, and  to  get  a  good  ducking.  In  North  Carolina,  he 
attended  the  wedding  of  his  friend,  Governor  James 
Turner,  (a)  and  also  a  barbecue  at  Richard  Bullock's.2 
On  another  occasion  in  September,  1818,  when  his  mind 
was  fermenting  with  religious  enthusiasm,  he  went  on  an 
excursion  as  far  as  the  home  of  one  of  the  Prestons,  in 
Botetourt  County,  Va.,  ascending  the  Peaks  of  Otter  on 
his  way,  and  writing  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  after  his 
return  to  Roanoke :  "I  was  on  the  top  of  the  pinnacle  of 
Otter  this  day  fortnight ;  a  little  above  the  earth,  but  how 
far  beneath  Heaven."3  On  a  second  visit  in  October, 
1818,  to  the  same  region,  he  stopped  long  enough  at  Red 
Hill,  the  former  home  of  Patrick  Henry,  to  refresh  his 
admiration  for  a  statesman  and  orator,  whose  wisdom  and 

1  Roanoke,  July  29,  1821,  Bryan  MSS.  2  J.  R.'s  Diary. 

3  Garland,  v.  2,  103. 


424         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

eloquence  were  ever  among  his  favorite  topics  of  conver- 
sation. ' 

In  the  summer  of  1801,  Randolph  visited  one  of  the 
"Springs"  in  the  Virginia  mountains  with  a  party  of 
ladies.2  In  June,  18 13,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough 
from  Roanoke  that,  if  he  went  to  any  watering  place,  it 
would  be  to  the  Virginia  Hot  Springs,  but  this,  he  said,  was 
to  be  merely  for  the  purpose  of  stewing  the  rheumatism 
out  of  his  carcass. 3  Other  occasions,  when  he  wandered 
off  his  beaten  social  paths,  might  be  mentioned;  as  when 
he  repaired  several  times  to  Nottoway  County  to  see  his 
intimate  friend  Edmund  Irby,  or  some  other  friend.4 
Once,  after  remaining  for  some  days  at  his  favorite  places 
of  resort,  Obsto  and  Clay  Hill,  he  kept  on  as  far  past 
Petersburg  as  Claremont,  the  famous  plantation  on  the 
James  River  of  Col.  Wm.  Allen. s   (a) 

To  Richmond  Randolph  was  frequently  taken  by  the 
desire  for  social  diversion,  and  he  had  numerous  friends 
and  acquaintances  there.  In  1813,  after  his  defeat  at  the 
polls,  he  visited  that  place,  and  remained  in  it,  under  the 
roof  of  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  for  six  months;  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  time  consumed  in  two  excursions  to  Ellerslie. 
Of  this  visit,  the  Diary  contains  the  following  memoran- 
dum: 

"1813  to  1814,  from  Nov.  1813  until  May  9,  1814,  I  re- 
mained in  and  about  Richmond  with  my  good  friends  Brocken- 
brough; most  hospitably  entertained  by  them  and  by  the 
inhabitants;  frequently  dining  with  the  Ch.  Justice,  Mr. 
Wickham,  R.  Gamble,  Major  Gibbon,  Mr.  Hancock,  Mr.  T. 
Taylor,  P.  Haxall,  Mr.  E.  Cunningham,  Porter,  Barksdale,  I. 
G.  Smith,  Adam  Murray,  and  staying  all  night  with  the  last 

1  Journal,  Oct.  1 8,  181 8,  Va.  Hist.  Soc,  &  Bouldin,  173. 
3  J.  R.  to  Creed  Taylor,  July  25,  1801,  Creed  Taylor  Papers. 
3  June  2,  1813,  Garland,  v.  2,  14. 

4 1819,  Journal,  May  10,  Va.  Hist.  Soc;  181 7,  Journal,  Sept.  17,  Va.  Hist. 
Soc. 

s  1 81 7,  Journal,  Sept.  22,  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  425 

three;  also  entertained  by  Rutherford,  John  Gamble,  T.  Wilson, 
I.  Ambler,  N.  Nicholas,  W.  C.  Williams,  Pickett,  Dr.  McLurg. 
"I  had  the  pleasure  also,  during  this  winter,  to  form  an 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bell,  at  whose  house  I  passed 
many  delightful  hours.     Here  I  became  [  ]  with  Mr. 

Devereaux,  Miss  Barton,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Haxall,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McMurdo.  At  the  Ch.  Justice's,  I  was  introduced  to  Mr. 
Gaston  on  his  return  from  Congress.  I  also  saw  during  the 
winter  L.  W.  Tazewell,  Fenton  Mercer,  Alfred  Powell;  Wm. 
Meade  in  May."1 

In  April,  1830,  he  attended  the  races  at  Richmond,  and, 
on  the  first  day  of  the  succeeding  month,  he  attended  a 
barbecue  at  Richmond  too. 2 

With  the  leading  gentlemen  of  Maryland  Randolph  was 
hardly  less  familiar  than  with  those  of  Virginia.  In  1804, 
he  wrote  to  Nicholson  that  he  might  pay  him  a  visit  at 
Chesterfield,  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  not  to 
view  his  country,  desirable  as  it  was,  but  to  see  and  con- 
verse with  those  in  whose  society  he  had  passed  some  of 
the  least  unpleasant  moments  of  his  life.  Realizing  that 
such  qualified  language  would  hardly  satisfy  the  just 
expectations  of  an  Eastern  Shoreman,  he  added:  "It  is 
a  strange  expression  but  I  could  not  find  one  more  appro- 
priate. " 3  He  was  the  guest  of  his  friend,  Charles  Sterrett 
Ridgely,  at  the  latter's  country  seat,  Oaklands,  in  Howard 
County,  Md.,  almost  as  frequently  as  he  was  the  guest  of 
his  friend,  Wm.  R.  Johnson,  at  his  country  seat,  Oakland, 
near  Petersburg.4  In  a  letter  to  Nicholson,  he  tells  him 
that  he  has  just  dined  with  his  friends,  Francis  Scott  Key 
and  Stanford,  of  North  Carolina,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cal- 
vert at  Blenheim,  the  country  seat  in  Maryland  of  Mr.  R. 
Lowndes,  after  having  made  a  short  excursion  to  see  Mr. 
George   Calvert's  famous   paintings   and   flowers.5    On 

1  J.  R.'s  Diary. 

3 1830,  Journal,  April  28,  29,  and  May  1,  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 

3  Bizarre,  Aug.  27,  1804,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

4  J.  R.'s  Diary.  s  Apr.  17,  18 10,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


426         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

another  occasion,  one  of  his  journals  records  the  fact  that 
he  had  just  dined  with  Mr.  George  Calvert  himself. ■ 

With  the  aid  of  the  Diary,  we  can  trace  at  least  one  visit 
that  he  made  to  Wye,  the  celebrated  country  seat  of  the 
Lloyds,  in  Talbot  County,  Md.  In  connection  with  this 
visit,  the  Diary  contains  brief  references  to  Lloyd  Tilgh- 
man,  of  Tilghman's  Point,  Robert  Tilghman,  of  Perry 
Hall,  John  Tilghman,  of  Bennett's  Point,  Wm.  G.  Tilgh- 
man, Robert  Goldsborough,  of  Miles  River,  and  the 
Haddaways.  About  the  same  time,  he  spent  an  evening 
at  Mrs.  Lloyd's  at  Annapolis ;  dined  with  Mr.  Oden  at  the 
Woodyard,  and  visited  Philip  Steuart.  A  Marylander, 
at  any  rate,  would  be  at  no  loss  to  know  who  these  friends 
and  acquaintances  of  Randolph  were.  Other  Marylanders, 
who  are  brought  to  our  attention  by  Randolph's  journals 
and  letters,  are :  Robert  Oliver,  one  of  the  wealthiest  and 
most  conspicuous  Baltimoreans  of  his  time,  over  whose 
fine  claret  Randolph  smacks  his  lips  in  the  Diary;  General 
Winder,  Dr.  William  Gibson,  Jonathan  Meredith,  Robert 
Gilmor,  James  Sterrett,  and  Mr.  Cheston. 

Randolph  was  also  well  known  to  the  society  of  Phila- 
delphia. When  Theodore  Dudley  was  studying  medicine 
in  that  City,  he  wrote  to  him  that  it  would  give  him  great 
pleasure  to  renew  his  old  acquaintance  in  Philadelphia 
and  to  form  a  new  one  with  a  few  of  its  worthy  inhabi- 
tants.2  Indeed,  in  his  desire  to  give  Theodore  Dudley  a 
liberal  education  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  he  did  not 
spare  Virginia. 

"I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  description  of  the 
country  around  (or  rather  on  this  side  of)  Dowingtown,"  he 
said  in  another  letter  to  Dudley.  "Such  accounts  of  the 
places,  persons,  etc.,  you  may  see  are  very  acceptable  because 
they  indicate  a  spirit  of  observation.  There  are  many  who 
look  and  do  not  see,  while  some  see  without  looking.     Indolence 

1  May  2,  1824,  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 

3  Roanoke,  Aug.  4,  181 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  96. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  427 

and  indifference,  the  maladie  du  pays  (of  Virginia),  are  more 
injurious  to  the  eye-sight  than  candle  light  and  the  smallest 
print."1 

In  the  same  letter  he  also  says : 

u  I  highly  approve  of  your  pedestrian  essays;  but  choose  not 
Virginians  for  your  companions.  I  have  no  doubt  that  many 
of  the  medical  students  of  the  South  leave  Philadelphia  as 
ignorant  of  everything  worthy  to  be  known  in  that  City  as 
when  they  entered  it.  This  arises  from  a  clannish  spirit 
which  makes  them  associate  exclusively  with  one  another, 
and  foster  their  ridiculous  prejudices  against  the  People  of  the 
Middle  and  North  States,  of  whom  in  fact  they  know 
nothing."2 

He  had  some  close  friends  at  Philadelphia,  to  whom  we 
shall  refer  later;  and,  when  he  hobbled  to  that  City  in  1814, 
after  leaving  Morrisania,  and  suffering  an  injury  to  his 
kneecap  in  the  accident  which  befell  him  in  New  York, 
he  rested  there  for  some  little  time,  and  was  the  recipient 
of  no  little  attention  at  the  hands  of  some  of  its  people. 

North  of  Philadelphia,  Randolph  seems  to  have  had  no 
friends  except  among  such  individuals  as  had  been  brought 
into  intercourse  with  him  at  Washington  in  one  way  or 
another. 

Of  Yankees  he  spoke  at  times  even  more  impatiently 
than  he  did  of  Virginians  in  his  letter  to  Theodore  Dudley. 
A  memorandum  in  the  Diary  mentions  the  fact  that 
Captain  Bridger  of  the  Schooner  Sally  of  Marblehead, 
which  was  met  by  the  Concord  on  its  way  to  Cronstadt, 
refused  to  accept  anything  but  a  little  pork,  whiskey,  and 
new  potatoes  for  600  or  700  pounds  of  fine  fish.  "  Pretty 
well  for  a  Yankee,"  notes  Randolph.  On  another  occa- 
sion, in  an  endorsement  on  a  letter  written  to  him  by  his 
friend  Mark  Alexander,  in  1822,  he  terms  a  certain  sailing- 

1  Roanoke,  Aug.  12,  181 1,  Id.,  97.  2  Id. 


428         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

master  in  the  United  States  Navy  ' '  a  dirty  mean  Yankee 
with  a  Vermontese  savage  for  his  mate. "' 

In  describing  the  manner  in  which  Randolph  detected 
the  error  in  Giles'  quotation  from  Sallust  memoriter,  Dr. 
Lacy  says  that  he  exclaimed :  "Now  hand  me  the  edition 
I  want ;  in  usum  Delphini  mind  you.  I'll  have  nothing  to 
do  with  your  Yankee  contrivances  with  English  notes. 
Mr.  Lacy,  did  you  ever  see  a  Yankee  who  knew  anything 
about  the  classics  ? " 2   (a) 

But  these  were  but  the  shallow  and  unreflecting  utter- 
ances of  an  intense,  outspoken  nature  which  was  as  lavish 
as  such  natures  generally  are  in  the  use  of  the  acute  accent. 
Before  the  Civil  War,  there  were  reasons  enough,  founded 
upon  diversities  of  interest  and  clashes  of  honest  convic- 
tion, why  a  Virginian,  like  Randolph,  and  a  New  Eng- 
lander  should  have  cherished  unfriendly  feelings  towards 
each  other  which  easily  passed  into  gross  misconception  and 
misrepresentation ;  but  there  never  was  a  time  when  close 
contact  between  a  Virginian  and  a  New  Englander  did  not 
more  or  less  dissipate  the  senseless  prejudices  and  pre- 
possessions which  they  entertained  about  each  other 
personally,  and  which  have  now  so  far  faded  out  that,  to 
give  expression  to  them,  should  be  regarded  as  denoting 
not  only  provincial  narrowness  and  a  lack  of  genuine 
patriotism  but  very  bad  manners  besides.  The  letters 
of  Senator  Mills  show  how  much  pleasure  Randolph  found 
in  the  society  of  New  Englanders  at  Washington;  and 
nothing  could  evidence  better  than  the  musical  lines  of 
Whittier  on  Randolph  how  much  Randolph  had  in  com- 
mon with  the  culture  of  New  England. 

Not  only  did  he  pay  frequent  visits  to  his  friends  and 
acquaintances,  when  he  was  at  Roanoke  or  elsewhere,  but, 
after  reading  his  journals,  it  is  hard  to  understand  how  he 

1  March  12,  1822,  Geo.  P.  Coleman  MSS. 

2  Early  Recollections  of  J.  R.,  by  Wm.  S.  Lacy,  Union  Seminary  Mag. 
(1893-4),  v.  5,  pp.  1-10. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  429 

could  have  deemed  himself  a  Robinson  Crusoe  when  at 
Roanoke.  In  holding  himself  up  in  that  character,  he 
was  simply  indulging  his  propensity  for  intensive  speech 
or  giving  tongue  to  the  restlessness  and  discontent  of  an 
uncommonly  active  spirit,  which  craved  strong  excite- 
ments, and  of  a  body  too  diseased  not  to  yield  freely  at 
times  to  peevish  impulses.  Roanoke  was  but  a  bachelor 
home,  and  yet,  in  reading  Randolph's  letters  and  journals, 
it  seems  to  us  that  it  was  not  an  unworthy  exponent  of 
the  social  virtues  and  traditions  of  a  Virginia  home  of  his 
time.  Almost  every  day ,  when  he  was  there ,  some  relation 
or  friend  of  his  was  arriving  at,  or  leaving  it.  Now  it  was 
Randolph's  nephews — Tudor  and  St.  George — or  Peyton 
Randolph,  or  some  other  Randolph  who  came  to  shoot  or 
to  enjoy  some  other  form  of  recreation;  and  now  it  was 
William  Leigh  on  his  peripatetic  round  of  the  county-seats 
at  which  he  practiced  law  so  zealously  that  Randolph 
speaks  on  one  occasion  of  his  looking  badly  and  over- 
worked; and  now  it  was  William  B.  Banks  bent  on  some 
similar  errand  to  Charlotte  Court  House  or  elsewhere; 
and  now  it  was  James  Bruce  or  General  Edward  Carring- 
ton,  of  Berry  Hill,  or  Col.  Carrington,  or  Col.  Clark,  or 
some  other  rapidly  promoted  colonel  of  the  time,  on  a 
purely  social  visit;  or,  perhaps  it  was  Randolph's  half- 
brother,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  or  some  devoted  friend 
of  his  like  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  or  Edmund  Irby,  or  Barks- 
dale;  or,  perhaps,  it  was  Dr.  Hoge,  whose  character  and 
eloquence  he  so  much  admired.  These  names  give  but 
an  inadequate  idea  of  the  number  of  guests  who,  from 
time  to  time,  dined  with  him,  formally  or  otherwise,  or 
slept  under  his  roof  during  the  periods  covered  by  his 
journals.  One  entry  in  the  Diary,  under  date  of  Sept.  10, 
1810,  is:  "Bouldin,  Leigh,  Banks;  frolic  at  Roanoke." 
On  another  occasion,  some  10  guests  sat  down  with  him 
to  meat  at  his  table  at  Roanoke.  At  Washington,  he 
enjoyed  in  full  measure  the  social  pleasures  which  a  thinly 


430         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

peopled  country  like  that  around  Roanoke  could  only 
partially  supply.  With  some  prominent  residents  of  the 
District,  such  as  the  Keys  and  the  Tayloes,  he  was  on 
terms  of  heart-felt  intimacy ;  and,  in  addition  to  being  the 
life  of  every  Congressional  mess,  of  which  he  was  ever  a 
member,  he  frequently  gave  and  received  invitations  to 
dinner,  and  was  not  infrequently  seen  at  private  routs  or 
assemblies.  Among  the  persons  shown  by  his  journals  to 
have  dined  with  him,  as  his  guests  at  Washington,  were 
Francis  Scott  Key,  Gallatin,  Calhoun,  Poinsett,  Van 
Buren,  and  Chief  Justice  Marshall.  The  relations  be- 
tween Albert  Gallatin  and  himself  became  involved  for  a 
time  in  the  general  estrangement  caused  by  his  defection 
from  the  Jefferson  administration,  but  in  the  year  1824 
the  two  were  on  friendly  terms  again.  "Couldn't  dine 
with  General  Jackson";  "Couldn't  dine  with  Patroon 
(Van  Rensaeller), "  are  among  the  entries  in  his  journal  for 
March,  1824.1  He  must  have  been  very  fond  of  dinners 
to  have  burdened  his  pen,  when  diarizing  about  them, 
with  declinations  as  well  as  acceptances. 

Among  his  dinner  hosts  in  181 7  were  Rufus  King  and 
Chief  Justice  Marshall.  Among  the  parties  that  he  at- 
tended in  181 7  were  Mrs.  Bagot's  and  De.  Neuville's. 2  (a) 

In  Randolph's  letters,  there  are  some  quite  full  refer- 
ences to  social  events  of  his  day  at  Washington.  Here,  for 
instance,  is  his  description  of  a  dinner  given  by  Wm.  H. 
Crawford,  when  Secretary  of  the  Treasury : 

"I  dined  yesterday  with  the  S.  of  the  T. and, although  as  far 
as  I  was  concerned,  the  party  was  a  very  pleasant  one,  I  can 
conceive  of  nothing  in  the  general  more  insipid  than  these 
ministerial  dinners.  You  are  invited  at  5 ;  the  usage  is  to  be 
there  15  or  20  minutes  after  the  time;  dinner  never  served  until 
6;  and  a  little  after  7  coffee  closes  the  entertainment  without 
the  least  opportunity  for  conversation.  Quant  &  moi,  I  was 
placed  at  his  S ship's  left  hand,  and  he  did  me  the  honor 

1  Va.  Hist.  Soc.  *  Id. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  431 

to  address  his  conversation  almost  exclusively  to  me.  Now 
you  know  that,  as  'attentions'  constitute  the  great  charm  of 
manners,  so  are  they  more  peculiarly  acceptable  to  them  that 
are  least  accustomed  to  them,  such  as  antiquated  belles,  dis- 
carded statesmen,  and  bankrupts  of  all  sorts — whether  in 
person  or  in  character. ' ' J 

And  the  very  next  paragraph  in  this  letter  is  a  good 
reminder  of  the  danger  of  relying  upon  Randolph's  re- 
pining about  his  own  solitariness,  whether  at  Roanoke  or 
Washington:  "Nothing  can  be  more  dreary  than  the  life 
we  lead  here.  Tis  something  like  being  on  board  ship, 
but  not  so  various.  We  stupidly  doze  over  our  sea-coal 
fires  in  our  respective  messes,  and  may  truly  be  said  to 
hibernate  at  Washington.  "2 

More  vapid  than  the  ministerial  dinner  given  by  Craw- 
ford was  another  dinner  given  by  himself;  possibly  be- 
cause his  own  expectations  had  been  a  little  too  roseate; 
seeing  that  he  had  written  two  days  before  to  Dr.  Brock- 
enbrough  that  he  was  to  have  good  company  at  least,  if 
not  a  good  dinner.  When  the  occasion  had  passed,  he 
wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough : 

"Mr.  Chief  Justice,  Tazewell,  Van  Buren,  Benton,  Morgan 
of  N.  Y.,  and  George  Calvert  dined  with  me  yesterday  (Mr. 
King  was  sick,  of  his  late  freak  in  the  Senate,  I  shrewdly  sus- 
pect) ;  and  your  'fat  sail-ion  party'  was  hardly  more  dull  than 
we  were.  The  Chief  Justice  has  no  longer  the  power  'd'etre 
vif.'  Tazewell  took  to  prosing  at  the  far  end  of  the  table  to 
two  or  three,  who  formed  a  sort  of  separate  coterie;  V.  B.  was 
unwell,  and  out  of  spirits ;  and  I  was  obliged  to  get  nearly  or 
quite  drunk,  to  keep  them  from  yawning  outright."3 

Rufus  King  had  accepted  an  invitation  but  had  been 
prevented  by  sickness  from  attending. 

Randolph  himself  had  to  be  very  sick  not  to  keep  a 

1  To  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  Nov.  26,  1820,  Garland,  v.  2,  138. 

2  Ibid.  3  Garland,  v.  2,  213. 


432         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

dinner  engagement  and  not  to  be  the  sprightliest  member 
of  the  company.  In  a  letter  to  Theodore  Dudley  he  thus 
described  the  equivocal  drink  which  piqued  public  curios- 
ity so  keenly:  "My  drink,"  he  says,  "is  toast  and  water 
made  by  boiling  the  latter  and  pouring  it  on  highly  toasted 
bread,  so  that  it  acquires  the  color  of  Cognac  brandy."1 
And  the  same  letter  indicates  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
carrying  a  bottle  of  this  thin  potation  with  him  to  dinner 
parties  when  his  health  was  at  a  low  ebb. 

"Yesterday,"  he  said,  "I  dined  out  with  the  Speaker.  I 
would  not  have  gone  for  any  other  'dignitary'  here.  I  made 
Johnny  carry  my  cloth  shoes,  and  a  bottle  of  toast  and  water. 
The  color  deceived  the  company,  except  one  or  two  near  me, 
whom  I  was  obliged  to  let  into  the  secret,  to  preserve  my 
monopoly.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  I  am  persuaded  that  I 
was  the  liveliest  man  in  the  whole  company;  and,  like  Falstaff, 
was  not  only  merry  myself,  but  the  cause  of  mirth  in  others. 
Mr.  Secretary  C,  I  think,  will  remember,  for  sometime,  some  of 
my  rejoinders  to  him,  half  joke,  and  three  parts  earnest,  (as 
Paddy  says)  on  the  subject  of  the  constitutional  powers  of 
Congress,  and  some  other  matters  of  minor  note — although  he 
tried  to  turn  them  off  with  great  good  humor.  To  say  the 
truth,  I  have  a  sneaking  liking  for  C.  for  'by-goneV  sake;  and, 
if  he  had  let  alone  being  a  great  man,  should  have  'liked  him 
hugely,'  as  Squire  Western  hath  it."2 

How  little  Randolph  allowed  his  desire  for  social 
amusement  to  be  influenced  by  his  ill-health  is  also  infer- 
able from  other  facts  stated  in  this  letter.  Mentioning  a 
pleasant  dinner  at  Georgetown,  he  said: 

"You  may  remember  how  bitter  cold  it  was  on  Thursday. 
The  change  took  place  about  midnight  of  Tuesday.  I  slept 
the  forepart  of  it  with  my  window  hoisted,  and  rose  about 
two  o'clock  on  Wednesday  morning  and  shut  it  down.     Well ! 

1  Washington,  Jan.  27,  1822,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.t  240.  2  Id.,  241. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  433 

I  rode  from  Georgetown  home,  after  ten  o'clock,  without 
suffering,  in  the  least,  from  the  cold  except  a  little  in  the 
fingers.  This  was  neither  owing  to  the  warmth  infused  by- 
Mr.  O.'s  very  fine  old  Madeira,  nor  by  his  daughter's  beauty 
and  accomplishments;  although  either,  I  believe,  would  have 
kept  up  the  excitement  for  a  longer  time  than  it  took  Wildfire 
'to  glance'  along  'the  Avenue.'  But,  superadded  to  the  in- 
fluence of  wine,  and  beauty,  and  music,  and  good  company,  I 
had  a  leathern  'justicore'  as  old  Edie  would  call  it,  (Juste-au- 
corps),  under  my  waistcoat — which  I  recommend  to  all  who 
desire  to  guard  against  our  piercing  winds — and  cloth  shoes 
over  my  boots.  My  horsemanship  was,  indeed,  put  into 
requisition,  on  meeting  a  rattling  hackney  coach,  with  lights, 
driving  at  a  furious  rate  It  was  where  'the  Avenue'  is  crossed 
by  a  gutter  and  impeded  by  ice.  Nevertheless,  I  did  what 
Cumbey  could  not  do  with  his  wretched  curb-bridle — and,  as 
Simon  [his  groom]  says,  'I  consequenced  her  with  a  snapper.* 
My  disease  which  had  been  very  troublesome  for  some  days, 
and  particularly  that  morning,  and  which  I  had  checked  'for 
the  nonce'  with  absorbents,  recurred  with  ten-fold  violence 
in  the  night."1 

One  of  the  winning  features  of  Randolph's  character 
was  his  grateful  sensibility  to  kindness  or  friendly  sym- 
pathy in  every  form.  Writing  to  Theodore  Dudley  during 
his  desperate  illness  in  1817,  he  said: 

"Mrs.  John  M.,  Mrs.  B.,  and  Mrs.  F.  K.,  have  been  very 
kind  in  sending  me  jellies,  lemons,  &c.  &c.  Thomas  M.  N. 
has  been  extremely  attentive  and  obliging.  Mr.  K.,  of  New 
York,  Mr.  Chief  Justice,  Mr.  H.,  of  Maryland,  Mr.  M.,  of 
South  Carolina,  Mr.  B.,  of  Georgetown,  (I  need  not  name  F.  K. 
M.  (no  longer  Abbe)  C.  de  S.,  and  D)  have  been  very  kind  in 
their  attentions.  Mr.  M.  sent  me  some  old,  choice  Madeira, 
and  his  man-cook  to  dress  my  rice;  (a  mystery  not  understood 
any  where  on  this  side  of  Cape  Fear  river) ;  sending,  also,  the 
rice,  to  be  dressed ;  and  Mr.  Chief  Justice  came  to  assist  me 
in  drawing  up  my  will,  which  I  had  strangely  and  criminally 

*  Ibid. 

VOL.  II—28 


434         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

neglected  for  sometime  past,  and  of  which  neglect  I  was  more 
strangely  admonished  in  a  dream."1 

Randolph's  eager  zest  for  human  society  also  assumed 
the  form  of  numerous  letters  to  his  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances. " Recollect,  my  son,"  he  wrote  to  Theodore 
Dudley  in  1812,  "that  I  have  some  20  or  30  correspond- 
ents ;  you  perhaps  not  more  than  3  or  4. " 2  Some  of  these 
correspondents,  however,  were  business  correspondents. 
"I  have  about  30  letters  to  answer  besides  the  daily 
addition  to  my  epistolary  debt,"  he  wrote  to  Joseph 
Nicholson  in  the  preceding  year.  "Three  of  them  are 
from  Harry  Tucker. " 3  At  a  later  period  of  his  life,  when 
his  strength  was  fast  failing  him,  he  speaks  of  having  a 
hundred  unanswered  letters  on  his  hands. 4  Except  when 
a  helpless  invalid,  he  wrote  letters  with  the  ready  facility 
of  a  quick-witted  and  sympathetic  woman  who  writes 
without  regard  to  anything  but  the  sheer  desire  to  open 
up  her  heart  or  soul  to  a  child  or  friend.  It  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  he  never  kept  any  copies  of  his  charming 
letters;  a  strong  indication  of  their  unstudied  nature,  and 
it  is  still  more  to  be  regretted  that  so  many  of  them  should 
have  been  deliberately  destroyed  from  considerations  of 
delicacy  or  good  feeling,  which,  however  admirable,  when 
well  judged,  amounted  in  the  old  Virginia  life  to  little  less 
than  a  destructive  superstition,   (a) 

By  Philip  A.  Bruce  in  his  brief  but  very  suggestive  little 
essay  on  Randolph  the  latter  is  pronounced  the  most 
brilliant  man  ever  produced  by  Virginia,  and,  perhaps,  the 
most  brilliant  letter-writer  of  whom  the  Old  South  can 
boast. s  We  shall  not  stop  to  express  an  opinion  upon  the 
first  of  these  two  judgments,  but  the  second  we  should 
modify  by  making  it  broad  enough  to  cover  the  whole 

1  Feb.  23,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  195.  2  Jan.  5,  1812,  Id.,  115. 

*  Georgetown,  Jan.  28,  181 1,  Bryan  MSS. 

<  Letter  to  Nathan  Loughborough,  Jan.  23,  1832,  Loughborough  MSS. 
s  Libr.  of  Southern  Lit.,  v.  10,  4334. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  435 

United  States;  certainly  so  far  as  American  public  men 
are  concerned.  In  our  opinion,  the  only  distinguished 
men  in  the  political  history  of  the  United  States  who  can 
be  placed  in  the  same  class  with  Randolph  as  a  brilliant 
letter- writer  are  Benjamin  Franklin  and  William  Wirt; 
two  men  who  differed  from  each  other  toto  ccelo,  except 
that  both  had  lovable  natures  and  wrote  sparkling  letters. 
Indeed,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  Randolph  in  his 
own  way  is  entitled  to  be  included  in  the  same  category 
with  Gray,  Horace  Walpole,  Gibbon,  Cowper,  Byron,  and 
Fitzgerald  as  one  of  the  real  masters  of  epistolary  compo- 
sition. Most  of  the  thousands  of  letters  which  he  wrote 
have  been  destroyed  or  lost ;  but  enough  remain  to  make 
us  ask  sometimes  why  it  was  that  he  never  tried  his  hand 
at  some  purely  literary  task.  We  have  his  own  word  for 
it  that  he  never  "made  a  verse  in  his  life,"1  and  we  are 
also  informed  by  him  that  all  of  his  early  literary  efforts 
of  every  sort,  whatever  they  were,  went  up  in  flame  and 
smoke  when  Bizarre  was  consumed  by  fire.2  The  only 
evidence  that  we  have  that  he  ever  thought  of  engaging 
seriously  in  literary  work  is  found  in  a  letter  from  him  to 
Francis  Scott  Key,  written  before  his  return  to  Congress 
in  1 8 1 5,  in  which  he  said :  ' '  I  do  think  a  review  on  the  plan 
you  mention  would  be  highly  beneficial,  and,  if  I  was  fit 
for  anything,  I  should  like  to  engage  in  a  work  of  the  sort ; 
but  14  years  of  Congressional  life  have  rendered  me  good 
for  nothing."3  The  same  thought  is  presented  more 
positively  in  a  subsequent  letter  to  Key  in  which  he 
said : 

"As  to  the  review,  I  am  out  of  the  question  on  that  and 
every  other  subject  requiring  any  species  of  exertion.  I  said 
truly  when  I  told  you  that  Congressional  life  had  destroyed  me. 
Fruges  consumer e;  this  is  all  that  I  am  fit  for ;  and  such  is  my 
infirmity  of  body  that  I  make  a  very  poor  hand  even  at  that, 

1  Letter  to  F.  W.  Gilmer,  Century  Mag.,  1895-6,  v.  29,  714. 
3  Garl.,  v.  1,  11.  3  Garland,  v.  2,  34. 


43^        John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

notwithstanding  I  am  one  of  those  who  (as  the  French  say) 
Sont  ties  pour  la  digestion."1 

Unfortunately,  the  reason  that  Randolph  gave  for  his 
lethargy  as  a  potential  man  of  letters  is  applicable,  with 
or  without  modification,  to  almost  every  Southern  man 
of  his  time  who  might  have  achieved  literary  distinction 
but  for  the  abnormal  importance  that  the  peculiar  struc- 
ture of  Southern  society  gave  to  public  eloquence.  So 
fraught  with  vital  issues  to  the  South  was  the  long  sec- 
tional controversy  that  a  Southerner  of  commanding  tal- 
ents had  little  choice,  while  it  lasted,  but  to  say  with 
Randolph:  "As  Calanthe  died  dancing,  so  must  I  die 
speaking. " 

Randolph  was  fond  of  travel  and  quick  to  avail  himself 
of  all  the  amusement  and  social  enjoyments  that  it  affords. 
Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that,  whenever  he  was  abroad, 
his  conversational  talents  and  distinguished  presence  won 
a  most  cordial  reception  for  him.  He  visited  Europe  in 
1822,  1824,  1826,  and  1830,  and  we  cannot  but  regret  that 
the  only  Journals  that  he  ever  kept  while  he  was  abroad — 
those  of  1824  and  1830 — are  too  fragmentary  and  meagre 
to  be  of  any  real  value. 

Of  his  intercourse  with  conspicuous  individuals  in  Great 
Britain,  we  have  some  details,  in  addition  to  what  we 
have  already  laid  before  the  reader.  One  of  the  things,  by 
which  he  was  most  impressed,  when  he  was  in  England  in 
1822,  was  the  great  influence  exerted  by  the  eloquence  of 
Elizabeth  Fry  over  fallen  women. 

M I  have  seen  them  weep  repentant  tears  while  she  addressed 
them,"  he  once  said  to  the  father  of  Jacob  Harvey.  "  I  have 
heard  their  groans  of  despair,  Sir.  Nothing  but  religion  can 
effect  this  miracle,  Sir,  for  what  can  be  a  greater  miracle  than 
the  conversion  of  a  degraded,  sinful  woman  taken  from  the 
very  dregs  of  society!"2 

1  Richm.,  May  7, 1 8 14,  Garland,  v.  2,  35.       2  The  New  Mirror,  v.  i,  402. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  437 

Nor  without  interest  is  the  account  given  by  the  daugh- 
ter of  Elizabeth  Fry  to  Harvey  of  the  manner  in  which  her 
mother  first  became  acquainted  with  Randolph. 

"One  day,"  she  said,  "my  mother  was  in  town  getting  ready 
to  go  to  Newgate  when  a  stranger  was  announced.  A  tall, 
thin  gentleman,  with  long  hair,  and  very  strangely  dressed, 
entered  the  parlor,  walked  deliberately  up  to  my  mother,  who 
rose  to  receive  him,  and  held  out  his  hand,  saying  in  the  sweet 
tone  of  a  lady's  voice:  'I  feel  that  I  have  some  right  to  intro- 
duce myself  to  Elizabeth  Fry,  as  I  am  the  friend  of  her  friend, 
Jessy  Kersey,  of  Philadelphia,  (a  celebrated  preacher  in  the 
Society  of  Friends).  I  am  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  State 
of  Virginia;  the  fellow-countryman  of  Washington.'  My 
mother,  who  had  heard  a  great  deal  of  him  from  different 
persons,  gave  him  a  cordial  reception,  and  was  so  extremely 
pleased  with  his  most  original  conversation  [that]  she  not  only 
took  him  with  her  to  Newgate,  but  invited  him  to  come  and 
see  us.  We  have  since  seen  him  several  times  and  have  been 
highly  delighted  with  him.  Last  week,  some  strangers  were 
to  dine  with  us  and  my  mother  invited  him  to  be  of  the  num- 
ber. In  writing  the  note  of  invitation,  I  apologized  to  him  for 
naming  so  unfashionably  early  an  hour  as  four  o'clock,  knowing 
that  at  the  West  End  he  never  dined  before  8.  His  reply  was 
very  characteristic  and  made  us  laugh  heartily.  Here  it  is: 
'Mr.  Randolph  regrets  that  a  prior  engagement  will  deprive 
him  of  the  pleasure  of  dining  with  Mrs.  Fry  on  Thursday  night. 
No  apology,  however,  was  necessary  for  the  early  hour  named 
in  her  note  as  it  is  two  hours  later  than  Mr.  R.  is  accustomed 
to  dine  in  Virginia;  and  he  has  not  yet  been  long  enough  in 
London  to  learn  how  to  turn  day  into  night  and  vice  versa."1 

We  are  also  told  by  Harvey  that  the  impression  made 
by  Randolph  upon  Lord  L.  (Limerick  ?)  was  equally  agree- 
able, and  that,  after  meeting  Randolph  for  the  first  time 
one  night  under  the  gallery  of  the  House  of  Commons,  his 
Lordship,  in  conversation  with  Harvey,  gave  expression 
to  his  feelings  in  these  glowing  terms : 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  i,  402. 


438         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"I  have  never  met  with  a  so  thoroughly  well  informed 
gentleman  as  your  friend  Randolph;  no  matter  what  the 
subject — history,  belles-lettres,  biography;  but,  Sir,  the  most 
astonishing  part  of  all  is  that  he  possesses  a  minute  local  knowl- 
edge of  England  and  Ireland.  I  thought  that  /  knew  them 
well,  but  I  assure  you  I  was  obliged  to  yield  the  palm  to  him. 
I  have  purposely  tried  to  puzzle  or  confuse  him  but  all  in  vain. 
His  conversational  powers  are  most  dazzling  even  in  London, 
Sir,  where  we  pride  ourselves  on  good  talkers."1 

Indeed,  his  Lordship  was  so  much  pleased  with  Ran- 
dolph that  he  solicited  the  permission  of  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor to  introduce  him  as  a  distinguished  American  into 
the  House  of  Lords  by  the  private  entrance  near  the 
throne  instead  of  leaving  him  to  force  his  way  with  the 
crowd  through  the  common  entrance.  The  permission 
was  given,  and  Lord  L.  introduced  Randolph  to  the  door- 
keeper of  the  House  of  Lords,  and  asked  him  to  admit  him 
whenever  he  presented  himself,  without  requiring  him  to 
exhibit  any  special  order.  In  doing  so,  he  remarked  that 
Randolph's  figure  and  whole  appearance  were  so  singular 
that  the  door-keeper  would  run  no  risk  of  having  any 
counterfeit  Randolphs  imposed  upon  him.  The  license, 
sweeping  as  it  was,  stood  successfully  the  test  even  of  a 
great  debate  on  the  Roman  Catholic  Peers  Bill.  Harvey 
endeavored  to  persuade  Randolph  that  it  would  not  avail 
on  such  an  extraordinary  occasion  as  that,  and  begged 
him  to  make  use  of  a  special  order  of  admission  which 
he  had  obtained  from  the  Marquis  of  L. ;  but  Randolph 
replied : 

"What,  Sir!  do  you  suppose  I  would  consent  to  struggle 
with,  and  push  through,  the  crowd  of  persons  who  for  two 
long  hours  must  fight  their  way  in  at  the  lower  door.  Oh,  no, 
Sir!  I  shall  do  no  such  a  thing,  and,  if  I  cannot  enter  as  a 
gentleman  commoner,  I  go  not  at  all!" 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  i,  403. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  439 

Afterwards,  when  Harvey  had  finally  squeezed  himself 
into  the  chamber  by  the  lower  door,  half  suffocated,  and 
had  been  fortunate  enough  to  secure  standing  room  at  the 
bar,  whom  should  he  see  but  Randolph  walking  in  through 
the  private  entrance  to  the  chamber,  in  company  with 
Canning,  Lord  Castlereagh,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  many 
other  celebrated  members  of  the  House  of  Commons;  and 
he  observed  that  some  of  Randolph's  companions  even 
selected  for  him  a  prominent  position  where  he  could  see 
and  hear  perfectly,  and  made  him  the  object  of  many 
courtesies  during  the  course  of  the  night, x 

Harvey  has  also  reported  for  us  some  amusing  observa- 
tions made  by  Randolph  upon  a  splendid  ball  which  he 
attended  in  London,  and  which  was  given  under  the  im- 
mediate patronage  of  George  IV — once  termed  by  Ran- 
dolph ' ;  The  English  Vitellius— ' '  and  the  principal  nobility 
of  his  kingdom  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  Irish  peasantry 
of  Munster  and  Connaught,  who  were  suffering  at  the 
time  from  famine  and  disease : 

"It  was  cheap,  Sir,  very  cheap!"  Randolph  said  to  Harvey. 
1  'Actors  and  actresses  innumerable,  and  all  dressed  out  most 
gorgeously.  There  were  jewels  enough,  Sir,  there  to  make 
new  crowns  for  all  the  monarchs  of  Europe!  and  I,  too,  Re- 
publican though  I  am,  must  needs  go  in  a  court  dress !  Well 
Sir,  don't  imagine  that  I  was  so  foolish  as  to  purchase  a  new 
suit  at  a  cost  of  25  or  30  guineas.  Oh,  no.  I  have  not  studied 
London  life  for  nothing!  I  had  been  told,  Sir,  that  many  a 
noble  lady  would  appear  at  the  ball  that  night  with  jewels 
hired  for  the  occasion,  and  I  took  the  hint,  Sir,  and  hired  a  full 
court  dress  for  5  guineas.  When  I  beheld  myself  in  the  glass, 
I  laughed  at  the  oddity  of  my  appearance,  and  congratulated 
myself  that  I  was  3,000  miles  from  the  Charlotte  Court  House. 
Had  I  played  the  harlequin  there,  Sir,  I  think  my  next  election 
would  be  doubtful.  I  stole  into  the  room  with  rather  a  nervous 
walk,  and  was  about  selecting  a  very  quiet  position  in  a  corner, 
when  your  countryman,   Lord  Castlereagh,  seeing  my  em- 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  1,  403. 


440         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

barrassment  came  forward  and,  with  an  air  of  the  most  finished 
politeness,  insisted  upon  being  my  chaperon.  For  one  hour, 
Sir,  he  devoted  himself  to  me  and  pointed  out  all  persons  of 
notoriety  in  the  crowd  as  they  passed  us  in  review.  Such  was 
the  fascination  of  his  manners,  I  forgot  for  the  moment  that  I 
was  speaking  to  the  man  who  had  sold  his  country's  independ- 
ence and  his  own;  who  had  lent  his  aid  to  a  licentious  monarch 
to  destroy  his  queen,  who,  if  guilty,  might  point  to  her  hus- 
band's conduct  as  the  cause  of  her  fall.  But,  Sir,  I  was  spell- 
bound for  that  hour;  for  never  did  I  meet  a  more  accomplished 
gentleman,  and  yet  he  is  a  deceitful  politician  whose  character 
none  can  admire.     An  Irish  Tory,  Sir,  I  never  could  abide."1 

Harvey  also  reports  a  distinguished  Irish  member  of 
Parliament  as  recalling  a  conversation  between  Randolph 
and  Maria  Edgeworth  at  his  table  in  these  words : 

"Spark  produced  spark,  and,  for  three  hours,  they  kept  up 
the  fire  until  it  ended  in  a  perfect  blaze  of  wit,  humor  and 
repartee.  It  appeared  to  me  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  more 
intimately  acquainted  with  Miss  Edgeworth 's  works  than  she 
was  herself.  He  frequently  quoted  passages  where  her  memory 
was  at  fault;  and  he  brought  forward  every  character  of  any 
note  in  all  her  productions.  But  what  most  astonished  us 
was  his  intimate  knowledge  of  Ireland.  Lady  T.  and  myself 
did  nothing  but  listen  and  I  was  really  vexed  when  some  public 
business  called  me  away."2 

Thomas  Moore  was  likewise  among  the  famous  persons 
whom  Randolph  met  in  England. 

"Whom  do  you  think  I  met  under  the  gallery  of  the  House 
of  Commons  ?"  Randolph  asked  of  Harvey.  "You  can't  guess 
and  so  I'll  tell  you.  There  was  a  spruce,  dapper  little  gentle- 
man sitting  next  me,  and  he  made  some  trifling  remark,  to 
which  I  replied.  We  thus  entered  into  conversation,  and  I 
found  him  a  most  fascinating,  witty  fellow.  He  pointed  out 
to  me  the  distinguished  members  who  were  unknown  to  me, 

x  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  6.  3  Ibid. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  44* 

and  frequently  gave  them  a  friendly  shot.  At  parting,  he 
handed  me  his  card,  and  I  read  with  some  surprise,  'Mr. 
Thomas  Moore.'  Yes,  sir,  it  was  the  'Bard  of  Erin';  and, 
upon  this  discovery,  I  said  to  him:  'Well,  Mr.  Moore,  I  am 
delighted  to  meet  you  thus,  and  I  tell  you,  Sir,  that  I  envy  you 
more  for  being  the  author  of  the  'Two-penny  Post  Bag'  and 
Tom  Crib's  Memorial  to  Congress,'  than  for  all  your  beautiful 
songs  which  play  the  fool  with  young  ladies'  hearts.'  He 
laughed  heartily  at  what  he  called  'my  singular  taste,'  and  we 
parted  the  best  friends  imaginable."1 

It  is  profitable  to  compare  this  description  of  Moore 
with  the  description  that  Moore  himself  gives  of  Ran- 
dolph in  his  journal  under  date  of  April  30,  1822. 

"Laid  in  some  cold  meat,  and  went  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons; avenues  all  blocked  up  with  unsuccessful  candidates 
for  admission.  After  several  repulses,  and  at  last  giving  it 
up  in  despair,  was  taken  in  by  Jerningham  as  one  of  the  Cath- 
olics on  his  list,  Mr.  Blunt,  sat  next  Lord  Limerick  and  Ran- 
dolph, the  famous  American  orator;  a  singular-looking  man 
with  a  young-old  face,  and  a  short,  small  body,  mounted  upon 
a  pair  of  high  crane  legs  and  thighs,  so  that,  when  he  stood  up, 
you  did  not  know  when  he  was  to  end,  and  a  squeaking  voice 
like  a  boy's  just  before  breaking  into  manhood.  His  manner 
too  strange  and  pedantic,  but  his  powers  of  eloquence  (Irving 
[Washington  Irving]  tells  me)  wonderful."2 

A  letter  from  Randolph  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  men- 
tions the  fact  that  Robert  Southey  was  another  poet  whom 
he  had  met  in  England  in  1822.  Writing  to  this  friend 
from  Roanoke,  he  says  in  a  postscript : 

"  In  sheer  distress  what  to  do  with  myself,  I  yesterday  read 
Don  Juan — the  3,  4  and  5  cantos  for  the  first  time — fact  I 
assure  you.  It  is  diabolically  good,  the  ablest  I  am  inclined  to 
think  of  all  his  performances.     I  now  fully  comprehend  the 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  42. 

2  Memoirs,  &c,  of  Thos.  Moore,  ed.  by  Lord  John  Russell,  N.  Y.,  v.  1,  415. 


442         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

case  of  the  odium  plus  quam  theologicum  of  the  Lake  School 
toward  this  wayward  genius.  I  am  not  sorry  that  I  had  not 
read  the  whole  when  I  was  in  Southey's  company.  I  could  not 
have  conversed  so  unreservedly  as  I  did  on  the  subject  of 
Bryon's  writings."1 

Altogether,  Randolph  achieved  a  distinct  measure  of 
social  success  in  England.  Upon  that  point,  we  need  not 
go  further  than  Washington  Irving,  who  was  in  London 
in  1822: 

"John  Randolph,"  he  wrote  to  Henry  Brevoort,  "is  here 
and  has  attracted  much  attention.  He  has  been  sought  after 
by  people  of  the  first  distinction.  I  have  met  him  repeatedly 
in  company  and  his  eccentricity  of  appearance  and  manner 
make  him  the  more  current  and  interesting;  for,  in  high  life 
here,  they  are  always  eager  after  anything  strange  and  peculiar. 
There  is  a  vast  deal  too  of  the  old  school  in  Randolph's  manner, 
the  turn  of  his  thoughts  and  the  style  of  his  conversation,  which 
seems  to  please  very  much. '  • 2 

One  of  the  results  of  Randolph's  visit  to  England  in 
1822  was  that,  after  his  return  to  the  United  States,  he 
received  more  than  one  English  publication  on  the  subject 
of  slavery.  Mentioning  these  publications  in  a  letter  to 
Dr.  Brockenbrough,  he  says:  "They  are  from  Wilber- 
force,  T.  Clarkson,  Adam  Hodgson,  and  a  larger  pamphlet 
entitled  'Negro  Slavery  as  it  Exists  in  the  U.  S.  and  the 
West  Indies,  especially  Jamaica';  that  being  held  up  as 
the  negro  paradise  by  the  W.  I.  body  in  England.  "  They 
had,  he  further  said,  awakened  him  more  than  ever  to  the 
momentous  question  of  slavery.3 

There  are  no  salient  particulars  to  be  added  to  what  we 
have  told  the  reader  about  Randolph's  visits  to  England 
in  1824  and  1826;  but  there  are  some  additional  circum- 
stances worthy  of  mention  in  connection  with  his  visit  to 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  193. 

3  London,  June  11,  1822,  Life,  &c,  v.  2,  81.  3  Garland,  v.  2,  193. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  443 

England  in  1830.  The  following  extracts  from  a  letter 
which  he  wrote  from  London  to  Nathaniel  Macon, 
addressing  him  as  "His  old  and  dear  friend, "  give  us  some 
idea  of  his  movements  in  England  in  that  year  when  he 
was  not  too  sick  to  move  about  at  all : 

"Last  month,  I  spent  about  three  weeks  in  the  country.  I 
passed  eight  days  most  pleasantly,  health  excepted,  at  Bidles- 
ton  in  Suffolk  on  the  invitation  of  Rich'd  Wilson,  Esq.  He 
has  been  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune,  of  which  about  3,000 
acres  lie  around  his  spacious  and  most  hospitable  mansion. 
One  of  his  daughters  is  married  to  a  namesake  and  distant, 
very  distant,  relative  of  mine,  son  of  the  late  Bishop  (but  one) 
of  London.  The  coach  took  me  within  10  miles  of  his  house, 
where  his  own  carriage  met  me.  He  insisted  upon  paying  me 
this  very  unusual  compliment,  and,  when  I  arrived  at  Sudbury, 
I  found  his  coach  and  servants  waiting  for  me  in  the  Inn  Yard. 
We  coursed  and  killed  hares — the  dogs  never  letting  one 
escape.  This  you  (who  know  the  English  hare  to  be  nearly 
or  quite  as  large  as  our  grey  fox  and  much  fleeter)  will  say  was 
fine  sport.  We  shot  also — that  is  Mr.  Wilson  did — every  day, 
and  I  sat  upon  a  delightful  pony  and  looked  on.  Once  I  made 
out  to  pull  a  trigger  and  killed  four  pheasants.  Eighteen  and 
a  half  brace  were  driven  out  of  one  preserve,  of  about  a  circular 
acre,  towards  us,  nearly  all  within  shot,  but  I  did  not  shoot  that 
day.  One  morning  we  killed  with  the  'long  dogs'  six  hares. 
On  no  occasion,  did  they  run  as  many  hundred  yards  from 
where  we  started  them;  but  doubled  and  twisted,  poor  things, 
until  the  grey  hounds  doubled  them  up.  On  Sunday,  the  last 
of  the  month  (October),  I  accompanied  my  host  to  New 
Market  to  be  present  at  the  Houghton  meeting.  .  .  . 

1 '  Mr.  Wilson  being  called  home  by  the  sudden  death  of  a  guest, 
Capt.  Rotheram,  Capt.  of  the  Royal  Sovereign,  Adm'l  Colling- 
wood,  the  leading  and  victorious  ship  at  Trafalgar,  I,  who  had 
been  dreadfully  sick  at  New  Market,  went  on  the  next  day  to 
Cambridge.  Here  I  had  to  go  to  bed  before  dinner,  and  was 
so  ill  that  I  despaired  of  seeing  the  vast  improvements  that 
have  been  made  since  my  last  visit  there.  However,  my  best 
friend  opium  brought  me  through.     The  additions  to  Trinity 


444         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

College,  St.  John's,  King's,  and  Corpus  would  alone  furnish 
forth  an  University.  That  to  St.  John's  is  the  most  beautiful 
Court  in  the  world,  containing  112  apartments  of  3  rooms 
each,  and  a  screen  as  beautiful,  which  forms  a  magnificent 
cloister." 

"Thursday,  Dec'r.  9th,  1830. 

"(The  severest  attack  which  I  have  had  for  a  long  time, 
obliged  me  to  give  over  writing  yesterday.  The  distress  and 
anxiety  of  the  last  18  hours  are  not  to  be  described.) 

"The  new  court,  called  'TheKing's  Court,'  at  Trinity  College, 
is  even  more  extensive  than  that  at  St.  John's.  I  dined  with 
the  Fellows  on  the  5th  of  Nov'r,  a  Festival,  (Gunpowder 
Plot),  in  their  noble  hall,  where  400  of  that  College  alone  sat 
down  to  eight  long  tables.  This  vast  room,  with  its  old  carved 
rafters,  (it  has  no  ceiling,  like  Westminster  Hall,  &c.)  was 
warmed  by  one  vast  Brazier  in  the  centre  of  living  charcoal. 
We  had  a  Turbot  as  large  as  a  Tea-board,  and  the  'audit  ale' 
restored  my  appetite  for  malt  liquor,  which  the  infernal 
drench  of  London,  miscalled  Porter,  had  completely  taken 
away.  The  whole  revenue  of  this  most  renowned  College, 
which  boasts  her  Trinity  of  great  men,  Bacon,  Barrow  and 
Newton  (to  whom  may  be  added  Lord  Coke,  Dryden,  Bentley 
and  Ld.  Byron)  does  not  exceed  £40,000  per  ann.  The 
undergraduates,  indeed,  contribute  largely  (not  less  than  £200 
each),  particularly  the  Fellow  Commoners,  sons  of  such  noble- 
men or  gentlemen  as  are  admitted  to  the  Fellows'  table. 
Undergraduates  are  what  we  would  call  students.  The 
mastership  of  Trinity  is  worth  £3,000  per  ann.,  besides  a 
splendid  Lodge  (palace),  in  which  the  King  and  the  Judges 
take  up  their  quarters,  when  they  come  to  Cambridge.  The 
fellowships  are  moderately  endowed,  and  there  is  no  avoid- 
able idleness  here.  With  all  my  prepossessions  and  prejudices 
against  a  foreign  education,  if  I  had  a  son,  he  should,  at  mature 
age,  spend  at  least  two  years  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 
The  united  grounds  of  this  College,  St.  John's,  Clare  Hall  and 
King's  form  a  promenade  to  which  there  is  nothing  [equal]  at 
Oxford.  The  celebrated  mathematician,  Babbage,  has  written 
s  strange  work  on  the  'Decline  of  Science  in  England' — strange 


Randolph  as  a  Man  445 

at  least  for  him,  who  is  the  successor  of  Newton  and  the  only- 
Professor  at  Cambridge  who  does  not  lecture. 

"After  a  short  stay  in  town,  I  went  to  Chislehurst,  in  Kent, 
to  see  my  venerable  friend,  Mrs.  Weddell,  who,  with  her  hus- 
band (member  for  Yorkshire),  accompanied  Ld.  Rockingham 
in  his  triumphal  procession  down  to  York,  after  the  Repeal  of 
the  Stamp  Act,  which  pacified  the  Empire  She  was  sister-in- 
law  of  Lord  R.  I  spent  three  days  and  a  half  in  Kent,  one  day 
and  night  at  Mr.  Thos.  Brandram's,  at  Lee,  who  has  the  most 
desirable  place  that  I  know  in  England.  .  .  . 

"If  I  live,  I  will  be  at  home  on  the  feast  of  the  new  corn;  for 
I  perceive  that  we  are  not  to  have  any  old  corn  even  to  bring 
in  the  wheat  harvest.  'Not  an  ear  to  the  acre*  is  my  brother 
Harry's  report  to  me.  On  Rappahannock  too,  there  is  a  total 
failure — it  is  not  quite  so  bad  with  us,  but  the  crop  is  a  very 
short  one." 

"Monday,  Dec.  13,  1830. 

"The  last  sentence  was  not  finished  until  today.  I  have  been 
very  much  distressed  by  my  complaint  and,  as  the  Packet, 
which  will  carry  this,  does  not  sail  until  Thursday  morning,  I 
have  written  by  snatches.  Saturday,  I  made  out  to  dine  with 
the  famous  'Beef  Steaks';  which  I  had  a  great  desire  to  do. 
The  scene  was  unique.  Nothing  permitted  but  Beef  Steaks 
and  potatoes,  port  wine,  punch,  brandy  and  water,  &c.  The 
broadest  mirth  and  most  unreserved  freedoms  among  the 
members;  every  thing  and  every  body  burlesqued;  in  short,  a 
party  of  school  boys  on  a  frolic  could  not  have  been  more 
unrestrained  in  the  expression  of  their  merriment.  I  was 
delighted  with  the  conviviality  and  heartiness  of  the  company. 
Among  other  toasts,  we  had  that  'great  friend  of  Liberty, 
Prince  Metternich'  and  a  great  deal  more  of  admirable  foolery. 
The  company  waited  chiefly  on  themselves.  The  songs, 
without  exception,  were  mirth-stirring  and  well  sung.  In  short, 
here  I  saw  a  sample  of  old  English  manners ;  for  the  same  tone 
has  been  kept  up  from  the  foundation  of  the  club — more  than  a 
century.  Nothing  could  be  happier  than  the  burlesque 
speeches  of  some  of  the  officers  of  the  club;  especially  a  Mr. 
Stephenson  (Vice  P.)  who  answered  to  the  call  of  'Boots!' 


446         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Maj.  Gen.  Sir  Andrew  Barnard  presided  admirably,  and 
another  gallant  officer,  Gen'l  Sir  Ronald  Ferguson,  greatly 
contributed  to  our  hilarity  also.  Admiral  Dundas  (not  of  the 
Scotch  clan)  a  new  Ld  of  Admiralty,  who  came  in  for  his  full 
share  of  humour  and  left-handed  compliments,  paid  his  full 
quota  towards  the  entertainment.  In  short,  I  have  not 
chuckled  with  laughter  before  since  I  left  Virginia."1 

In  a  letter  to  his  niece,  Randolph  gives  us  another 
glimpse  of  his  movements  in  England  in  1830: 

"I  have  been  out  but  twice  from  a  sense  of  duty.  On 
Friday  last  to  the  Duke  of  Devonshire's  and  on  Saturday  to 
dine  with  the  Lord  Mayor.  The  Duke  of  Devon  has  been 
pointedly  attentive  to  me  during  all  my  visits  to  England,  and 
I  could  not  decline  his  invitation  without  apparent  insensibility 
not  to  say  rudeness ;  and  as  I  am  not  King  I  could  not  refuse 
a  Lord  Mayor's  invitation."2 

In  the  London  Morning  Herald  of  Dec.  27,  1830,  the 
entertainment  given  by  the  Lord  Mayor  was  pronounced 
"a  very  splendid"  one,  and  the  speech  of  thanks  that  it 
drew  from  Randolph  a  "very  elegant"  one. 

An  important  appendix  to  this  letter  consists  of  certain 
statements  made  by  Peter  Irving,  the  brother  of  Washing- 
ton Irving,  on  the  strength  of  information  given  him  by 
the  latter  in  regard  to  Randolph  when  Randolph  was  in 
England  in  1830: 

"Randolph,  however  well  informed  on  points  of  etiquette, 
had  his  own  notions  about  doing  things,  and  I  have  heard  Mr. 
Irving  give  an  amusing  account  of  his  presentation  at  court 
in  London  as  it  came  under  his  own  notice.  Mr.  McLane  and 
Mr.  Irving  called  for  him  in  a  carriage,  and  they  found  him 
prepared  to  accompany  them  with  black  coat  and  black  small- 
clothes, with  knee  buckles,  white  stockings  and  shoes  with  gold 
buckles,  a  sword,  and  a  little  black  hat.     They  looked  wonder- 

1  Sou.  Lit.  Mess.,  Richm.,  Nov.  1856,  382-385. 
"London,  Dec.  21,  1830,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  447 

ingly  at  his  dress,  so  likely  with  his  odd  figure  to  attract 
observation.  He  pointed  to  his  gold  buckles.  'No  sham 
about  them ;  Rundell  and  Bridge  by !'  To  some  observa- 
tions as  to  the  propriety  of  his  dress,  'I  wear  no  man's  livery 

by !'   But,  said  Mr.  Irving,  the  object  of  a  court  costume  is 

to  avoid  awkwardness  and  challenge ;  there  is  a  convenience  in 
it,  and,  at  all  events,  you  don't  want  a  sword.  'Oh,  now 
Irving,  as  to  a  sword,  you  need  not  pretend  to  teach  me  about 

that.     My  father  wore  a  sword  before  me  by  .'     Mr. 

Irving  explained  that  the  sword  belonged  to  a  different  cos- 
tume, but  was  out  of  place  in  that  dress.  This  seemed  to 
strike  Randolph,  and  he  unbuckled  his  sword  afterwards,  and 
left  it  in  the  carriage.  As  he  was  about  to  enter  the  ante- 
chamber, where  the  foreign  ministers  are  in  waiting,  he  was, 
as  Mr.  Irving  had  feared,  stopped  by  the  usher.  Mr.  Irving 
immediately  explained  who  he  was,  and  he  was  permitted 
to  pass.  'There  now,  Randolph,'  said  he,  'you  see  one  of 
the  inconveniences  of  being  out  of  costume.'  In  the  ante- 
chamber, the  foreign  ministers  eyed  him  curiously.  Admitted 
to  the  presence  chamber,  he  preceded  Mr.  Irving,  made  his 
bow  to  Royalty  in  his  turn,  and  then  passed  before  other 
members  of  the  Royal  Family.  As  he  went  by  the  Duke 
of  Sussex,  the  latter  beckoned  Mr.  Irving.  'Irving,'  said  he, 
with  his  thumb  reversed  over  his  right  shoulder,  and  moving  it 
significantly  up  and  down,  half  suppressing  a  laugh  at  the 
same  time,  'who's  your  friend  Hokey-Pokey?'  Mr.  Irving, 
jealous  for  the  honor  of  his  country,  replied  with  emphasis: 
'That,  Sir,  is  John  Randolph,  the  United  States  Minister  to 
Russia,  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished  orators  of  the 
United  States.'  Sometime  afterwards,  Mr.  Irving  was  dining 
with  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  and  the  latter  inquired  after  McLane, 
who  had  returned  to  his  own  country;  then,  pursuing  his 
inquiries,  he  added,  with  a  significant  smile:  'And  how  is  our 
friend,  Hokey-Pokey?'  Randolph,  said  Mr.  Irving,  in  con- 
cluding these  anecdotes,  a  long,  gaunt,  thin  poke  of  a  fellow, 
with  no  beard,  small  features,  bright  eyes,  attracted  attention 
wherever  he  went.  He  was  queer,  but  always  wore  the  air 
and  stamp  of  a  gentleman.  I  asked  what  impression  he 
made  by  his  conversational  powers:     'He  was  remarkable  in 


448         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

this  respect,'  he  replied,  'but  he  was  not  at  home  among  the 
London  wits.  I  dined  with  him  when  Sydney  Smith  and 
others  were  present,  but  he  did  not  shine;  he  was  not  in  his 
beat."1 

Since  such  profuse  profanity  as  marks  this  narrative 
has  never,  so  far  as  we  know,  been  imputed  to  Randolph 
in  his  lucid  hours  by  anyone  else,  we  cannot  but  indulge 
the  idea  that  it  was  simply  the  sort  that  gave  point  to  one 
of  Franklin's  famous  stories.  A  fellow,  in  relating  a  dis- 
pute that  had  arisen  between  Queen  Anne  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  concerning  a  vacant  mitre,  which 
the  Queen  wished  to  bestow  on  a  person,  whom  the  Arch- 
bishop thought  unworthy  of  it,  made  both  the  Queen  and 
the  Archbishop  swear  three  or  four  thumping  oaths  in 
every  sentence  of  the  dispute.  A  by-stander,  filled  with 
surprise,  asked :  * '  But  did  the  Queen  and  the  Archbishop 
swear  so  at  one  another  ? "  ' '  Oh  no,  no ! "  said  the  fellow, 
"that  is  only  my  way  of  telling  the  story. " 

Now  that  we  have  had  portraiture  of  Randolph  as  he 
was  abroad,  we  might  as  well  have  a  little  caricature 
besides,  and  this  is  copiously  supplied  to  us  by  "Julius." 

"On  his  first  arrival  in  London,"  Julius  declares,  "all  eyes 
were  struck  with  his  figure  in  the  streets.  The  human  form 
from  all  parts  of  the  globe  was  to  be  seen  there,  but  nothing 
like  his.  It  seemed  to  belong  to  a  class  by  itself;  long,  lean 
and  loose-jointed — a  withered  face,  a  shrunken  body,  and  the 
whole  expression  peculiar  and  startling.  Many  who  passed 
him  turned  around  to  take  another  look.  How  mysterious! 
exclaimed  one;  how  outlandish!  another.  A  term  to  which 
the  English  are  addicted.  His  complexion  was  death-like; 
sometimes  he  moved  about  on  foot,  and  sometimes  rode  a 
pony.  When  saluting  people,  his  voice  would  mount  up  to  a 
high  shrill  key,  as  if  he  were  hallooing.  The  particulars  of  his 
dress  were  obscured  by  a  long  cloak,  which,  in  one  respect, 
claimed  resemblance  to  the  doublet  of  Gaffer  Gray — it  was  not 

1  Life  &c,  of  W.  I.,  v.  2,  439,  442. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  449 

very  new.  As  it  came  tight  about  him,  or  waved  in  the  wind, 
many  a  sidelong  glance  did  it  get  from  the  passing  brokers  of 
Monmouth  St.1  .  .  . 

''His  grotesque  aspect,  the  object  of  popular  stare,  and  scien- 
tific speculation ;  his  everlasting  attempts  at  effect,  whether  in 
conduct  or  conversation;  his  harangues  given  out  in  accents 
so  novel  and  with  no  poor  rivalry  of  the  fame  and  fashion  of 
Anacharsis  Cloots  or  Sir  Walter  Scott's  'Wamba,'  his  diverting 
lapses  from  the  observances  of  the  world,  his  profound  obei- 
sance to  rank,  which,  though  it  overflowed  in  temporary  good 
nature  at  that  epoch  of  his  life  and  travels,  kept  showing  itself 
in  ways  exquisitely  ludicrous,  all  this  and  more;  how  can  I  ever 
forget  it."2 

Then,  after  speaking  of  the  curiosity  and  merriment, 
excited  by  Randolph's  appearance  and  conversation, 
Julius  continues  in  this  manner : 

"It  was  a  scene  sui  generis,  novel  even  for  London.  Re- 
peated it  was  with  variations:  'Hoby's  boots  forever,  so  help 
him  Heaven  and  Manton's  guns — his  rascally  overseer  who 
had  cheated  him — the  roundheads,  how  he  hated  them — the 
cavaliers,  how  he  loved  them — Virginia,  old  Virginia,  true  to 
Charles — the  vermin  in  his  own  country  that  fattened  on  the 
public  crib;  he  gave  it  to  them — that  he  did  and  would; 
Bladensburg;  Yazoo;  the  Yankees;  the  Negroes;  Mason's  and 
Dixon's  line;  the  man  in  the  moon;  everything  danced  in  the 
astounding  gallimaufry.  To  the  sensibilities,  to  the  restraints, 
bodily  and  of  mind,  to  the  multiplied  obligations  and  habitudes, 
to  all  the  anxious  and  assiduous  cultivation  that  go  to  make 
up  the  gentleman  he  was  a  stranger.  His  irregular  and  un- 
disciplined temper  was  the  parent  of  rudeness  in  him,  and 
his  vanity  hurried  him  into  offences  against  good  sense  and 
decorum."3 

In  another  place  Julius  describes  Randolph  as  a  mon- 
opolist or  a  mute  when  conversation  went  its  rounds;  by 
turns  a  misanthrope  and  a  Merry  Andrew. 4 

T  /.  R.  Abroad  and  at  Home,  3.  2  Id.,  5.  3Id.,  8.  4  Id.,  13. 

vol.  11 — 29 


450         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

And  not  more  indignant  was  Mrs.  Malaprop  over  criti- 
cism of  her  diction  than  Randolph  must  have  been  when 
even  his  fastidious  orthoepy  was  impeached  by  Julius. 

"True  scholarship,"  said  Julius,  "repelled  his  pretensions. 
Tried  by  chastened  standards,  they  came  under  the  sentence 
which  his  burlesque  obtrusions  of  them  provoked.  It  was 
made  known  by  the  Oxonians  in  guarded,  yet  significant  jeers. 
Neither  his  Latinity  nor  his  English  could  pass.  His  syntax, 
nay  his  very  orthoepy,  (a)  was  remarked  to  be  as  defective  as 
his  infringements  of  the  canons  of  taste  were  perpetual  both 
in  his  selection  of  topics  and  manner  of  treating  them.  It  was 
really  hard  to  determine  whether  in  his  furor  Ungues  Nature 
or  Priscian  got  most  blows  from  him."1 

The  immediate  occasion  for  this  elaborate  arraignment 
was  a  note  appended  by  Randolph  to  his  speech  on  Re- 
trenchment and  Reform  in  the  House  in  1828  in  which  he 
had  instituted  the  comparison  between  the  relative  quali- 
fications of  Rush  and  Caligula's  horse  for  a  post  of  public 
responsibility. 2  The  deadly  arrow,  which  Randolph  shot 
at  Rush  in  this  note,  went  to  its  mark  all  the  more  surely 
for  the  accompanying  lines,  with  which  it  was  feathered : 

"A  few  days  ago,  I  stumbled  upon  the  following  stanza  of  an 
unfinished  poem  on  the  glories  and  worthies  of  our 
Administration: 

"  'And  as  for  R.,  his  early  locks  of  snow, 
Betray  the  frozen  region  that's  below, 
Though  Jove  upon  the  race  bestow'd  some  fire; 
The  gift  was  all  exhausted  by  the  Sire, 
A  sage  consum'd  what  thousands  well  might  share 
And  ashes  only  fell  upon  the  heir !' 

These  lines  are  the  only  article  of  the  growth,  produce  or  manu- 
facture of  the  country,  north  of  the  Patapsco,  that  I  have 

1  J.  R.  abroad  and  at  home,  18. 

3  Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  July  26,  1828,  v.  8,  64. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  451 

knowingly  used  since  the  Tariff  Bill  passed.  They  are  by  a 
witty  son  of  a  witty  sire — as  Burns  sings — 'A  true  gude  fellow's 
get.'"1 

It  was  during  his  last  sojourn  in  London  that  Randolph 
uttered  his  well-known  paraphrase  of  the  excuse  given  by 
Adam  for  eating  fruit  from  the  forbidden  tree.     He  had 

been  invited  by  Lord  to  take  lunch    with    him, 

but,  when  on  his  way  to  the  lunch,  he  stopped  to  call  on  a 
lady,  and  was  so  agreeably  entertained  by  her  conversa- 
tion that  he  was  still  enjoying  her  society  when  the  lunch 

was   served.      Afterwards   when  he  joined   Lord  , 

and  was  taxed  with  being  late,  he  replied:  "The  woman 
tempted  me  and  I  did  eat. " 2 

In  one  of  his  letters  to  his  niece,  Randolph  pronounced 
Friendship,  Love,  and  Religion  the  only  sources  from  which 
happiness  can  be  derived. 3  When  he  was  not  unbalanced, 
or  unduly  swayed  by  prejudice  or  temper,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  his  heart  was  a  truly  generous,  compassionate, 
and  tender  one.  Occasional  presents  of  silver  and  fre- 
quent presents  of  books  were  among  the  tokens  which  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  giving  of  his  friendship  or  love.  On 
one  occasion,  he  presented  a  young  lady  with  a  Hebrew 
Lexicon  bearing  this  inscription  on  its  fly-leaf:  "To  a 
young  lady  learning  Hebrew  from  an  old  gentleman  who 
knows  nothing  of  it,  and  is  past  learning.  "4 

Francis  Scott  Key,  he  wrote  to  Dudley,  might  have  any 
one  of  his  horses  except  only  his  English  mare  and  Corne- 
lia5; and  to  Van  Buren  he  gave  a  fine  saddle-horse  and 
wished  to  give  a  handsome  pair  of  carriage-horses  besides. 6 
Not  only  did  he  offer  to  pledge  his  credit  in  aid  of  James 

^ouldin,  317  (note). 

3  Recollections  of  a  Long  Life,  by  Jos.  Packard,  no. 

3  Roanoke,  Nov.  20,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 

4  Letter  to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter,  1825,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 
s  Feb.  4, 1817,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  185. 

6  Van  Buren  Papers,  Libr.  Cong. 


452         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Monroe  when  they  were  friends;  but,  on  one  occasion, 
when  his  friend,  Judge  Thomas  T.  Bouldin,  then  a  young 
man,  was  in  a  community,  where  he  was  but  little  known, 
and  was  experiencing  some  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  secur- 
ity as  a  fiduciary,  the  shrill  voice  of  Randolph  was  heard, 
calling  out  above  the  clamor  of  a  crowd  that  he  would 
become  his  security.  The  act,  Judge  Bouldin  said,  at 
once  lifted  him  out  of  his  dilemma  and  placed  him  on  a 
high  elevation.1 

How  Randolph  extended  to  his  nephews  and  his  other 
youthful  proteges  the  same  liberal  measure  of  his  bounty 
that  he  might  have  extended  to  a  son  we  shall  presently  see. 

Appeals  of  suffering  or  want  met  with  a  ready  response 
at  his  hands.  ' '  He  was  charitable, ' '  Benton  tells  us,  ' '  but 
chose  to  conceal  the  hand  that  administered  relief.  I 
have  often  seen  him  send  little  children  out  to  give  to  the 
poor."2 

On  one  occasion,  we  find  him  bringing  a  young  boy 
down  from  Roanoke  to  Richmond  so  that  he  could  receive 
proper  surgical  attention.  On  another,  it  is  said  that  he 
turned  his  horses  and  plows  into  the  fields  of  an  absent  young 
friend  whose  crop  was  being  smothered  by  weeds  and  grass. 
Among  the  written  scraps  which  he  preserved,  was  a  brief 
note  from  one  Richard  Knowles,  who  would  seem  to  have 
been  an  overseer  at  one  time  at  Bizarre.  It  thanks  him 
for  a  gift  of  wine,  which  the  note  says  that  the  recipient 
would  gladly  acknowledge  in  his  own  hand  but  for  his  low 
state  of  health. 3 

The  journal  which  he  kept,  when  he  was  on  the  Concord, 
brings  to  our  knowledge  the  fact  that  he  was  thoughtful 
enough  to  send  a  box  of  Chateau  Margaux  to  the  steerage 
of  that  ship.4  " Although  I  do  not  deal  in  bows  and 
humble  servants  and  all  that  trash,  yet  I  have  some  of  the 

1  Bouldin,  81.  2  30  Yrs.'  View,  474.  3  J,  R,'s  Diary. 

3  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  453 

milk  of  human  kindness  in  my  composition,"  he  once 
wrote  to  Nicholson. I  And  so  he  had ;  and  more  than  most 
men  have. 

A  truthful,  though  quaint,  summary  was  that  of  the 
English  traveller,  John  Lambert : 

"Ardent  and  affectionate  in  his  disposition,  he  is  susceptible 
of  strong  and  permanent  affection;  but,  if  injured,  he  exhibits 
but  little  of  that  mild  forbearance  which  is  inculcated  in  the 
gentle  precepts  of  our  Holy  Religion.  His  private  history, 
however,  abounds  with  evidences  of  the  most  humane  and 
philanthropic  feeling. ' ' 2 

Writing  to  Theodore  Dudley  of  the  death  of  a  trusted  and 
favorite  overseer  of  his,  he  gives  this  account  of  the  event : 

"Mr.  Curd  breathed  his  last  on  Thursday  morning,  half 
past  three  o'clock,  after  a  most  severe  illness,  which  lasted 
sixteen  days.  I  insisted  upon  his  coming  up  here,  where  he 
had  every  possible  aid  that  the  best  medical  advice  and  most 
assiduous  nursing  could  afford  him.  During  the  last  week  of 
his  sickness,  I  was  never  absent  from  the  house  but  twice, 
about  an  hour  each  time,  for  air  and  exercise;  I  sat  up  with 
him,  and  gave  him  almost  all  his  medicines,  with  my  own  hand, 
and  saw  that  every  possible  attention  was  paid  to  him.  This 
is  to  me  an  unspeakable  comfort ;  and  it  pleased  God  to  support 
me  under  this  trying  scene  by  granting  me  better  health  than  I 
had  experienced  for  seven  years.  On  Thursday  evening,  I 
followed  him  to  the  grave;  and,  soon  after,  the  effects  of  the 
fatigue  and  distress  of  mind  that  I  had  suffered  prostrated  my 
strength  and  spirits,  and  I  became  ill.  Three  successive  nights 
of  watching  were  too  much  for  my  system  to  endure ;  but  I  am 
now  better,  although  weak  and  giddy.  I  was  with  him,  when 
he  died,  without  a  groan  or  change  of  feature.  My  servants, 
also,  have  been  all  sick,  except  Essex,  Hetty,  and  Nancy."3 

1  Feb.  4,  1800,  Nicholson  MSS. 

3  Travels  Through  Canada  &  the  U.  S.,  1816,  v.  2,  422. 

»  Roanoke,  Sept.  22,  181 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  104. 


454         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

On  the  same  day,  Randolph  wrote  to  John  Taylor,  of 
Caroline : 

"This  man  was  an  overseer.  Would  to  God  the  public  had 
such,  for  he  was  of  great  skill  and  judgment  in  his  calling, 
indefatigable,  laborious,  well-behaved  and  honest!!!  Although 
at  stated  wages,  ever  mindful  of  his  duty  and  the  interest  of  his 
employer.  Under  his  suspices,  my  plantation  affairs  were 
rapidly  travelling  in  the  very  opposite  direction  to  those  of  the 
public."1 

Jacob  Harvey  was  right  when  he  said  that,  if  Randolph 
"did  take  a  fancy,  the  rank  of  the  person  never  seemed  to 
weigh  with  him  for  a  moment,"  and  that  he  admired  espe- 
cially those  who  never  pretended  to  more  knowledge  than 
they  actually  possessed,  but  understood  thoroughly  what 
they  did  know. 2 

Indeed,  Randolph's  sensibility  to  the  sufferings  of  others 
was  almost  morbid.  During  his  first  visit  to  England,  he 
wrote  to  his  niece  on  one  occasion : 

"At  Worcester,  in  driving  into  the  Hop  Pole  Inn  yard, 
the  postillion  had  nearly  killed  a  poor  girl  with  a  child  in 
her  arms.  She  was  thrown  down,  but  God  be  praised !  neither 
were  hurt.  I  would  not  endure  what  I  felt,  while  the  suspense 
lasted,  for  any  consideration."3 

We  are  told  by  James  Bouldin  that  Randolph's  feelings 
were  once  so  moved  by  the  recollection  of  "two  little  hares" 
hanging  by  the  neck,  upon  which  he  had  come,  when 
hunting  in  his  boyhood,  that  tears  stood  in  his  eyes.4 
In  fact,  we  are  asked  to  believe  that  his  susceptibility 
to  compassionate  impulses  even  took  in  the  vegetable 
kingdom. 

1  Roanoke,  Sept.  22,  181 1,  Mass.  Hist.  Soc. 

2  The  New  Mirror,  v.  1,  345. 

3  Garland,  v.  2,  184. 
*  Bouldin,  80. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  455 

"Mr.  Randolph  would  not  permit  even  a  switch  to  be  cut 
anywhere  near  the  house  (at  Roanoke),"  Wm.  H.  Elliott,  who 
was  a  schoolmate  of  Tudor  Randolph,  says  in  his  School  Boy 
Reminiscences  of  John  Randolph.  "Without  being  aware  of 
such  an  interdiction,  I  one  day  committed  a  serious  trespass. 
Tudor  and  I  were  one  day  roving  in  the  woods  near  the  house, 
when  I  observed  a  neat  hickory  plant,  about  an  inch  thick, 
which  I  felled.  Tudor  expressed  his  regret  after  seeing  what  I 
had  done,  saying  he  was  afraid  his  uncle  would  be  angry.  I 
went  immediately  to  Mr.  Randolph,  and  informed  him  of 
what  I  had  ignorantly  done,  and  expressed  regret  for  it.  He 
took  the  stick,  looked  pensively  at  it  for  some  seconds,  as  if 
commiserating  its  fate.  Then  looking  at  me  more  in  sorrow 
than  in  anger,  he  said.  'Sir  I  would  not  have  had  it  done  for 
fifty  Spanish  milled  dollars !'  I  had  seventy-five  cents  in  my 
pocket,  at  that  time  called  four-and-sixpence,  and  had  some 
idea  of  offering  it  to  the  owner  of  the  premises  as  an  equivalent 
for  the  damage  I  had  done,  but,  when  I  heard  about  the  fifty 
Spanish  milled  dollars,  I  was  afraid  of  insulting  him  by  offer- 
ing the  meagre  atonement  of  seventy-five  cents.  I  wished  very 
much  to  get  away  from  him,  but  thought  it  rude  to  withdraw 
abruptly  without  knowing  whether  he  was  done  with  me. 
'Did  you  want  this  for  a  cane?'  'No,  Sir.'  'No,  you  are  not 
old  enough  to  need  a  cane.  Did  you  want  it  for  any  particular 
purpose?'  'No,  Sir,  I  only  saw  it  was  a  pretty  stick,  and 
thought  I'd  cut  it.'  'We  can  be  justified  in  taking  animal  life, 
only  to  furnish  us  food,  or  to  remove  some  hurtful  object  out  of 
the  way.  We  cannot  be  justified  in  taking  even  vegetable  life 
without  having  some  useful  object  in  view.'  He  then  quoted 
the  following  lines  from  Cowper : 

"'I  would  not  enter  on  my  list  of  friends, 

Tho'  graced  with  polished  manners  and  fine  sense, 
Yet  wanting  sensibility,  the  man 
Who  needlessly  sets  foot  upon  a  worm.' 

'Now  God  Almighty  planted  this  thing,  and  you  have  killed 
it  without  any  adequate  object.  It  would  have  grown  to  a 
large  nut-tree,  in  whose  boughs  numerous  squirrels  would  have 
gambolled  and  feasted  on  its  fruit.     Those  squirrels  in  their 


456         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

turn  might  have  furnished  food  for  some  human  beings. '  Here 
he  made  a  pause,  but  looked  as  if  he  had  something  more  to 
say;  yet  only  added,  'I  hope  and  believe,  Sir,  you  will  never  do 
the  like  again.'  'Never,  Sir,  never!'  He  got  up  and  put 
the  stick  in  a  corner,  and  I  made  my  escape  to  Tudor  in  an 
adjacent  room,  where  he  had  remained  an  invisible  but  sym- 
pathizing auditor  of  this  protracted  rebuke.  It  was  sometime 
before  I  could  cut  a  switch  or  a  fishing  rod  without  feeling 
that  I  was  doing  some  sort  of  violence  to  the  economy  of  the 
Vegetable  Kingdom."1 

In  his  John  Randolph,  Henry  Adams  says  sarcastically 
that  he  refrains  from  inquiring  too  deeply  what  the  children 
of  Charlotte  County  would  have  said  to  a  suggestion  of 
climbing  Randolph's  knee2;  a  remark  brought  out  by  a 
sentence  in  Randolph's  speech  in  the  House,  in  1828,  on 
Retrenchment  and  Reform  which  related  to  his  proposed 
retirement :  ' '  The  very  children  will  climb  around  my  knees 
to  welcome  me. "  The  sneer  is  a  wanton  one.  When  Ran- 
dolph said  that  he  believed  that  there  was  no  man  in  the 
world  so  fond  of  children  as  he  was,  he  had  some  color  of 
right  to  make  the  assertion.  There  are  homes  in  South- 
side  Virginia  today,  such  as  that  of  Mrs.  J.  Spooner  Epes, 
of  Petersburg,  a  descendant  of  Edward  Booker  and  of  the 
Gaineses,  of  Mossingford,  in  Charlotte  County,  who  are 
descendants  of  Wm.  M.  Watkins,  in  which  Randolph's 
love  of  children  has  been  handed  down  as  an  unbroken 
tradition.3  "Do  not  let  Edward  forget  me, "  is  one  mes- 
sage that  he  sends  to  Nicholson  about  his  son,  Edward 4 ;  and, 
some  three  years  afterwards,  he  writes  again  to  Nicholson : 
"Do  not  let  Edward  forget  'Rannie. '  "s  And,  when  in 
due  season,  Edward  enjoyed  the  companionship  of  a  little 
sister,  Randolph  did  not  forget  her  either  in  his  letters  to 

1  Bouldin,  78. 

2  P.  295. 

3  Letter  from  Elizabeth  Booker  Epes  to  the  author,  Sept.  9,  19 18. 

4  Bizarre,  July  1,  1804,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong, 
s  Bizarre,  Sept.  27,  1806,  Id. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  457 

Nicholson.1     In  another  letter  to  Nicholson,  he  refers  to 
the  Nicholson  children  as  "the  papooses. " 

1  It  would  delight  me  very  much  to  spend  a  few  weeks  with 
you,"  he  once  wrote  to  Francis  Scott  Key.  "I  would  even 
try  to  be  an  usher  in  your  school.  [Mr.  Key  was  teaching  his 
own  children.]  At  least  I  could  teach  your  younger  children 
to  read.     Give  my  love  to  them  all  and  to  their  mother." 2 

After  dining  on  one  occasion  with  the  dignified  and 
elegant  Mrs.  Bell,  he  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley:  "I  dined 
there  a  few  days  ago  and  have  quite  overcome  the  coyness 
of  little  Mary  Anne,  who  says,  'I  love  Mr.  Randolph."'3 
Mrs.  Joseph  M.  Daniel,  of  Charlotte  County,  used  to  tell 
how  highly  gratified  he  was  when  he  was  on  a  visit  to  her 
house,  and  one  of  her  little  girls  went  into  her  garden,  and 
culled  a  bouquet  of  beautiful  flowers,  and  presented  them 
to  him.  "She  had  chosen  the  old  man  for  her  valentine, " 
he  declared,  and,  the  next  time  he  visited  Mrs.  Daniel,  he 
brought  the  little  girl  some  fruit,  saying  gracefully,  as  he 
placed  it  in  her  hands :  * '  Flowers  produce  fruit. ' '  A  little 
later,  when  a  member  of  the  Daniel  family  visited  Roa- 
noke, he  found  that  the  flowers  had  been  preserved  in  water 
on  Randolph's  centre  table.4  In  one  of  his  letters  to 
"Master  Joseph  A.  Clay, "  the  brother  of  John  Randolph 
Clay,  Randolph  sends  his  love  to  "dear  little  Anna,"  the 
sister  of  the  Clays.  Repeatedly,  in  his  correspondence 
with  his  niece,  he  sends  gentle  messages  to  her  little  sister, 
whose  shyness  he  was  determined  to  overcome,  as  he  had 
overcome  that  of  Mary  Anne  Bell.  "Let  the  taciturn 
little  Anne  make  up  for  me  a  bulletin  of  your  health  every 
other  day  and  send  it  to  town  for  the  postman,  and,  by  this 
means,  she  will  break  the  ice  of  her  reserve,  I  hope, "  is  one 

1  Bizarre,  Aug.  27,  1804,  Id. 

2  Garland,  v.  2,  95. 

3  Richm.,  Mar.  20, 1814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  156. 

4  Bouldin,  75. 


458         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

of  his  injunctions  to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter.  And,  later  in 
the  same  letter,  he  adds :  ' '  It  we  were  together,  Anne  could 
read  to  us;  you  would  walk  about  the  room,  a  ad  I  should 
now  and  then  throw  in  a  word  which  should  produce  a  fol- 
lowing of  suit  from  you  both.  God  bless  you  both !  This 
is  no  senseless  or  insincere  ejaculation."1  But  the  ice 
finally  gave  way,  we  know,  because  six  months  later  he 
wrote  to  his  niece:  "Dear  little  Anne,  I  return  her  love 
most  sincerely  and,  if  I  were  near  enough,  you  and  she  and 
mammy  [Mammy  Aggy]  should  be  my  almost  inseparable 
companions."2  In  a  letter  to  Nicholson,  he  asks  him  to 
present  his  compliments  to  a  Mr.  Cooke  and  his  good 
family  not  forgetting  Miss  Susan,  to  whom  he  dared  send 
his  best  love.  "Tell  them, "  he  further  said  in  this  letter, 
"that  Sophia  attracted  all  eyes  and  many  hearts  at  the 
British  Envoy's  fete,  where  she  danced  like  a  sylph."3  (a) 

Randolph  spoke  but  the  truth  when  he  said  on  one 
occasion  that  to  love  and  be  loved  was  a  necessity  of  his 
nature. 

At  one  time  or  another,  he  took  under  his  affectionate 
patronage  at  Roanoke  no  less  than  four  different  lads : 
Carter  Coupland,  a  grandson  of  his  friend,  Mrs.  Tabb, 
John  Randolph  Clay,  the  son  of  his  friend,  Joseph  Clay, 
of  Philadelphia,  and  John  Randolph  Bryan  and  Thomas 
F.  Bryan,  the  sons  of  his  friend,  Joseph  Bryan.  In  1811, 
he  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley :"  Carter  Coupland  became 
a  member  of  my  family  a  few  days  since.  Some  society 
was  indispensable  to  me  and  he  is  a  well-disposed  boy,  who, 
I  trust,  will  relieve  in  some  degree  my  uncomfortable 
situation. " 4  In  the  same  year,  Carter  was  taken  sick  at 
Roanoke,  and  he  had  made  such  a  favorable  impression 
upon  Randolph  that  the  latter  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley 

1  Feb.  18,  1822,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

2  Dec.  29,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Georgetown,  Jan  22.  1812,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

4  Roanoke,  Aug.  12,  181 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.R.,  97. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  459 

that  he  felt  that  he  was  too  strongly  bound  to  him  by  his 
kind  attentions  to  himself  and  family  to  think  of  leaving 
him  under  such  circumstances. x 

When  he  learnt  that  Joseph  Clay  had  died,  leaving 
John  Randolph  Clay  and  other  children  behind  him,  he 
wrote  at  once  to  Theodore  Dudley,  who  was  then  in  Phila- 
delphia: "I  consider  Randolph  as  my  son"2;  and,  as  his 
son,  Randolph  treated  him  from  that  time  on,  taking 
him  under  his  roof  at  Roanoke  in  1815;  educating  him  at 
Ararat  and  Mr.  Kilpatrick's  school  in  Halifax  County; 
appointing  him  Secretary  of  Legation  at  St.  Petersburg, 
and  opening  up  to  him  the  diplomatic  career,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  became  charge  d'Affaires  at  that  court,  and 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to 
Peru.3  At  times,  when  Randolph  was  in  London,  after 
leaving  St.  Petersburg,  he  made  some  querulous  com- 
plaints to  Clay  about  the  u careless  and  slovenly"  manner 
in  which  Clay  "put  up"  his  letters  to  him  and  the  like4; 
but  the  affectionate  relations  between  the  two  really 
lasted  until  Randolph's  death,  and,  among  the  most 
sensible  letters  known  to  us,  are  some  that  Judge  Leigh, 
who  had  become  a  sort  of  third  father  to  Clay,  wrote  to 
him  in  regard  to  the  obligations  of  gratitude  and  deference 
that  he  owed  to  Randolph.5  Clay  was  little  more  than 
a  youth,  when  he  accompanied  Randolph  to  Russia,  and 
the  barbaric  splendor  of  its  "mighty  monarch,"  as  Clay 
once  termed  the  Czar,  and  the  pompous  ceremonial  of  its 
court  threatened  to  turn  his  head  at  one  time,6  but  he 
appears  to  have  acquitted  himself  very  well  on  the  whole 
in  the  discharge  of  the  responsibilities  imposed  on  him  by 
Randolph's  departure  from  St.  Petersburg;  and  his  sub- 

1  Roanoke,  Oct.  20,  181 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  in. 

2  Roanoke,  Sept.  8,  1811,  Id.,  102. 

3  Works  of  Jas.  Buchanan,  ed.  by  Jno.  Bassett  Moore,  v.  2,  193  (note  2). 

4  E.g.  London,  Jan.  15,  1831,  Clay  Papers,  Libr.  Cong. 

5  Halifax,  Mar.  10,  &  Aug.  10,  1833,  Id. 

<>  J.  R.  Clay  to  Richm.  Enq.,  Jan.  17, 1831,  Clay  Papers,  Libr.  Cong. 


460         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

sequent  career  appears  to  have  been  such  as  to  justify  the 
care  that  Randolph  had  bestowed  upon  him. 

When  Randolph  took  a  boy  under  his  patronage,  the 
process  was  so  much  like  that  of  complete  adoption  that 
the  mother  could  not  always  refrain  from  exhibiting  a 
little  jealousy,  and  there  are  letters  extant  from  Randolph 
to  Clay's  mother  which  must  have  been  a  severe  test  of 
her  patience,  unless  she  was  constituted  very  differently 
from  most  fatuous  parents.  In  one  letter,  he  told  her 
that  he  had  just  seen  his  little  namesake  at  school  and 
that,  after  being  somewhat  laughed  at  by  his  school- 
fellows for  his  helplessness  and  effeminacy,  he  was  now 
as  manly  and  as  hardy  as  the  best  of  them. l  In  another 
letter,  written  to  Mrs.  Clay  some  three  years  later,  when 
he  was  sending  the  lad  home  to  Philadelphia  to  see  her, 
he  expressed  himself  in  terms  of  such  candor  that  her 
feelings  must  have  been  decidedly  mixed.  The  magis- 
terial tone  of  the  letter,  however,  can  readily  be  forgotten 
when  the  parental  oversight  and  affection,  of  which  John 
Randolph  Clay  had  been  the  recipient  at  Roanoke,  and 
the  final  success  of  the  discipline,  to  which  he  had  been 
subjected,  are  duly  borne  in  mind.  This  is  what  Ran- 
dolph said: 

"You  will  find  him,  Madam,  less  improved  in  knowledge  of 
books  than  he  probably  would  have  been,  had  he  remained 
in  Philadelphia.  The  cause  of  his  slow  progress  is  to  be  found 
in  his  indolence  and  preference  of  play  to  work,  natural  to 
children  of  his  age  and  which  fear  of  the  rod  or  desire  to  excel 
can  alone  overcome.  When  he  shall  feel  the  disposition  to 
learn,  from  either  of  these  causes,  he  willmake  no  slow  progress, 
his  natural  capacity  being  above  mediocrity.  But,  if  he  has 
not  been  taught  book-learning,  he  has  gained  a  much  more 
valuable  knowledge  and,  in  place  of  some  bad  habits  (if  a  child 
of  his  age,  when  he  came  to  live  with  me,  can  be  said  to  have 
had  any  habits) ,  which  I  trust  he  has  laid  aside  forever,  he  has 

2  Georgetown,  Dec.  13,  1816,  Clay  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  461 

acquired,  I  hope,  some  good  ones.  The  Persian  youth  in  the 
days  of  Cyrus,  when  they  were  feared  for  their  prowess  and 
respected  for  their  virtues,  were  taught  to  shoot  the  bow  and  to 
ride  on  horseback  with  skill,  but  above  all,  to  speak  the  Truth — 
which  it  is  as  necessary  to  teach  as  Greek  or  Mathematics; 
or,  ten  chances  to  one,  it  will  never  be  learned.  On  this 
subject,  I  think  it  my  solemn  and  bounden  duty  to  tell  you  that 
I  have  had  much  trouble  with  your  son;  I  hope  I  have  eradi- 
cated his  propensity  to  fibbing.  To  do  this,  I  imposed  on  him 
an  almost  Pythagorean  silence.  Great  praters  have  a  tempta- 
tion, hardly  resistible,  to  exaggeration  and  falsehood,  and  the 
first  thing  necessary  for  a  child  to  be  taught,  after  he  has. 
learned  to  talk,  is  to  hold  his  tongue  and  not  obtrude  upon  his 
seniors  and  betters  the  pert  and  crude  effusions  of  his  mind. 
On  this  subject,  let  me  entreat  you  to  have  an  eye  to  the 
smallest  germination  of  deceit  or  falsehood,  dissimulation  or 
simulation,  and,  as  you  value  your  sons'  respectability  in  this 
world  or  welfare  in  the  world  to  come,  to  punish  it  exemplarily. 
Let  not  the  hand  of  Dr.  Physick  be  stayed  by  a  false  humanity 
from  eradicating,  whilst  yet  it  may  be  done,  a  cancerous  or 
schirrous  tumour.  Let  the  knife  and  the  cautery,  potential  or 
actual,  be  fearlessly  used,  where  the  art  of  Surgery  shall  indi- 
cate their  application.  I  sincerely  hope  you  will  find  no  occa- 
sion for  them.  The  boy  is  a  fine  boy  and  has  long  seemed 
sensible,  when  I  have  talked  with  him,  of  the  folly  as  well  as 
wickedness  of  untruth. 

"2.  He  has  been  taught  to  obey,  promptly,  unhesitatingly. 
To  preserve  this  invaluable  habit,  the  spirit  of  command  must 
be  exercised  over  him;  it  must,  otherwise,  be  lost. 

"3.  He  has  been  taught  to  rise  early  and  to  be  temperate  in 
his  meats  and  drink.  Milk  has  been  substituted  for  that 
enervating  diet  drink,  miscalled  Tea.  Let  him  not  destroy  his 
stomach  by  recurring  to  its  habitual  use.  If  milk  is  not  to  be 
had,  give  him  water,  cream  and  sugar,  but  let  it  be  drunk  cold. 

"3.  (sic)  All  his  effeminate  habits  of  flannels,  nightdresses 
&c :  were  laid  aside  from  the  commencement  of  the  summer  of 
181 5.  His  constitution  has  been  toughened  and  hardened  by 
habits  of  exercise  in  the  open  air.  Let  them  not  be  substituted 
by  warm  parlors,  a  bed  chamber  with  a  fire  in  it,  curtains  and 


462         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

sedentary  habits,  which  must  render  him  a  burthen  to  himself 
and  to  others,  and  probably  open  for  him  a  premature  grave. 
What  is  all  the  learning  in  the  world  to  him  who  has  not 
strength  to  use  it?  It  is  armour  that  he  cannot  wield — the 
weight  of  which  crushes  instead  of  defending  him. 

"4.  He  has  been  instructed  in  the  great  and  peculiar  Truths 
of  Religion.  The  depravity  of  man — the  prepenseness  of  his 
heart  to  idols,  not  carved  images,  indeed,  like  that  of  Jugger- 
naut, but  as  soul-destroying;  the  creatures  of  Ambition, 
Avarice,  Pride,  Vanity  and  Sensuality,  'Hatred  and  Envy  and 
Malice  and  all  Uncharitableness  from  the  which,  in  all  time  of 
our  prosperity  as  well  as  of  our  Tribulation,  Good  Lord! 
deliver  us,  Amen.' 

"I  have  thus,  my  dear  Madam,  given  you  the  undisguised 
sentiments  of  a  sincere  and  therefore  plain  (perhaps  too  blunt) 
friend  of  your  son.  An  obstinate  constitutional  preference  of 
the  true  over  the  agreeable  has  thro  life  proved  a  bar  to  my 
success  (as  'tis  called)  in  the  world.  I  am  satisfied  to  have 
told  the  truth  and  to  have  done  my  duty;  and  to  the  good 
Providence  of  God  I  leave  the  result ;  to  him  who  will  overrule 
and  set  at  naught  the  councils  of  the  children  of  this  world, 
who  are  wiser  in  their  generation  than  the  Children  of  Light. 
Congratulating  you  all  on  the  meeting,  I  am,  Madam."1 

After  leaving  school,  John  Randolph  Clay  thought  of 
practicing  law  in  Virginia,  and  several  letters  from  Ran- 
dolph to  him  bear  upon  this  topic.  On  one  occasion, 
Clay  asked  Randolph's  advice  in  this  connection,  and  he 
received  the  following  reply.  It  suggests  the  idea  that 
Randolph  did  not  think  that  the  young  man  was  as  labori- 
ous as  he  might  have  been: 

"You  ask  my  advice.  I  have  a  poor  opinion  of  its  efficacy. 
Let  me  point  out  to  you  the  example  of  Mr.  L.  and  also  of  Mr. 
J.  Marshall  of  Charlotte  C.  H.,  who  has  succeeded  by  dint  of 
sheer  labour,  without  Mr.  Leigh's  abilities.  If  you  are  not 
impressed  with  the  indispensable  necessity  of  industry,  words 
from  me  will  never  make  the  impression.     'Idleness  is  the 

1  Baltimore,  Mar.  14,  1820,  Clay  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong, 


Randolph  as  a  Man  463 

mother  of  all  Vice'  says  the  proverb ;  but  Laziness  is  the  father 
of  Idleness.  There  is  no  recipe  for  making  a  lazy  man  work. 
He  will  see  his  family  want;  he  will  want  himself — he  will 
borrow,  beg,  or  steal;  but  work  he  will  not.  I  have  lived 
long  enough  to  know  that  it  is  folly  in  the  extreme  to  under- 
take to  regulate  the  conduct  of  others.  The  motive  must  be 
within  and  not  without.  There  must  be  an  inherent  love  of 
eventual  profit  over  present  gratification,  without  which  the 
greatest  abilities  are  a  curse  rather  than  an  advantage  to  their 
possessor."1 

Indeed,  there  are  indications  in  a  previous  letter  from 
Randolph  to  John  Randolph  Clay  that  Randolph  deemed 
his  protege  a  little  slow  in  taking  up  the  task  of  earning  a 
livelihood. 

"Has  the  example  of  Peyton  Berkeley,"  he  said,  "no  effect 
upon  you  ?  See  that  young  gentleman  teaching  school  rather 
than  burthen  his  parent,  although  his  father  has  a  large  landed 
estate.  If  I  were  in  your  place,  I  would  propose  to  Mr.  Leigh 
to  teach  his  little  girls  at  vacant  hours."2 

The  two  Bryan  lads  became  inmates  of  Roanoke  in 
18 1 6,  and  left  it  for  their  home  in  Georgia  in  1820;  and 
during  their  residence  at  Roanoke  they  were  pupils,  first 
at  Ararat,  and  then  at  Mr.  Kilpatrick's  school,  in  Halifax 
County.  When  they  left  Roanoke,  Randolph  purchased 
a  vehicle  for  them  at  Petersburg,  supplied  them  with  a 
horse  from  his  own  stable  to  match  another  that  had  been 
purchased  for  them,  accompanied  them  as  far  as  North 
Carolina  on  their  homeward  journey,  and,  on  leaving 
them,  placed  them  under  the  care  of  Quashee,  one  of  his 
most  experienced  drivers,  who  drove  them  all  the  way  to 
Savannah.  He  had  grown  so  attached  to  the  boys  that 
it  must  have  cost  him  a  severe  struggle  to  part  with  them ; 
but  who  could  have  resisted  such  an  appeal  as  this  from 

'Washington,  Dec.  16,  1827,  Clay  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 
3  May  17,  1826,  Id. 


464         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

their  mother,  who  had  evidently  begun  to  feel  that,  if 
they  were  detained  much  longer  at  Roanoke,  they  might 
become  weaned  from  their  blood  relations : 

"1  begin  to  long  to  embrace  my  children,  and  they,  I  am  sure 
must  wish  to  see  their  mother,  sisters  and  brother.  A  longer 
separation  cannot,  I  think,  be  of  any  material  advantage  to 
them;  on  the  contrary,  those  charming  feelings,  that  should 
ever  be  kept  alive  in  a  family,  may  in  their  infant  minds  be 
forever  lost,  if  much  longer  absent  from  their  nearer  and  dearer 
ties.  If  the  estate  and  myself  are  successful  in  our  crops,  I 
wish  the  boys  to  spend  next  winter  with  me,  provided  it  meets 
your  approbation." 

In  this  same  letter,  Delia  Bryan  spoke  of  a  third  son 
of  hers — Joseph — as  a  noble-hearted  boy,  and  a  little 
tactlessly  added  that  he  loved  her  with  all  the  ardor  that 
her  son  Randolph  once  did.1  The  letter  wounded  Ran- 
dolph's feelings,  but  we  can  hardly  regret  the  fact  when 
we  find  that  it  drew  from  her  this  second  letter,  which  is 
another  testimonial  to  the  nobler  side  of  Randolph's  nature. 

"  It  is  with  feelings  of  the  truest  grief  that  I  now  address  you. 
That  I  should  for  a  moment  give  you  pain  by  an  involuntary 
expression,  is  real  agony  to  think  of.  Believe  me,  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph, that  my  heart  never  in  its  right  mood  accus'd  you  of 
anything  that  could  voluntarily  take  from  my  five  joys.  In  my 
reflecting  moments,  I  have  severely  reprimanded  myself  for  the 
involuntary  expression,  and  fear'd  that  you  would  feel  in  its  full 
extent  that  which  I  never  intended  should  have  so  much  force. 

"I  can  scarcely  bear  to  offer  an  apology  for  myself,  and  yet ! 
if  you  will  reflect  that  I  have  for  many,  many  months  been 
wishing  my  sons  to  visit  me,  and  that  you  yourself  desir'd  it, 
you  will  make  some  allowance  for  my  feelings  when  I  received 
Randolph's  letter.  To  say  more  on  this  mortifying  subject 
is  I  hope  unnecessary.  I  have  ever  view'd  you  as  my  first  and 
best  friend,  and,  for  worlds,  I  would  not  think  otherwise. 
Suffer  me  to  hope  that  you  will  ever  continue  to  me  and  the 

1  Nonchalance,  Apr.  23,  18 19,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  465 

children  of  your  Friend  that  kindness  and  interest  which  I 
have  ever  been  proud  to  boast  of.  Let  us,  J  beg  you,  hear 
from  you  as  often  as  you  may  find  it  agreeable  to  write,  and 
believe  that  you  will  ever  find  in  me  and  my  children  sincere 
and  warm  friends.  My  father  and  his  excellent  wife  have 
been  anticipating  the  arrival  of  my  sons  at  Rose  Hill  [on  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland]  for  the  same  length  of  time  nearly 
that  I  have,  and  their  reception  there  will  be  of  the  tenderest 
and  most  gratifying  nature  to  me.  How  long  they  will  remain, 
I  know  not.  As  you  have  not  drawn  on  Major  Screven  for  the 
money  we  are  so  desirous  you  should  receive,  he  says  he  will 
try  to  send  rice  on  to  Baltimore,  and  by  that  means  procure 
a  sufficient  sum  for  you.  Indeed,  I  fear  my  boys  have  been 
a  very  great  expense  to  you."1 

As  to  the  two  Bryans,  when  they  were  at  Roanoke,  they 
formed  a  devoted  attachment  to  Randolph  which  never 
ceased,  except  with  their  lives.  Writing  to  his  brother, 
John  Randolph,  from  St.  Mary's  College,  in  1827,  Tom 
Bryan  [T.  M.  P.]  said: 

"  Perhaps  there  is  no  place  with  which  I  am  better  acquainted 
than  with  Roanoke,  and  I  may  say  that  there  is  but  one  place 
for  whichl  feel  more  sincere  attachment.  Clay,  you  say,  is 
very  little  changed,  and  that  Mr  Randolph  is  the  same  that  he 
always  was  to  us.  How  could  he  change!  A  man  having 
such  a  soul  as  John  Randolph  has  but  one  face  for  his  friends. 
I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  that  he  is  better  than  he  has  been; 
perhaps  your  visit  may  have  had  the  effect  of  reviving  him.  I 
remember  when  I  went  to  see  him  in  Washington  in  1826, 
seeing  me  had  a  very  marked  effect  upon  his  health.  He 
shows  his  joy  at  seeing  a  friend  he  loves."2 

Then,  after  quoting  an  extract  from  a  letter  which  he 
had  just  received  from  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  Tom 
continues:  " Brother  Randolph,  I  don't  know  but  I  feel  a 
kind  of  reverence  and  love  for  that  man. " 

1  Nonchalance,  Dec.  6,  18 19,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Oct.  16,  1827,  Bryan  MSS. 

VOL.  II. — 30 


466         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

These  feelings  were  fully  shared  by  John  Randolph 
Bryan ;  and,  to  realize  how  fully,  one  has  but  to  turn  to  the 
communications  in  which,  many  years  after  the  death  of 
Randolph,  he  roundly  denounced  the  parts  of  Bouldin's 
Home  Reminiscences  of  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  which 
were  derogatory  to  his  god-father.  "My  first  meeting 
with  Mr.  Randolph,"  he  said  in  one  of  them,  "was  in 
Baltimore  in  1816,  and  I  can  never  forget  the  sweet  way 
he  met  my  brother  and  self.  " s  In  the  same  letter,  he  said 
that  John  Randolph  Clay,  Thomas  Bryan,  and  he  were 
treated  by  Randolph  as  if  they  were  his  children,  and  that 
one  or  the  other  of  them  often  slept  in  the  same  bed  with 
him,  and  that,  when  Randolph  was  absent  from  them,  he 
often  wrote  to  them.  "He  took  an  interest  in  their  man- 
ners, language  [and]  reading,"  he  declared,  "and  made 
them  say  their  prayers  and  often  read  to  them."2  In 
another  place,  in  the  same  letter,  Bryan  says:  "In  his 
intercourse  with  us  boys,  the  sweetness  of  his  manner  and 
considerateness  to  our  blunders  and  awkwardness  was 
truly  parental."3  Even  after  the  Bryans  had  returned 
to  their  home  in  Georgia,  Randolph's  affectionate  interest 
in  them  underwent  no  change. 

"I  was  with  him  in  New  York  in  1823,"  John  Randolph 
Bryan  further  says,  "and  the  following  year  he  took  the 
trouble,  when  I  was  a  Midshipman,  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Pea- 
cock in  Hampton  Roads  to  see  me.  On  my  return  from  sea  in 
1 827, 1  stayed  a  month  with  him  at  his  home.  Returning  from 
sea  again,  I  received  great  kindness  in  1829  during  the  Virginia 
Convention.  He  treated  me  as  a  son,  and  on  an  occasion, 
when  Mr.  Wickham  had  all  the  prominent  members  of  that 
illustrious  body,  who  composed  that  Convention,  to  dine 
with  him  (such  as  Madison,  Monroe,  Giles,  Barbour,  Chief 
Justice  Marshall,  Leigh,  &c),  he  took  me  with  him  to  the 

1  Letter  to  Mr.  Robertson,  Mar.  27,  1878,  Bryan  MSS 

2  Ibid. 

3  Ibid. 


JOHN    RANDOLPH    BRYAN,   JOHN    RANDOLPH'S   GODSON 

From  the  original  painted  for  John  Randolph,  and  now  owned  by  John  Stewart  Bryan 

of  Richmond,  Va. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  467 

dinner  and  gave  me  an  opportunity,  never  to  be  forgotten, 
or  repeated,  to  see  those  gentlemen."1 

Even  when  the  Bryans  were  at  school  in  Prince  Edward 
County  or  Halifax  County,  they  were  frequently  at 
Roanoke  on  Saturdays  or  holidays ;  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  S. 
Lacy,  in  his  Early  Recollections  of  John  Randolph,  has 
much  to  say  about  Randolph's  visits  to  Ararat  when  John 
Randolph  Clay  and  the  Bryans  were  pupils  there  under 
the  care  of  the  writer,  who  published  his  reminiscences 
anonymously,  and  wrote  as  if  he  had  been  merely  a  pupil 
at  the  school. 

"  It  was  Mr.  Lacy's  [the  writer's]  custom  to  hear  his  boys  re- 
cite their  Latin  and  Greek  grammar  lessons  before  breakfast," 
the  author  of  these  recollections  informs  us,  "and  I  have  known 
Mr.  Randolph,  more  than  once,  to  come  from  Bizarre,  and 
enter  the  schoolhouse  by  sun-up.  At  9  o'clock,  the  school 
was  formally  opened,  when  all  the  boys  read  verses  about  in  the 
Bible,  until  the  chapter  or  portion  was  finished.  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph always  seemed  highly  pleased  with  this  exercise,  read 
his  verse  in  turn,  and,  with  Mr.  Lacy,  would  sometimes  ask 
questions.  On  one  occasion,  while  reading  one  of  the  books  of 
the  Pentateuch,  he  stopped  a  lad  with  the  question:  'Tom 
Miller,  can  you  tell  me  who  was  Moses'  father?'  'Jethro, 
Sir,'  was  the  prompt  answer.  'Why,  you  little  dog,  Jethro 
was  his  father-in-law.'  Then,  putting  the  question  to  four 
or  five  others  by  name,  not  one  of  whom  could  answer,  he 
berated  them  soundly  for  their  carelessness  and  inattention  in 
reading,  saying:  'When  you  were  reading  last  week,  William 
Cook  read  the  verse  containing  the  name  of  Moses'  father, 
and  have  you  all  forgotten  it  already  ?'  Just  then  a  young  man 
caught  the  name,  and,  unable  to  repeat  the  verse  of  the  Bible, 
repeated  a  part  of  a  line  from  Milton — 

'"The  potent  rod  of  Amram's  son,  &c.'! 

'Ah,'  said  Mr.  Randolph,  'that  is  the  way  you  learn  your  Bible 
— get  it  out  of  other  books — what  little  you  know  of  it' — and, 
1  Ibid. 


468         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

with  an  exceedingly  solemn  manner  and  tone,  added,  'And  so  it 
is  with  us  all,  and  a  terrible  proof  of  our  deep  depravity  it  is, 
that  we  can  relish  and  remember  anything  better  than  THE 
BOOK.'  The  very  utterance,  simple  as  it  was,  filled  every  one 
with  awe,  and  made  him  feel  guilty,  whilst  at  the  same  time  it 
imparted  a  reverence  for  the  Bible  which  was  never  felt  before, 
and  which  from  one  mind,  at  least,  never  will  be  effaced.  Mr. 
Randolph  was  so  pleased,  however,  with  the  young  man  who 
quoted  from  his  favorite  author,  that  in  a  short  time,  as  soon 
perhaps  as  he  could  get  it  from  Richmond,  he  presented  him 
with  a  beautiful  copy  of  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  with  a  suitable 
inscription  in  his  own  elegant  handwriting. 

"Another  of  the  customs  in  the  school  at  Ararat  was  to  re- 
view every  Friday  forenoon  the  studies  of  the  preceding  days, 
and  spend  the  afternoon  in  spelling,  in  which  the  whole  school 
took  part,  in  reading  select  passages  from  the  Bible,  the 
Spectator,  Shakespeare  or  Milton,  and  in  declamation.  The 
first  exercise,  spelling,  afforded  great  amusement  occasionally. 
Mr.  Randolph  would  always  take  the  foot,  and  usually  got  to 
the  head  pretty  soon,  when  he  would  leave  the  circle  and  take 
his  seat.  On  one  or  two  occasions,  however,  he  was  kept  at  the 
foot  until  the  exercise  was  closed,  much  to  the  gratification  of 
some  of  the  smaller  lads  who  had  been  stimulated  to  prepare 
the  two  columns  of  the  Dictionary  (Walker's)  with  perfect  ac- 
curacy. 

"In  reading  too,  he  would  take  his  turn,  and,  after  a  trial 
of  a  given  selection  had  been  made  by  two  or  three  boys,  he 
would  take  the  book  and  show  them  how  it  ought  to  be  read. 
Mr.  Randolph  was  wonderfully  gifted  by  nature  with  an  ear 
that  could  detect  the  slightest  shades  of  tone,  with  a  voice  that 
was  music  itself,  and  with  a  taste  that  was  as  faultless  as  I  can 
conceive.  The  modulations  and  intonations  of  his  voice,  the 
pause,  the  accent,  emphasis,  were  altogether  wonderful.  I 
have  felt  it  myself,  and  have  seen  other  boys  who,  when  he  was 
reading,  actually  seemed  to  doubt  if  it  was  the  same  piece 
they  had  read  but  a  few  minutes  before.  Indeed,  his  reading 
seemed  to  shed  a  flood  of  light  over  the  passage,  and  give  to  it 
a  meaning  which  had  never  occurred  to  you  before.  I  love 
music,  and  love  it  dearly — far  too  much  for  my  good  I  some- 


Randolph  as  a  Man  469 

times  fear;  but,  if  the  choice  were  given  me  to  attend  the  best 
arranged  musical  festival  this  country  could  get  up,  or  to  hear 
Mr.  Randolph  read  an  hour  from  the  Bible  and  Shakespeare, 
it  would  not  take  a  second  to  decide.  As  to  declamation,  he 
never  seemed  to  take  much  interest  in  it;  holding  to  the  belief 
that  a  man  or  boy,  if  he  had  anything  to  say,  could  say  it.  He 
used  to  quote  to  Mr  Lacy  on  this  subject  a  couplet  from 
Hudibras: 

'"All  a  rhetorician's  rules 

Teach  him  but  to  name  his  tools/ 

And  nothing  but  his  profound  reverence  for  old  customs, 
Antiquity,  as  I  have  often  thought,  could  induce  him  to  tolerate 
the  practice  of  declamation  in  schools.  I  never  knew  him,  in  a 
single  instance,  to  show  how  this  ought  to  be  done.  Once, 
when  a  little  fellow,  intending  to  place  his  hand  on  his  heart, 
put  it  too  low  down,  Mr.  Randolph  gave  a  hearty  laugh,  suiting 
a  remark  to  the  gesture. 

"During  recess  or  playtime,  as  we  used  to  call  it,  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph would  sometimes  take  part  in  the  sport  of  the  boys,  and 
engage  in  them  with  the  greatest  interest.  The  games,  then 
most  common,  were  bandy,  chumney,  cat  and  marbles,  with  all 
its  variations  of  long  taw,  short  taw,  and  knucks.  I  know 
Congressmen,  now-a-days,  who  would  think  it  beneath  their 
dignity  to  play  marbles,  though  some  of  them  are  men,  'whose 
fathers'  Mr.  Randolph  'would  have  disdained  to  set  with  the 
dogs  of  his  flocks.'  But  I  have  played  marbles  with  him  and 
Judge  Tucker  many  a  time,  and  have  had  my  knucks  stung 
badly,  too,  by  both  of  them. 

"Usually  he  was  very  cheerful  and  communicative,  and  at 
dinner  told  many  interesting  anecdotes  of  George  Mason, 
Edmund  Pendleton,  Patrick  Henry,  Nathaniel  Macon,  John 
Marshall  and  other  celebrities ;  or  would  talk  about  his  visit  to 
England,  describing  the  parks  and  dwellings  of  such  and-  such 
noblemen  with  a  particularity  of  detail  that  always  deepened 
the  interest,  especially  when  he  came  to  the  stud  of  horses  or 
the  kennel  of  fox-hounds;  his  visit  to  Oxford  with  its  city  of 
colleges,  his  dining  with  one  Professor,  taking  breakfast  with 
another,  and  telling  all  about  what  was  on  the  table ;  how  the 


47°         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

servants  dressed,  the  different  kinds  of  gowns  and  caps  of  the 
masters  and  students  in  the  different  colleges ;  his  purchasing 
his  famous  horse,  Gascoigne,  from  a  nobleman  of  the  same 
name,  for  one  hundred  English  guineas,  when  he  was  only  a 
'yearling  last  grass.'  On  another  day,  he  would  tell  the  boys 
at  the  table — for  in  good  old  times  we  always  sat  an  hour  at 
table,  whether  we  had  finished  eating  or  not — of  some  wonder- 
ful feat  of  his  own,  in  walking  so  many  miles  when  but  seven- 
teen years  of  age;  or,  in  later  years,  how  many  partridges  he 
had  bagged  in  such  a  hunt,  beating  Blake  Woodson,  a  famous 
shot,  and  old  Charner,  his  brother,  beating  Mr.  Eggleston,  and 
old  William  Randolph,  John  Miller,  Theodore  Dudley,  both 
the  Trents;  and,  becoming  animated,  he  would  say:  'Yes 
boys,  and  I  beat  black  David  Copeland  all  hollow — beat 
him  blacker  than  he  is — killed  two  birds  to  his  one.'  Those 
were  glorious  times  to  us  boys."1 

Once,  Randolph,  in  a  letter  to  John  Randolph  Bryan, 
mentioned  Tom  Bryan,  and  added:  "God  bless  the 
rogue  " 2;  and  in  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Thomas  Spalding,  of 
Georgia,  he  referred  to  Tom  Bryan  as  "my  young  friend, 
Tom,"  and  said:  "I  love  the  rogue  as  well  for  his  own 
sake  as  his  father's. " 3 

While  they  were  with  him,  true  to  his  highly  practical 
instincts,  he  exercised  as  close  a  supervision  over  them  as 
if  he  had  been  their  mother.  In  a  letter  to  Clay  and  the 
two  Bryans,  when  they  were  at  Mr.  Kilpatrick's  school  in 
Halifax  County,  he  addressed  them  as  "my  dear  children," 
and  told  them  that  he  had  driven  to  Roanoke  on  the 
previous  Sunday  in  the  hope  of  seeing  them  before  they 
went  off  to  school,  but  that  "the  birds  were  flown;"  and 
then,  in  his  desire  to  see  the  lads,  he  concluded :  "You  will 
return  with  Johnny,  and  I  trust  with  clean  faces,  hands, 
teeth  and  clothes ;  if  any  are  to  be  dirty,  let  it  be  the  last. " 4 

1  Union  Seminary  Magazine  (1893-4),  v.  5,  I-IO. 

2  Roanoke,  Apr.  7,  1830,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Ibid.,  Apr.  9,  1829,  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 
"  Nov.  5,  1818,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  471 

Nor  did  he  ever  lose  an  opportunity  to  impart  knowl- 
edge to  his  young  friends.  In  another  letter,  of  later  date, 
to  John  Randolph  Bryan,  "from  Babel, "  he  tells  him  that 
David  Walker,  a  member  of  Congress  from  Kentucky, 
had  died  that  morning  of  ossification  of  the  great  aorta. 
("The  largest  artery  in  the  system — ossis  and  fieri — i.  e. 
becoming  bone"),  he  explains. z  And  then  he  enjoins  the 
boy  to  take  care  of  his  Virgil,  and  tells  him  that  Clay  who 
was  at  some  other  school,  was  in  Horace. 

The  pleasure  that  it  must  have  given  Randolph  to  see 
two  persons  whom  he  loved  so  much  as  his  niece  and  John 
Randolph  Bryan  intermarried,  we  can  readily  imagine. 

Affectionate,  too,  in  the  highest  degree,  were  the  rela- 
tions sustained  by  Randolph  for  many  years  to  Theodore 
Dudley,  who  resided  with  him  at  Bizarre  from  1800  until 
1810,  and  afterwards  at  Roanoke  until  1820. 2  Indeed,  for 
the  greater  pari  of  this  period,  he  called  Theodore  his  son, 
and  was  a  father  to  him  in  every  respect ;  maintaining  and 
educating  him  at  his  expense,  first,  at  school  in  Virginia, 
and,  afterwards,  at  the  medical  college  in  Philadelphia; 
and  applying  himself  assiduously  in  every  regard  to  the 
task  of  fashioning  him  into  a  worthy  and  accomplished 
man.  Of  the  letters  of  Chesterfield,  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson 
said  that,  with  the  immorality  taken  out,  they  should  be 
put  in  the  hands  of  every  young  man.  In  the  sage,  scin- 
tillating letters,  written  by  Randolph  to  Theodore,  there 
is  no  immorality  to  be  excised.  No  one  can  read  them, 
written  as  they  were  without  the  slightest  thought  of 
publication,  without  feeling  that  Randolph  was  not  only 
a  brilliant  man,  but,  at  bottom,  a  thoroughly  wise  and 
good  one.  Not  many  men  with  such  tastes  and  occupa- 
tions as  his  would  have  taken  the  trouble,  day  after  day, 
to  drill  a  mere  cousin,  such  as  Theodore  was,  into  the 

1  Mar.  1,  1820,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Deposition  of  Dr.  Dudley  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Cl'k's 
Office,  Petersburg,  Va. 


472         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

correct  knowledge  of  orthography  and  syntax.  After 
pointing  out,  in  one  letter,  various  errors  which  the  boy 
had  committed  in  a  letter  to  him,  he  sums  up : 

'"  Number  of  lines  in  your  letter,  nine, 
....  errors  ....  four;' 

and  following  up  this  damning  tabulation,  he  adds: 
1  -  Surely  you  cannot  have  read  over  once  what  you  wrote ; 
moreover,  the  hand  is  a  very  bad  one ;  many  words  blotted ; 
and  every  part  of  it  betrays  negligence  and  a  carelessness 
of  excelling — a  most  deplorable  symptom  in  a  young 
man.'1  (a)  This  time  he  relied  upon  mere  pedagogic 
austerity.  In  the  next  letter  to  Theodore,  he  reminds 
him  of  the  copy  of  the  letters  written  by  the  Earl  of 
Chatham  to  his  nephew,  which  Randolph  had  sent  to  the 
boy,  and  says:  "Our  situation,  and  that  of  its  writer  and 
his  nephew,  are  not  dissimilar.  Let  us  then  profit  by 
their  example;  whilst  I  endeavor  to  avail  myself  of  the 
wisdom  and  experience  of  the  one,  do  you  also  strive  to 
imitate  the  amiable  docility  of  the  other,  and  so  may  God 
bless  you,  my  dear  boy."2  In  another  letter,  written 
several  years  later,  Randolph  brings  even  his  wit  to  bear 
upon  the  pride  of  the  boy.  After  calling  Theodore's 
attention  to  numerous  errors  in  a  paper  which  he  had 
translated  from  English  into  Latin,  such  as  the  use  of 
"equos"  for  "aequos"  and  the  like,  Randolph  exclaims: 

"Can  you  believe,  too,  that  you  have  made  an  English  word 
of  aram?  (to  satisfy  you  I  enclose  the  original)  thus ;  a  ram.  A 
ram,  too,  of  all  the  animals  in  the  world,  is,  it  seems,  feminine; 
'pressamq.  aram',  says  Ovid;  but  he,  perchance,  did  not 
understand  Latin."3 

These  are  but  random  specimens  of  the  sedulous  over- 
sight that  Randolph  gave  to  the  early  education  of  Theo- 

1  Georgetown,  Jan.  31,  1806,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  10. 

2  Georgetown,  Feb.  2,  1806,  Id.,  11.  3  Dec.  30,  1808,  Id.,  59. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  473 

dore.  It  did  not  go  unrewarded,  for  enough  sentences 
penned  by  the  latter  have  survived  to  prove  that  he  be- 
came the  master  of  a  correct  and  pointed  diction.  And 
this  result  represented  the  triumph  not  more  of  educa- 
tional proficiency  and  discipline  than  of  loving-kindness 
on  the  part  of  his  real  master. 

When  Theodore  replied  to  Randolph's  letter  in  regard 
to  the  translation  in  terms  that  plainly  revealed  his  mor- 
tification, Randolph  replied  in  turn : 

"You,  my  son,  I  trust  will  acquit  me  of  any  unnecessary  or 
wanton  injury  to  your  feelings,  which  I  would  forbear  to  wound 
as  if  they  were  my  own.  It  is  only  to  heal  that  I  would  probe. 
I  confidently  expect,  therefore,  by  the  next  post  a  proof  of  the 
good  effect  of  your  own  judicious  reflections  upon  the  dis- 
agreeable subject  of  my  last.  Your  own  good  sense,  my  dear 
boy,  if  you  give  it  fair  play,  backed  by  industry,  will  insure  you  a 
competent  degree  of  proficiency  in  whatsoever  pursuit  you 
may  engage."1 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  written  from  the  Library  of 
Congress,  Randolph  is  quick  to  inform  Theodore  that 
another  translation  of  his  bore  scarcely  any  resemblance 
to  its  predecessor;  being,  with  a  single  exception,  literally 
correct,  which  proved,  he  said,  that,  when  the  boy  com- 
mitted gross  errors,  it  was  not  from  a  want  of  ability  to 
avoid  them,  and,  indeed,  impressed  him  with  the  belief 
that,  when  he  chose,  he  could  excel. 2 

Under  Randolph's  tuition,  Theodore  not  only  became 
a  good  scholar,  but  a  fine  shot.  In  one  of  his  letters  to 
him.  when  he  was  in  Philadelphia,  Randolph  expressed  the 
hope  that  he  would  learn  to  fence  and  to  dance  also ;  and 
told  him  that  he  was  very  anxious  that  he  should  speak 
French  and  read  Italian,  Spanish,  and  German.  "As 
many  languages  as  a  man  knows,  so  many  times  is  he  a 

1  Georgetown,  Jan.  13,  1809,  Id.,  59. 
a  Jan.  17,  1809,  Id.,  61. 


474         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

man,"  he  quoted.1    He  was  even  willing  that  Theodore 
should  play  upon  the  clarionet. 2 

It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  Randolph  met  cheerfully  all 
the  expenses  of  every  kind  connected  with  the  mainte- 
nance and  education  of  Theodore,  both  in  Virginia  and  at 
Philadelphia ;  for  he  repeatedly  and  eagerly  urged  him  not 
to  shun  any  expense  that  was  necessary  for  his  comfort 
or  improvement.     For  instance,  he  wrote  on  one  occasion : 

"Do  not  fail  to  supply  yourself  with  a  good  collection  of 
medical  books.  Spare  not  on  account  of  expense.  To  these 
by  next  winter  you  can  add  surgical  instruments,  electrical  ma- 
chine, etc.  I  should  be  vexed  if  you  suffered  false  economy  to 
interfere  in  a  case  like  this.  Let  your  dress  also,  without  being 
foolishly  expensive,  be  that  of  a  gentleman.  I  need  not  tell 
you,  who  lived  at  Bizarre,  to  be  neat.  If  your  teeth  require  it, 
have  them  cleaned  and  plugged  by  a  dentist.  It  is  an  opera- 
tion that  I  think  ought  to  be  performed  (cleaning)  once  or 
twice  a  year."3 

When  Theodore  grew  older,  Randolph  made  more  and 
more  of  a  companion  of  him,  and  took  him  more  and  more 
into  his  confidence.     In  1813,  he  wrote  to  him: 

"You  cannot  oblige  me  so  much  as  by  thinking  yourself  to 
stand  to  me  in  the  relation  of  a  favored  son,  and  by  acting  as 
master  in  my  house  and  on  my  estate  on  every  occasion  where 
your  own  pleasure,  or  a  regard  to  my  interest  may  prompt  you 
so  to  do.  When  you  were  young,  and  I  was  of  opinion  that  it 
might  be  injurious  to  your  future  character  or  fortunes  to 
encourage  such  views,  I  sedulously  repressed  them.  Your 
character  is  now  formed;  consider  yourself  then  as  not  less 
entitled  to  command  here  than  if  you  were  the  child  of  my  loins, 
as  you  are  the  son  of  my  affections."4 

1  Roanoke,  Nov.  15,  1807,  Id.,  77. 
3  Ibid.,  Dec.  18,  1810,  Id.,  81. 
3  Ibid.,  Nov.  15,  1807,  Id.,  77. 
^  Sept.,  1813,  Id.,  142. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  475 

In  another  letter,  written  during  the  same  year,  Ran- 
dolph said : 

"Feeling  towards  you  as  a  father,  I  naturally  expect  you  to 
act  towards  me  as  a  son.  As  to  the  word  gratitude,  let  it  be 
expunged  from  our  vocabulary.  I  must  not,  however,  be 
debarred  the  pleasure  of  expressing  sometimes  my  sense  of  the 
aid  and  comfort  which  I  derive  from  you,  at  the  expense,  I 
know,  of  your  interest,  and,  in  many  instances,  I  fear,  of  your 
feelings.  Do  not  misunderstand  me;  I  mean  that  such  a  life 
as  you  must  lead  at  Roanoke  is  unsuited  to  your  character 
and  disposition,  and,  therefore,  I  am  anxious  that  you  should 
remove  to  this  [Richmond]  or  some  other  town."1 

In  a  letter  written  a  few  days  before  from  Richmond, 
Randolph  was  so  impatient  to  see  Dr.  Dudley  again  that 
he  inquired:  " Cannot  you  meet  me  here  on  the  road? — 
say  Farmville,  or  Amelia.  You  know  not  how  much  you 
are  prized  by  those  who  know  you  only  as  an  acquaintance. 
Can  you  wonder  then,  my  dear  Theodore,  at  the  value 
which  I,  who  know  you  aufond,  set  upon  you? " 2  In  the 
succeeding  year,  he  writes  to  Theodore  that  the  latter's 
epistles  bear  strong  symptoms  of  hypochondriasis. 

"You,  my  dear  Theodore,"  he  further  said,  "are  the  chief 
stay  and  comfort  of  my  life,  and  it  grieves  me  to  think  that  you 
should  be  buried  in  the  wilds  of  Roanoke ;  especially  when  I  see 
so  many  dolts  here  succeeding  in  the  profession,  of  which  you 
have  made  yourself  master.  I  think  I  must  insist  on  your 
removal.  I  know  and  admire  the  motive  that  keeps  you  where 
you  are,  and  it  serves  but  to  rivet  my  esteem  of  you."3 

On  one  occasion,  he  wrote  to  Theodore  three  times  in 
one  day,  and,  on  another,  four  times  in  12  or  18  hours. 
Nor  would  he  have  been  surfeited,  if  Theodore  had  written 
to  him  twice  as  often.     In  one  letter,  he  tells  Theodore 


1  Richm.,  Dec.  30,  1813,  Id.,  146. 

2  Ibid.,  Nov.  25,  1813,  Id.,  146. 

3  Ibid.,  Mar.  7,  1814,  Id.,  154. 


476         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

that  his  letters  are  "scanty,"  and  "look  like  the  forced 
production  of  an  ungenial  climate."1  Some  four  years 
later,  he  asked  Theodore  to  write  him  "long,  garrulous 
letters."2  In  a  subsequent  letter,  he  tells  him  that  he 
(Theodore)  is  not  the  only  correspondent  who  has  alleged, 
as  a  reason  for  not  replying  to  his  letters,  that  he  expected 
to  hear  from  him. 3  A  year  or  so  later,  he  prized  a  letter 
from  Theodore  so  highly  that  he  wrote  to  him  at  a  time, 
when  the  defamation  of  which  he  had  been  the  subject 
during  the  War  of  1812  had  not  entirely  died  out: 

"Your  exploits  a  la  chasse  have  been  made  known  to  all  the 
courts  of  Europe,  at  least  to  their  Ministers,  so  far  as  the  great 
and  small  powers  are  represented  here;  for  the  whole  corps 
diplomatique  were  present  yesterday  when  I  read  the  extract 
of  your  letter  to  one  of  that  body  at  the  hazard  of  being  con- 
sidered as  one  carrying  on  a  treasonable  correspondence  with 
England."  « 

In  truth,  there  are  no  limits  to  be  set  to  the  parental 
affection  with  which  Randolph  cherished  his  young 
cousin's  welfare.  In  one  letter,  he  even  tells  him  that,  if 
he  lacks  socks,  to  look  into  the  upper  drawer  of  his  desk 
and  to  take  his.5  Running  through  all  of  his  letters  to 
Theodore,  is  his  intense  desire  that  the  intercourse  be- 
tween them  should  be  the  frank,  unreserved  intercourse 
of  a  loving  father  and  a  loving  son. 

' '  I  was  aware  that  your  finances  must  have  been  straight- 
ened," he  said  to  him  on  one  occasion  when  the  latter  was  a 
medical  student  at  Philadelphia,  "and  therefore  I  wished  to 
know  how  they  stood  that  I  might  make  the  speediest  and  most 
efficient  provision  on  that  head.     This  you  say  is  'a  delicate 

1  Bizarre,  Nov.  16,  1810,  Id.,  75. 

2  Dec.  24,  1 8 14,  Id.,  167. 

3  Dec.  27,  1814,  Id.,  169. 

4  Babel,  Jan.  14,  1817,  Id.,  182. 
sDec.  4,  1808,  Id.,  54. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  477 

subject';  true  it  is  so,  in  general,  but  not  between  you  and 
myself,  my  dear  son.  Take  care  of  your  heart;  pity  is  akin  to 
love ;  grief  prepares  the  affections  for  the  sway  of  that  seducing 
tyrant.  The  ladies  of  Philadelphia  are  fair  and  alluring,  and 
your  time  of  life  is  most  propitious  to  their  power  over  your 
heart.  In  the  language  of  your  profession,  there  is  in  every 
young  man  of  a  just  and  honorable  way  of  thinking,  of  refined 
and  elevated  notions,  a  strong  predisposition  to  this  universal 
disease,  which,  like  some  others,  all  of  us  must  have  once  in  our 
lives.  If  the  case  be  desperate,  make  me  your  confidant,  if  you 
can:  I  will  endeavour  to  prove  myself  not  unworthy  of  the 
trust.  But  I  protest  against  extorted  confidence  and  forced 
prayers.  I,  too,  have  been  young,  and  know  how  to  make 
allowance,  I  trust,  for  the  noblest  infirmity  of  our  nature ;  which 
none  but  the  young,  or  those  who  have  not  forgotten  the  feel- 
ings of  their  youth,  can  duly  estimate."1 

All  the  best  letters  written  by  Randolph  should  be 
blended  with  the  Letters  to  a  Young  Relative  and  published 
with  proper  editorial  notes.  We  know  few  books  of  the 
sort  that  would  be  better  entitled  to  be  considered  a  classic. 
Rarely  have  the  precepts  of  universal  wisdom  and  sound 
morality  been  enforced  in  sweeter  or  more  winning  accents 
than  in  The  Letters  to  a  Young  Relative.  Take  this  little 
ethical  discourse  for  example : 

"When  I  asked  whether  you  have  received  the  bank  notes 
I  sent  you,  I  did  not  mean  to  inquire  how  you  had  laid  them  out. 
Don't  you  see  the  difference  ?  From  your  not  mentioning  that 
they  had  come  to  hand  (a  careless  omission;  you  should  break 
yourself  of  this  habit) ,  and  your  cousin  informing  me  that  she 
had  not  received  two  packets  sent  by  the  same  mail,  I  con- 
cluded that  the  notes  were  probably  lost  or  embezzled.  Hence 
my  inquiry  after  them.  No,  my  son ;  whatever  cash  I  send  you 
(unless  for  some  special  purpose)  is  yours :  you  will  spend  it  as 
you  please,  and  I  have  nothing  to  say  to  it.  That  you  will  not 
employ  it  in  a  manner  that  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of,  I  have 

1  Roanoke,  Oct.  6,  1811,  Id.,  107. 


478         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  fullest  confidence.  To  pry  into  such  affairs  would  not  only 
betray  a  want  of  that  confidence,  and  even  a  suspicion  dis- 
creditable to  us  both,  but  infringe  upon  your  rights  and 
independence.  For,  although  you  are  not  of  an  age  to  be  your 
own  master  and  independent  in  all  your  actions,  yet  you  are 
possessed  of  rights  which  it  would  be  tyranny  and  injustice  to 
withhold  or  invade.  Indeed,  this  independence,  which  is  so 
much  vaunted,  and  which  young  people  think  consists  in  doing 
what  they  please,  when  they  grow  up  to  man's  estate  (with  as 
much  justice  as  the  poor  negro  thinks  liberty  consists  in  being 
supported  in  idleness  by  other  people's  labour) — this  in- 
dependence is  but  a  name.  Place  us  where  you  will;  along 
with  our  rights  there  must  co-exist  correlative  duties,  and  the 
more  exalted  the  station,  the  more  arduous  are  these  last. 
Indeed,  as  the  duty  is  precisely  correspondent  to  the  power,  it 
follows  that  the  richer,  the  wiser,  the  more  powerful  a  man  is, 
the  greater  is  the  obligation  upon  him  to  employ  his  gifts  in 
lessening  the  sum  of  human  misery;  and  this  employment 
constitutes  happiness,  which  the  weak  and  wicked  vainly 
imagine  to  consist  in  wealth,  finery,  or  sensual  gratification. 
Who  so  miserable  as  the  bad  Emperor  of  Rome?  Who  more 
happy  than  Trajan  and  Antoninus?  Look  at  the  fretful, 
peevish,  rich  man,  whose  senses  are  as  much  jaded  by  attempt- 
ing to  embrace  too  much  gratification  as  the  limbs  of  the  poor 
post-horse  are  by  incessant  labor.  (See  the  Gentlemen  and 
Basket-makers,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  of  Sandford  and 
Merton.) 

"Do  not,  however,  undervalue,  on  that  account,  the  character 
of  the  real  gentleman,  which  is  the  most  respectable  amongst 
men.  It  consists  not  of  plate,  and  equipage,  and  rich  living, 
any  more  than  in  the  disease  which  that  mode  of  life  engenders ; 
but  in  truth,  courtesy,  bravery,  generosity,  and  learning,  which 
last,  although  not  essential  to  it,  yet  does  very  much  to  adorn 
and  illustrate  the  character  of  the  true  gentleman.  Tommy 
Merton's  gentlemen  were  no  gentlemen,  except  in  the  accepta- 
tion of  innkeepers  (and  the  great  vulgar,  as  well  as  the  small), 
with  whom  he,  who  rides  in  a  coach  and  six,  is  three  times  as 
great  a  gentleman  as  he  who  drives  a  post-chaise  and  pair.  Lay 
down  this  as  a  principle,  that  Truth  is  to  the  other  virtues 


Randolph  as  a  Man  479 

what  vital  air  is  to  the  human  system.  They  cannot  exist 
at  all  without  it;  and,  as  the  body  may  live  under  many 
diseases,  if  supplied  with  pure  air  for  its  consumption,  so  may 
the  character  survive  many  defects,  where  there  is  a  rigid 
attachment  to  Truth.  All  equivocation  and  subterfuge  belong 
to  falsehood,  which  consists,  not  in  using  false  words  only,  but 
in  conveying  false  impressions,  no  matter  how;  and,  if  a  person 
deceive  himself,  and  I,  by  my  silence,  suffer  him  to  remain 
in  that  error,  I  am  implicated  in  the  deception,  unless  he  be  one 
who  has  no  right  to  rely  upon  me  for  information,  and,  in  that 
case,  'tis  plain,  I  could  not  be  instrumental  in  deceiving  him."1 

Or  could  anything  be  smoother  than  the  transition  in 
the  following  letter  from  copybook  instruction  to  golden 
truths  of  world-wide  application : 

"Take  my  advice,  my  son,  and  do  not  attempt  a  running 
hand  yet.  The  way  to  acquire  a  good  running  hand,  is  to 
begin  with  a  fair,  large,  clean-cut,  and  distinct  character. 
Children  always  learn  to  stand  alone,  and  to  walk  step  by  step, 
before  they  run.  There  is  another  excellent  rule,  which,  if 
you  now  adhere  to  it,  will  be  of  great  service  to  you  through 
life:  'Make  haste  slowly.'  Hurry  always  occasions  blunders 
and  delay.  When,  therefore,  you  make  any  mistake,  or  blot, 
write  all  over  again,  fairly.  The  labor  of  doing  this  will  make 
you  careful  and  correct;  and,  when  the  habit  is  formed,  the 
trouble  is  over.  Habit  is  truly  called  'second  nature.'  To 
form  good  habits  is  almost  as  easy  as  to  fall  into  bad.  What 
is  the  difference  between  an  industrious,  sober  man  and  an  idle 
drunken  one,  but  their  respective  habits?  'Tis  just  as  easy 
for  Mr.  Harrison  to  be  temperate  and  active,  as  'tis  for  poor 
Knowles  to  be  the  reverse;  with  this  great  difference,  that, 
exclusively  of  the  effects  of  their  respective  courses  of  life  on 
their  respectability  and  fortunes,  the  exercises  of  the  one  are 
followed  by  health,  pleasure,  and  peace  of  mind,  whilst  those 
of  the  other  engender  disease,  pain,  and  discontent;  to  say" 
nothing  of  poverty  in  its  most  hideous  shape,  want,  squalid 
misery,   and  the  contempt   of  the  world,   contrasted  with 

1  Georgetown,  Feb.  15,  1806,  Id.,  14. 


480         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

affluent  plenty,  a  smiling  family,  and  the  esteem  of  all  good 
men.  Perhaps,  you  cannot  believe  that  there  exists  a  being 
who  would  hesitate  which  of  these  two  lots  to  choose.  Alas ! 
my  son,  vice  puts  on  such  alluring  shapes,  indolence  is  so  seduc- 
ing, that  (like  the  flies  in  ^Esop)  we  revel  whilst  the  sun  shines, 
and,  for  a  few  hours'  temporary  pleasure,  pay  the  price  of 
perishing  miserably  in  the  winter  of  our  old  age.  The  in- 
dustrious ants  are  wiser.  By  a  little  forbearance  at  the 
moment,  by  setting  a  just  value  on  the  future,  and  disregarding 
present  temptation,  they  secure  an  honourable  and  comfort- 
able asylum.  All  nature,  my  son,  is  a  volume,  speaking  com- 
fort and  offering  instruction  to  the  good  and  wise.  But  'the 
fool  saith  in  his  heart,  "There  is  no  God" ' ;  he  shuts  his  eyes  to 
the  great  book  of  Nature  that  lies  open  before  him.  Your  fate, 
my  dear  Theodorick,  is  in  your  own  hands.  Like  Hercules, 
every  young  man  has  his  choice  between  Pleasure,  falsely  so 
called,  and  Infamy,  or  laborious  Virtue  and  a  fair  fame.  In 
old  age,  indeed,  long  before,  we  begin  to  feel  the  folly  or  wis- 
dom of  our  selection.  I  confidently  trust  that  you,  my  son, 
will  choose  wisely.  In  seven  years  from  this  time,  you  will 
repent,  or  rejoice,  at  the  disposition  which  you  make  of  the 
present  hour."1 

It  came  easy  to  Randolph  to  inculcate  habits  of  deliber- 
ation because,  contrary  to  the  false  notions,  which  are  so 
often  entertained  of  his  character,  he  was  never,  John 
Randolph  Bryan  tells  us,  in  a  hurry;  though  the  soul  of 
energy  both  mentally  and  physically.  Another  letter  of 
exhortation  is  this : 

1 '  Remember  that  labour  is  necessary  to  excellence.  This  is  an 
eternal  truth,  although  vanity  cannot  be  brought  to  believe,  or 
indolence  to  heed,  it.  I  am  deeply  interested  in  seeing  you 
turn  out  a  respectable  man,  in  every  point  of  view;  and,  as  far 
as  I  could,  have  endeavoured  to  furnish  you  with  the  means  of 
acquiring  knowledge  and  correct  principles,  and  manners,  at 
the  same  time.  Self-conceit,  and  indifference  are  unfriendly,  in 
an  equal  degree,  to  the  attainment  of  knowledge,  or  the  form- 
Georgetown,  March  i,  1806,  Id.,  17. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  481 

ing  of  an  amiable  character.  The  first  is  more  offensive,  but 
does  not  more  completely  mar  all  excellence  than  the  last ;  and 
it  is  truly  deplorable  that  both  nourish  in  Virginia,  as  if  it  were 
their  native  soil.  A  petulant  arrogance,  or  supine,  listless 
indifference,  marks  the  character  of  too  many  of  our  young 
men.  They  early  assume  airs  of  manhood;  and  these  pre- 
mature men  remain  children  for  the  rest  of  their  lives.  Upon 
the  credit  of  a  smattering  of  Latin,  drinking  grog,  and  chewing 
tobacco,  these  striplings  set  up  for  legislators  and  statesmen; 
and  seem  to  deem  it  derogatory  from  their  manhood  to  treat 
age  and  experience  with  any  degree  of  deference.  They  are 
loud,  boisterous,  over-bearing,  and  dictatorial:  profane  in 
speech,  low  and  obscene  in  their  pleasures.  In  the  tavern,  the 
stable,  or  the  gaming-house,  they  are  at  home;  but,  placed 
in  the  society  of  real  gentlemen  and  men  of  letters,  they  are 
awkward  and  uneasy;  in  all  situations,  they  are  contemptible. 
"The  vanity  of  excelling  in  pursuits,  where  excellence  does 
not  imply  merit,  has  been  the  ruin  of  many  a  young  man.  I 
should,  therefore,  be  under  apprehensions  for  a  young  fellow, 
who  danced  uncommonly  well,  and  expect  more  hereafter  from 
his  heels  than  from  his  head.  Alexander,  I  think,  was  re- 
proached with  singing  well,  and  very  justly.  He  must  have 
misapplied  the  time  which  he  devoted  to  the  acquisition  of  so 
great  a  proficiency  in  that  art.  I  once  knew  a  young  fellow 
who  was  remarkably  handsome ;  he  was  highly  skilled  in  danc- 
ing and  fencing,  an  exceedingly  good  skater,  and  one  of  the  most 
dexterous  billiard-players  and  marksmen  that  I  ever  saw.  He 
sang  a  good  song,  and  was  the  envy  of  every  foolish  fellow,  and 
the  darling  of  every  silly  girl,  who  knew  him.  He  was,  never- 
theless, one  of  the  most  ignorant  and  conceited  puppies  whom 
I  ever  beheld.  Yet,  it  is  highly  probable,  that,  if  he  had  not 
been  enamoured  of  the  rare  qualities  which  I  have  enumerated, 
he  might  have  made  a  valuable  and  estimable  man.  But  he 
was  too  entirely  gratified  with  his  superficial  and  worthless 
accomplishments  to  bestow  a  proper  cultivation  on  his  mind." * 

"A  liar  is  always  a  coward,"  is  another  homily  that 
Randolph  read  to  Theodore  in  connection  with  a  long 

1  Georgetown,  Jan.  8,  1807,  Id.,  25. 
vol.  11. — 31 


482         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

pointed  discourse  on  the  meanness,  misery,  and  dishonor  be- 
gotten by  debt. ■  One  more  homily,  and  we  will  cease  to 
consider  Randolph  in  the  light  of  a  gnomic  philosopher : 

"One  of  the  best  and  wisest  men  I  ever  knew  has  often  said 
to  me  that  a  decayed  family  could  never  recover  its  loss  of  rank 
in  the  world,  until  the  members  of  it  left  off  talking  and 
dwelling  upon  its  former  opulence.  This  remark,  founded  in  a 
long  and  close  observation  of  mankind,  I  have  seen  verified,  in 
numerous  instances,  in  my  own  connexions;  who,  to  use  the 
words  of  my  oracle,  'will  never  thrive,  until  they  can  become 
"poor  folks.'"  He  added,  'They  make  some  struggles,  and, 
with  apparent  success,  to  recover  lost  ground;  they  may,  and 
sometimes  do,  get  half  way  up  again;  but  they  are  sure  to  fall 
back,  unless,  reconciling  themselves  to  circumstances,  they 
become  in  form,  as  well  as  in  fact,  poor  folks.' 

"The  blind  pursuit  of  wealth,  for  the  sake  of  hoarding,  is 
a  species  of  insanity.  There  are  spirits,  and  not  the  least 
worthy,  who,  content  with  an  humble  mediocrity,  leave  the 
field  of  wealth  and  ambition  open  to  more  active,  perhaps  more 
guilty,  competitors.  Nothing  can  be  more  respectable  than 
the  independence  that  grows  out  of  self-denial.  The  man  who, 
by  abridging  his  wants,  can  find  time  to  devote  to  the  culti- 
vation of  his  mind,  or  the  aid  of  his  fellow-creatures,  is  a  being 
far  above  the  plodding  sons  of  industry  and  gain.  His  is  a 
spirit  of  the  noblest  order.  But  what  shall  we  say  to  the 
drone,  whom  society  is  eager  to  'shake  from  her  encumbered 
lap'?;  who  lounges  from  place  to  place,  and  spends  more  time 
in  'Adonizing'  his  person,  even  in  a  morning,  than  would  serve 
to  earn  his  breakfast?  who  is  curious  in  his  living,  a  con- 
noisseur in  wines,  fastidious  in  his  cookery;  but  who  never 
knew  the  luxury  of  earning  a  single  meal?  Such  a  creature, 
'sponging'  from  house  to  house,  and  always  on  the  borrow,  may 
yet  be  found  in  Virginia.  One  more  generation  will,  I  trust, 
put  an  end  to  them;  and  their  posterity,  if  they  have  any, 
must  work  or  steal,  directly. 

"Men  are  like  nations.  One  founds  a  family,  the  other  an 
empire — both  destined,  sooner  or  later,  to  decay.     This  is  the 

1  Bizarre,  Oct.  6,  1807,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  39. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  483 

way  in  which  ability  manifests  itself.  They  who  belong  to  a 
higher  order,  like  Newton,  and  Milton,  and  Shakespeare,  leave 
an  imperishable  name.  I  have  no  quarrel  with  such  as  are 
content  with  their  original  obscurity,  vegetate  on  from  father 
to  son;  'whose  ignoble  blood  has  crept  through  clodpoles 
ever  since  the  flood' ;  but  I  cannot  respect  them.  He  who  con- 
tentedly eats  the  bread  of  idleness  and  dependence  is  beneath 
contempt.  I  know  not  why  I  have  run  out  at  this  rate.  Per- 
haps, it  arises  from  a  passage  in  your  letter.  I  cannot  but 
think  you  are  greatly  deceived.  I  do  not  believe  the  world  to 
be  so  little  clear-sighted. 

"  What  the  'covert  insinuations'  against  you,  on  your  arrival 
at  Richmond,  were,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  divine.  I  never  heard 
the  slightest  disparagement  of  your  moral  character;  and  I 
know  nobody  less  obnoxious  to  such  imputations."1 

In  the  preface  to  The  Letters  to  a  Young  Relative,  Dr. 
Dudley  tells  us  that  his  sentiment  of  filial  devotion  to 
Randolph  for  many  years  constituted  a  large  portion  of 
his  moral  existence.  Alas !  that  such  a  relationship  should 
have  become  but  a  part  of  the  mere  lachrymce  rerum.  How 
the  blame  for  this  fact  should  be  apportioned  between 
the  two,  we,  at  least,  shall  not  undertake  to  say;  for  what 
judge  can  ever  sum  up  all  that  is  to  be  said  on  each  side  of 
a  family  estrangement  of  this  kind?  Even  before  Aug., 
1818,  there  are  hints  in  Randolph's  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley 
that  the  latter  was  of  a  moody  disposition ;  but  it  is  a  letter, 
written  to  Dr.  Dudley  in  August,  1818,  that  bares  to  our 
eye  for  the  first  time  the  rift  which  this  disposition,  con- 
spiring with  the  excesses  of  temper,  produced  in  Randolph 
by  the  spell  of  mental  derangement  through  which  he  had 
recently  passed,  had  made.  Randolph's  letter  was  in 
these  words : 

"I  consider  myself  under  obligations  to  you  that  I  can 
never  repay.  I  have  considered  you  as  a  blessing  sent  to  me 
by  Providence,  in  my  old  age,  to  repay  the  desertion  of  my 

1  Washington,  Dec.  30,  1821,  Id.,  232. 


484  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

other  friends  and  nearer  connexions.  It  is  in  your  power  (if 
you  please)  to  repay  me  all  the  debt  of  gratitude  that  you 
insist  upon  being  due  to  me;  although  I  consider  myself,  in  a 
pecuniary  point  of  view,  largely  a  gainer  by  our  connexion. 
But,  if  you  are  unwilling  to  do  so,  I  must  be  content  to  give  up 
my  last  stay  upon  earth;  for  I  shall,  in  that  case,  send  the  boys 
to  their  parents.  Without  you,  I  cannot  live  here  at  all,  and 
will  not.  What  it  is  that  has  occasioned  the  change  in  your 
manner  towards  me,  I  am  unable  to  discover.  I  have  ascribed 
it  to  the  disease  by  which  you  are  afflicted,  and  which  affects 
the  mind  and  temper  as  well  as  the  animal  faculties.  In  your 
principles  I  have  as  unbounded  confidence  as  I  have  in  those 
of  any  man  on  earth.  Your  disinterestedness,  integrity,  and 
truth,  would  extort  my  esteem  and  respect,  even  if  I  were 
disposed  to  withhold  them.  I  love  you  as  my  own  son ;  would 
to  God  you  were.  I  see,  I  think,  into  your  heart ;  mine  is  open 
before  you,  if  you  will  look  into  it.  Nothing  could  ever 
eradicate  this  affection,  which  surpasses  that  of  any  other  per- 
son (as  I  believe)  on  earth.  Your  parents  have  other  children: 
I  have  only  you.  But  I  see  you  wearing  out  your  time,  and 
wasting  away,  in  this  desert,  where  you  have  no  society  such 
as  your  time  of  life,  habits  and  taste  require.  I  have  looked  at 
you  often,  engaged  in  contributing  to  my  advantage  and 
comfort,  with  tears  in  my  eyes,  although  I  was  selfish  and 
cruel  in  sacrificing  you  to  my  interest.  I  am  going  from 
home :  will  you  take  care  of  my  affairs  until  I  return  ? — I  ask 
it  as  a  favor.  It  is  possible  that  we  may  not  meet  again;  but, 
if  I  get  more  seriously  sick  at  the  springs  than  I  am  now,  I  will 
send  for  you,  unless  you  will  go  with  me  to  the  White  Sulphur 
Springs.  Wherever  I  am,  my  heart  will  love  you  as  long  as  it 
beats.  From  your  boyhood,  I  have  not  been  lavish  of  reproof 
upon  you.     Recollect  my  past  life."1 

When  this  letter  was  published  in  The  Letters  to  a  Young 
Relative,  Dr.  Dudley  added  to  it  this  terrible  footnote : 

"This  letter  was  written  during  a  lucid  interval  of  alienation 
of  mind;  which,   for  the  first  time,   amounted  to  positive 

*Aug.,  1818,  Id.,  203. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  485 

delirium.  Fits  of  caprice  and  petulance,  following  days  of 
deepest  gloom,  had,  for  years  previously,  overshadowed  his 
mind ;  evincing  the  existence  of  some  corroding  care,  for  which 
he  neither  sought,  nor  would  receive,  any  sympathy. 

"  For  many  weeks,  his  conduct  towards  myself,  who  was 
the  only  inmate  of  his  household,  had  been  marked  by  con- 
tumelious indignities,  which  it  required  almost  heroic  patience 
to  endure;  even  when  aided  by  a  warm  and  affectionate  de- 
votion, and  an  anxious  wish  to  alleviate  the  agonies  of  such  a 
mind  in  ruins.  All  hope  of  attaining  this  end  finally  failed; 
and,  when  he  found  that  I  would  no  longer  remain  with  him, 
the  above  letter  was  written;  it  is  almost  needless  to  say,  with 
what  effect.     I  remained  with  him  two  years  longer. 

"The  truth  and  beauty  of  the  eastern  allegory,  of  the  man, 
endowed  with  two  souls,  was  never  more  forcibly  exemplified 
than  in  his  case.  In  his  dark  days,  when  the  evil  genius 
predominated,  the  austere  vindictiveness  of  his  feelings  to- 
wards those  that  a  distempered  fancy  depicted  as  enemies, 
or  as  delinquent  in  truth  or  honour,  was  horribly  severe  and 
remorseless. 

"Under  such  circumstances  of  mental  alienation,  I  sincerely 
believe  (if  it  may  not  appear  irreverent)  that,  had  our 
blessed  Savior,  accompanied  by  his  Holy  Mother,  conde- 
scended to  become  again  incarnate,  revisited  the  earth,  and 
been  domiciliated  with  him  one  week,  he  would  have  im- 
agined the  former  a  rogue,  and  the  latter  no  better  than  she 
should  be. 

"On  the  contrary,  when  the  benevolent  genius  had  the 
ascendant,  no  one  ever  knew  better  how  to  feel  and  express 
the  tenderest  kindness,  or  to  evince,  in  countenance  and 
manner,  gentler  benevolence  of  heart."1  (a) 

When  Dr.  Dudley  left  Roanoke  in  February,  1820, 2  it 
was  to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Richmond. 
Later  on,  hearing  that  he  thought  of  leaving  Virginia, 
Randolph  wrote  to  him : 

1  Id.  (note). 

2  Deposition  of  Dr.  Dudley,  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's 
Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va. 


486         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"I  hope  you  will  not  leave  Virginia,  and,  above  all,  for  a 
climate  the  most  noxious  to  your  particular  habit.  My  heart 
gushes  over  towards  you.  To  establish  yourself  in  your  pro- 
fession, where  you  are,  requires  only  a  little  time  and  patience. 
You  are  surrounded  by  respectable  persons,  to  whom  you  are 
known,  and  by  whom  you  are  respected,  with  whom  you  can 
associate  on  terms  of  equality  and  freedom.  This  is  no  light 
advantage,  not  to  be  given  up  but  upon  the  most  cogent 
considerations.  The  cloud  that  overhangs  Richmond  will  pass 
away.  Meanwhile,  consider  me  your  banker,  and,  if  your 
pride  revolt  at  the  obligation,  I  will  consent  to  reimbursement 
out  of  the  first  fruits  of  your  practice;  but  it  ought  not  so  to 
revolt  because  it  will  wound  the  already  bruised."1 

The  last  letter  in  The  Letters  to  a  Young  Relative  is  dated 
Feb.  1 1 ,  1 822.  It  was  preceded  six  days  before  by  another 
in  which  Randolph,  after  telling  Dr.  Dudley  that  he  had 
never  received  a  letter  from  him  that  had  gratified  him 
more  than  the  one  which  he  acknowledged,  said  character- 
istically: "Your  medical  advice  is  very  thankfully  re- 
ceived and  will  be  followed  ...  so  far  as  my  own 
experience  does  not  run  counter  to  it.  "2 

In  the  Randolph  will  litigation,  Dr.  Dudley  testified 
that  the  first  attack  observed  by  him  which  clearly  indi- 
cated mental  derangement  on  Randolph's  part  had 
occurred  during  the  summer  of  181 8;  that,  about  12 
months  before  this  time,  Randolph  had  told  him  that  he 
was  conscious  that  his  intellect  was  disordered  on  the 
subject  of  an  early  love  affair,  and  that  he  knew  that  he 
had  alienated  almost  all  of  his  nearest  friends  by  his 
unhappy  temper;  and  that,  during  the  first  violent  parox- 
ysm of  Randolph's  insanity,  which  lasted  nearly  all  of  the 
summer  of  181 8,  and  afterwards  returned,  Randolph  was 
guilty  of  the  wildest  extravagance;  such  as  rising  at  mid- 
night and  imagining  that  his  neighbors  were  committing 

1  Washington,  Dec.  14,  1820,  Id.,  227. 

2  Washington,  Feb.  5,  1822,  Id.,  250. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  487 

trespasses  on  his  land;  cutting  down  line  trees,  etc.  Dr. 
Dudley  also  testified  that  the  paternal  interest  of  Ran- 
dolph in  his  welfare  continued  until  the  spring  of  1822, 
when  all  intercourse  between  them  ceased,  and  that,  from 
that  time  on,  whenever  an  opportunity  arose,  he  displayed 
the  deepest  malignity  of  feeling  toward  him;  on  one  occa- 
sion even  writing  him  "a  most  insolent  letter, "  demanding 
payment  for  certain  articles  which  he  had  given  him.  In 
his  deposition,  however,  Dr.  Dudley  also  stated  that  in 
his  opinion  there  had  never  been  a  time,  after  the  attack 
of  1818,  when  Randolph  had  been  capable  of  making  a 
valid  will.  He  also  bore  witness  to  the  complete  change 
in  all  his  ordinary  traits  of  character  which  Randolph 
underwent  when  subject  to  a  fit  of  mental  disorder. ! 

Randolph's  relations  to  Theodoric  Tudor  Randolph 
were  closely  similar  to  his  relations  to  Dr.  Dudley,  when 
the  latter  was  of  the  same  age.  Describing  in  a  letter  to 
Nicholson  the  serious  illness  which  befell  Tudor  when  he 
was  a  boy,  he  says :  ' '  Before  he  was  bled,  he  never  closed 
an  eye,  but  lay  patiently  mute,  taking  without  reluctance 
everything  that  was  offered  him  and  baring  his  little  arm 
for  the  lancet.  Never  did  I  see  more  composed  forti- 
tude."2 ''My  son  is  better,"  he  tells  Nicholson  in  his 
next  letter. 3 

Until  Tudor  was  9  years  old,  he  had  never  had  any  other 
tutor  than  his  uncle.4  When  he  was  approaching  his 
tenth  year,  Randolph  informed  Nicholson  that  the  boy 
was  making  good  progress  in  Ccesar.5  Tudor  was  after- 
wards placed  with  Theodore  Dudley  at  a  school  in  Rich- 
mond, which  was  conducted  by  a  Dr.  Haller;  and  subse- 
quently he  was  also  for  a  time  under  the  tuition  of  Dr. 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Cl'k's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

3  Bizarre,  Mar.  17,  1805,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

3  Petersburg,  Apr.  6,  1805,  Id. 

4  Bizarre,  Aug.  27,  1804,  Id. 

s  Bizarre,  Aug.  27,  1804,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


488         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

John  H.  Rice,  at  the  home  of  the  latter  in  Prince  Edward 
County;  but,  throughout  Tudor's  brief  life,  Randolph  had 
such  a  free  hand  in  the  formation  of  his  character  and 
intellect  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  with  no  little 
justice  that  Tudor  was  a  creature  entirely  of  his  own 
creation.  Once  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Mr.  Parish,  of 
Philadelphia,  he  said:  " Permit  me  to  introduce  to  you 
my  nephew — let  the  father  say  my  son — f or  he  has  known 
no  other  father  and  is  the  child  of  my  heart  and  of  my 
adoption— Mr.  Tudor  Randolph.  Ml 

His  pet  name  for  Tudor  as  a  boy  was  "Buona. "  The 
boy  soon  gave  proof  of  the  extraordinary  talents  that 
caused  Randolph  to  say  after  his  death  that  he  was  the 
most  gifted  human  being  that  he  had  ever  known. 2  When 
he  was  at  school  in  Richmond,  his  uncle  described  him  in 
these  pointed  terms  in  a  letter  to  Nicholson : 

"He  promises  to  possess  all  his  father's  genius.  He  can 
not  have  a  better.  All  my  solicitude  is  on  the  subject  of  his 
character.  I  have  no  fears  upon  the  subject  of  literary  ac- 
complishments. His  acquirements  in  that  way  are  made  too 
easily  and  with  too  much  pleasure  to  himself  not  to  be  ample. 
All  my  dread  is  that  his  temper  may  prove  too  soft — so  as  to 
give  to  his  inferiors  in  other  respects  an  ascendant  over  him. 
The  boy  is  no  coward — far  from  it ;  but  he  is  meekness  itself, 
overflowing  with  the  milk  of  human  kindness.  This  would  do 
admirably  for  Robinson  Crusoe's  Island  or  the  Golden  Age,  or 
even  for  a  Moravian  Brotherhood,  but  it  will  not  suit  these 
times.  This,  as  Mr.  Talleyrand  has  shrewdly  remarked,  is  the 
age  of  upstarts,  and  you  must  take  your  choice  to  crush  them 
or  be  crushed  by  them.  I  shall,  therefore,  make  it  my  study 
to  put  buckram  into  this  fellow  in  due  time — or  (as  our  friend 
Bryan  would  not  unpoetically  say)  tip  him  with  a  touch  of  the 
torch  of  Prometheus."3 

1  Georgetown,  June  18,  1812,  Beverley  D.  Tucker  MSS. 

2  J.  C.  Grinnan  MSS. 

3  J.  R.  to  Nicholson,  Bizarre,  Oct.  24,  1806,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr. 
Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  489 

The  letters  contained  in  The  Letters  to  a  Young  Relative, 
are  in  some  instances  addressed  to  Tudor  as  well  as  Theo- 
dore, and  in  the  collection  there  are  a  number  of  references 
to  the  former.  On  one  occasion,  Randolph  asks  Theo- 
dore what  could  have  induced  Buona  to  spell  "watch" 
"wacth. "J  On  another  he  conveys  through  Theodore 
a  reproof  to  Buona  for  writing  "a  tolerable  long  letter," 
instead  of  "a  tolerably  long  letter.  "2  In  the  same  letter, 
he  says  that,  if  Buona  had  been  describing  Richmond  to 
his  mother  or  himself,  he  would  never  have  introduced  it 
with:  "I  beg  leave  to  wait  upon  you";  an  awkward 
exordium  which  even  Mr.  Expectation,  of  Norfolk,  would 
not  approve.  "I  wish  you  were  with  me,  my  sons,  to 
enjoy  the  sport,"  Randolph  says  in  conclusion.  "Your 
skill,  my  dear  Theodore,  would  make  amends  for  my 
clumsiness,  and  dear  Buona  would  hold  Miniken,  who  now 
runs  away  from  uncle  whenever  she  has  an  opportunity. " 3 
This  was  when  Tudor  was  eleven  years  old.  Later,  in  a 
letter  to  Theodore,  Randolph  expressed  the  hope  that  even 
Buona  would  soon  come  to  beat  him  on  the  wing.  '  ■  Give 
my  love  to  him.  I  long  to  see  his  rosy  cheeks,  "  the  letter 
adds. 4  Over  and  over  again,  evidence  is  brought  to  our 
attention  in  Randolph's  letters  that  Tudor,  like  Theodore, 
was  frequently  the  beneficiary  of  a  degree  of  pecuniary 
generosity  on  Randolph's  part  which  we  should  hardly 
expect  anyone  but  a  father  to  exhibit. 

After  Randolph  moved  from  Bizarre  to  Roanoke,  Tudor 
and  his  brother  St.  George  were  frequently  companions  of 
Randolph  there.  For  instance,  under  date  of  July  17, 
181 1,  when  Tudor  was  in  his  fifteenth  year,  the  Diary 
contains  this  entry:  "Tudor  arrives  in  evening  from 
Bizarre  with  Fidget  and  Beauty."     There  is  also  this 

1  Bizarre,  Jul.  24,  1806,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  22. 

2  Ibid.,  Sept.  11,  1806,  Id.,  23. 

3  Ibid. 

4  Georgetown,  Nov.  27,  1807,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  42. 


490         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

amusing  reference  to  Tudor  in  the  School-boy  Reminis- 
cences of  John  Randolph,  by  Wm.  H.  Elliott: 

"Mr.  F,andolph  would  sometimes  unbend  himself  in  small 
talk  with  little  boys,  but  not  often.     On  one  occasion,  C.  C, 
[Carter  Coupland]  a  distant  relation  of  Mr.  Randolph,  ac- 
companied Tudor  and  myself  on  a  visit  to  Roanoke.   At  the 
close  of  a  long  summer's  day,  after  having  hunted  squirrels, 
climbed  trees,  swam  in  the  river,  and  played  marbles  to  satiety, 
we  composed  ourselves  to  rest,  all  in  the  same  apartment — we 
three  boys  on  a  pallet  of  liberal  dimensions,  spread  upon  the 
floor,  Mr.  Randolph  on  a  bed  to  himself,  where,  stretched  out 
at  full  length,  and,  covered  by  a  single  sheet,  he  looked  like  a 
pair  of  oyster  tongs.     He  had  a  book  and  a  candle  by  him 
reading.     At  length,  he  dropped  the  book,  looked  up  at  the 
ceiling,  and  commenced  thus:  'Boys!  why  may  not  the  earth 
be  an  animal?'     Our  researches  into  natural  history  did  not 
enable  us  to  advance  any  striking  hypothesis  on  such  a  subject. 
All  continued  perfectly  silent.     Mr.  Randolph  no  doubt  did 
not  expect  any  ingenious  suggestion  in  support  of  his  theory,  but 
asked  the  question  merely  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  his 
own  fanciful  strain  of  remarks.    He  resumed:  'Now  the  ocean 
may  be  regarded  as  the  heart   or  great  receptacle  of  the 
blood,  the  rivers  are  the  veins  and  arteries,  the  rocks  are  the 
bones.'     Here  C.  C,  being  a  sprightly  youth,  whispered  in 
my  ear,  'There  is  not  much  marrow  in  them  bones.'     This 
sally  well-nigh  cost  me  an  irreverent  chuckle.     'The  trees 
are  the  hair  of  this  animal,  and  men  and  other  vermin  inhabit 
these  hairs.     If  we  dig  a  hole  in  the  earth,  or  wound  it  in  any 
way,  we  find  that  it  has  a  tendency  to  heal  up.'     Tudor,  who 
was  a  corpulent  youth,  and  overcome  by  the  exercises  of  the 
day,  commenced  snoring.     Randolph's  quick  ear  caught  the 
sound,  he  turned  his  head  in  our  direction,  his  eyes  flashed 
indignation:  'Is  that  beef -headed  fellow  asleep  already?';  but, 
as  he  received  no  further  response  than  a  confirmatory  snort 
from  the  same  quarter,  he  extinguished  his  candle  with  an 
impatient  gesture,  wheeled  himself  over  towards  the  wall,  and 
seemed  to  seek  in  sleep  an  oblivion  of  his  disgust." ■ 

1  Bouldin,  79. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  49 1 

Of  Tudor,  when  he  was  a  pupil  at  Dr.  Rice's,  we  have 
but  few  details,  beyond  the  fact  that  Dr.  Rice  hoped  to 
make  a  clergyman  of  him1;  warned  him  when  he  was 
leaving  Virginia  for  Harvard  against  contracting  a  dis- 
gust for  his  native  State, 2  and  referred  to  him  in  a  letter 
to  Judith,  whom  he  had  won  over  from  the  Episcopal  to 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  "our  dear  boy.  "3 

At  Harvard,  Tudor  acquired  a  standing  which  spoke 
well  not  only  for  his  own  natural  genius,  but  for  the 
thoroughness  of  the  education  which  a  boy  could  receive 
in  his  day  in  Southside  Virginia,  despite  the  unfavorable 
opinion  which  Henry  Adams  formed  of  its  inhabitants. 

"He  was  a  lad  of  fine  abilities,"  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  declares, 
"and  sufficiently  attentive  to  his  studies  to  take  rank  among 
the  foremost  in  his  class.  Unhappily,  his  health  failed  towards 
the  end  of  his  college  life,  and  he  died  in  England  before  the 
class  graduated ;  but  the  corporation  nevertheless  gave  him  his 
degree,  and  his  name  appears  regularly  in  the  triennial  cata- 
logue. My  father  had  a  general  oversight  of  young  Ran- 
dolph and  the  charge  of  his  money  matters."4 

In  appearance,  Edmund  Quincy  tells  us  that  Tudor  was 
a  tall,  swarthy  youth  with  a  good  deal  in  his  looks  that 
seemed  to  justify  his  claim  to  a  descent  from  Pocahontas 
and  Powhatan. 

A  still  more  flattering  account  of  the  youth  was  given 
by  John  G.  Palfrey,  the  New  England  historian,  in  a  letter 
to  Jared  Sparks: 

"Randolph,  a  nephew  and  heir  of  the  celebrated  John 
Randolph,  has  just  come  here  from  Virginia,  and  is  studying 
with  Mr.  Everett.  He  did  mean  to  enter  our  class,  but  Everett 
has  advised  him,  and  I  believe  he  now  intends,  to  enter  junior 

1  Memoir  of  Rev.  Jno.  H.  Rice,  by  Wm.  Maxwell,  77. 

2  Id.  ,94. 

3  Memoir  of  Dr.  Jno.  Holt  Rice,  by  Maxwell,  118. 

4  Life  of  Quincy,  267. 


492         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

next  commencement.  He  is  a  very  smart  fellow,  very  studious 
and  has  read  almost  all  the  Greek  and  Latin  that  was  ever 
written.  He  has  been  here  only  a  week,  and,  in  that  time,  has 
been  over  Minora  and  the  Testament,  which  he  never  studied 
before.  He  has  been  over  none  of  the  freshman  or  sophomore 
studies — Livy  and  Horace — except  part  of  the  mathematics, 
some  of  the  authors  from  which  there  are  selections  in  Excerpta 
and  Graeca  Majora,  and  four  books  of  Euclid.  He  intends 
to  review  all  the  studies  required  to  enter,  and  has  apportioned 
his  time  so  as  to  allow  only  8  days  to  Locke  and  Logic !  I  hope, 
however,  he  will  be  discouraged  and  enter  our  class;  for  he 
would  be  an  honor  to  it."1 

A  later  letter — one  from  Charles  Folsom  to  Jared  Sparks 
— told  Sparks  that  a  third  person  had  seen  Tudor  in  Lon- 
don very  much  emaciated,  pale,  and  enfeebled  in  body  and 
voice ;  that  he  had  just  returned  from  Cheltenham  Springs 
from  which  he  thought  that  he  had  derived  some  benefit, 
but  that  he  was  manifestly  past  recovery,  and  connected 
with  the  world  by  hope  only. 2  After  the  death  of  Tudor, 
a  third  friend  of  Sparks  wrote  of  him  to  Sparks  in  these 
measured  but  generous  terms : 

"You  have  heard,  doubtless,  of  Randolph's  death.  He 
was  never  very  friendly  to  me,  but  the  grave  should  conceal 
the  feelings  as  soon  as  it  buries  the  virtues  of  our  associates 
in  oblivion.  His  character  was  very  peculiar,  but  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe  that  he  would  have  been  a  great  man." 3 

The  judgment  ot  Tudor,  formed  by  Sparks  himself,  is 
hardly  less  favorable.  "Taken  all  in  all,  he  was  one  of 
the  most  promising,  perhaps,  the  most  promising,  young 
man  who  has  been  at  Cambridge  within  my  knowledge  of 
the  institution.     I  was  very  warmly  attached  to  him."4 

As  usual,  Randolph  had  formed  a  correct  estimate  of 

1  July  7,  1812,  Life,  &c,  of  Jared  Sparks,  by  Herbert  B.  Adams,  v.  i,  70. 
3  Oct.  20,  1815,  Id.,  71  (note). 

3  Wm.  H.  Elliott,  to  Jared  Sparks,  Nov.  15,  1815,  Id.,  71  (note). 

4  Id.,  v.  2,  461. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  493 

intellectual  capacity.  He  did  not  often  trouble  himself 
about  the  valuation  placed  upon  his  speeches  by  others, 
but,  after  Tudor's  death,  he  wrote  to  Judith: 

"  I  have  a  request  ...  to  make  of  you.  It  is  to  furnish  me, 
after  you  shall  have  read  them,  with  all  the  letters  from  me  to 
Tudor  in  your  possession,  and  with  one  of  his  to  you,  of  which 
I  am  the  subject.  You  gave  it  to  me  or  sent  it  to  me  last  year 
(1814)  and  it  contains  this  expression:  'Surely,  my  uncle 
"spake  as  never  man  spake."  '  "x 

In  an  earlier  letter  to  David  Parish,  Randolph  said: 
• '  I  shall  embark  for  England  in  the  spring,  and  spend  the 
summer  at  Cheltenham,  where  is  lodged  in  the  bosom  of 
the  earth  the  treasure  of  my  heart.  "2 

Over  the  grave  at  Cheltenham,  he  caused  a  stone  to  be 
placed  with  an  inscription,  stating  that  Tudor  had  fallen 
a  victim  to  the  consequences  of  intense  study,  which  had 
obliged  him  to  leave  his  college  about  12  months  before  his 
decease,  and  that,  in  testimony  of  his  merit  as  a  scholar, 
the  corporation  of  the  University  of  Harvard  had  con- 
ferred on  him  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  at  their 
annual  commencement,  held  on  August  30,  1815;  ignorant 
that  he  was  then  removed  beyond  the  sphere  of  human 
censure  or  human  applause. 3   (a) 

Peculiarly  tender  were  Randolph's  relations  to  John 
St.  George  Randolph,  Tudor's  elder  brother,  who  was  born 
deaf  and  dumb,  and  died  after  many  years  of  hopeless 
insanity.  If  anyone  doubts  that  Randolph  was  turtle- 
dove as  well  as  falcon,  all  that  he  has  to  do  is  to  make  him- 
self familiar  with  the  infinite  love  and  compassion  that 
he  heaped  upon  this  unfortunate  youth.  At  Bizarre,  St. 
George  grew  up  immediately  under  the  eye  of  his  uncle, 
and,  after  the  latter  had  removed  to  Roanoke,  he  fre- 

1  Georgetown,  Jan.  20,  1816,  Grinnan  MSS. 

2  Ibid.,  Feb.  3,  1816. 
3J.  R.'s  Diary. 


494         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

quently  passed  to  and  fro  between  Bizarre  and  Roanoke. 
Though  too  deaf  to  hear  the  whirr  of  a  partridge's  wings, 
and  too  dumb  to  utter  a  command  to  a  pointer,  he 
achieved  the  highest  ambition  of  a  Southside  Virginia  boy 
of  his  day;  except  that  of  making  an  eloquent  speech, 
namely,  that  of  being  a  good  shot  on  the  wing.  On  one 
occasion,  he  wrote  to  his  uncle  that  he  had  killed  5  par- 
tridges and  a  hare  at  8  shots. x  Whole  or  maimed,  it  was 
to  that  and  better  that  every  Southside  lad  of  his  age 
aspired  in  the  stubble  field. 

In  his  desire  to  give  St.  George  the  best  education  that 
one  in  his  condition  was  capable  of  receiving,  Randolph 
sent  him  abroad  in  1805  to  take  a  course  of  instruction, 
first,  at  Braidwood's,  at  Harkney,  near  London,  and  then 
at  Sicard's,  near  Paris.  "I  am  here  that  I  may  see  the 
last  of  my  poor  boy?  "  he  wrote  to  St.  George  Tucker  from 
Baltimore.  "He  leaves  me  tomorrow  for  England."2 
Everything  that  money  could  do  to  promote  the  improve- 
ment of  the  boy,  while  he  was  abroad,  Randolph  saw  that 
money  did;  and,  throughout  his  entire  correspondence 
with  Monroe,  who,  with  his  family,  was,  to  some  extent, 
Randolph's  proxy  in  the  care  of  St.  George,  when  the 
latter  was  in  England,  there  are  expressions  of  the  eagerest 
solicitude  about  the  boy's  welfare.  "Poor  dear  unfortu- 
nate boy  " 3 ;  ' '  My  unhappy  boy  " 4 ;  ' '  That  dear,  interest- 
ing boy,  "s  are  some  of  the  caressing  terms  that  Randolph 
employs  about  St.  George  in  his  letters  to  Monroe.  To 
Monroe  and  the  members  of  his  family  Randolph's  heart 
overflowed,  as  it  was  wont  to  do  in  requital  for  any  real 
service  to  him,  in  words  of  the  warmest  acknowledgment, 
for  their  kindness  to  his  nephew.     It  would  seem,  however, 


1  Farmville,  Jan.  8,  1813,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Dec.  17,  1805,  Lucas  MSS. 

3  Monroe  Papers,  v.  9,  1360,  Libr.  Cong. 

s  Mch.  26,  1808,  Monroe  Papers,  v.  12,  1543,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  495 

that  St.  George  derived  but  little  benefit  from  his  schooling 
abroad ;  for,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley,  after  the 
young  man's  return,  Randolph  says  that  of  late  St. 
George's  letters  to  him  had  been  hardly  intelligible. I  "I 
fear  he  will  lose  the  faculty  of  expressing  his  thoughts  on 
paper  if  no  one  takes  the  trouble  to  correct  him,"  Ran- 
dolph observed.  "Alas!  'prayers  are  not  morality/  nor 
'kneeling  religion. '  "2  (a)  Some  of  the  poor  boy's  unin- 
telligible letters  to  his  uncle,  all  breathing  a  spirit  of  the 
most  devoted  affection  for  him,  have  survived.  In  one  of 
them,  speaking  of  Randolph's  servant,  Jupiter,  he  says: 
"I  fear  it  would  trouble  you  to  tell  you  that  Jupiter  clothes 
are  worn  out  now  but  it  will  be  mended  well  I  hope." 
However,  when  these  jumbled  words  are  read,  a  smile 
does  not  light  up  the  face  so  readily  as  it  would  do  if  St. 
George  had  not  already  expressed  in  the  same  letter  the 
great  pleasure  afforded  him  by  his  uncle's  letters,  and 
declared:  "It  delighted  me  very  much,  my  dear  uncle, 
that  you  remember  me  as  tenderly  as  if  you  were  my 
father."3  "This  county  has  none  the  gold  rings.  I 
wish  you  to  get  one  for  me  in  Richmond,  if  you  please, " 
is  another  fumbling  sentence  which  he  wrote  to  his  uncle ; 
doubtless  at  a  time  when  he  thought  that  he  was  about  to 
be  married. 4 

Randolph,  it  seems,  was  desirous  that  the  young  man 
should  marry,  (b)  This  fact  comes  out  in  a  letter  from 
Judith  to  Randolph,  written  at  a  time  when  St.  George's 
affections  were  fixed  upon  a  definite  object — his  cousin, 
Jane  Hackley,  the  daughter  of  his  mother's  sister  Harriet, 
the  wife  of  Richard  S.  Hackley,  who  was  for  a  time  the 
American  Consul  at  San  Lucar,  Spain.5  "You  have 
always  encouraged  the  idea  of  St.  George  forming  a  matri- 
monial connection  at  a  proper  age, "  she  said. 

1  Dec.  18,  1812,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  131.  »  Id. 

3  Bizarre,  Jan.  20,  1813,  Bryan  MSS. 

4  Ibid.,  Apr.  19,  18 14,  Bryan  MSS.  s  Bryan  MSS. 


496         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"While  I  ever  believed  that  it  was  extremely  improbable 
that  he  would  find  a  woman  worthy  of  him,  disposed  to  submit 
to  the  inconveniences  arising  from  his  misfortune,  to  me  it 
would  be  the  most  desirable  event  I  could  witness;  but  my 
most  sanguine  hopes  have  never  aspired  to  so  much  happiness. 
May  Heaven  in  its  mercy  protect  and  bless  my  child!  All  I 
can  do  to  promote  his  interest  and  comfort  shall  be  done  while 
I  live,  and  I  endeavor  to  fortify  his  mind  with  those  genuine 
principles  of  Christian  piety  which  alone  can  teach  him  (in  my 
opinion)  patience  and  forbearance.  He  is  cheerful  and  con- 
tented, I  hope,  although  he  has  recently  experienced  a  dis- 
appointment in  his  wish  to  gain  the  affections  of  a  very  amiable, 
exemplary  girl,  but  one  destitute  of  every  personal  charm 
whatever — I  mean  Jane  Hackley."1 

So  far  as  we  are  aware,  only  one  letter  from  Randolph 
to  St.  George  is  extant.  It  was  written  the  year  before 
the  boy  was  sent  to  England: 

"  I  came  back  from  Alexandria  this  morning  quite  dispirited 
at  parting  from  you,"  it  said,  "and  have  felt  solitary  and 
deserted  ever  since.  My  room  seems  quite  forlorn  now  you 
have  deserted  it,  and  several  times  I  have  been  on  the  point  of 
asking  where  you  were  when  I  recollected  myself.  Mr.  Brent 
sent  you  a  note  to  come  and  dine  with  him  today.  He  is 
father  of  George  Brent.  The  stage  driver,  of  whom  I  inquired, 
told  me  that  he  met  the  curricle  near  Mrs.  Washington's,  so 
that  you  must  have  reached  Colchester  before  dark.  I  wish 
the  bridge  had  been  mended,  and  then  you  would  have  been 
saved  a  cold  time  of  it  in  the  boat.  How  unlucky  that  we 
could  not  get  a  great-coat  for  you !  God  bless  you  my  dearest 
son.  Write  to  your  fond  uncle  who  loves  you  inexpressibly.  Two 
months  will  soon  pass  away,  and  then  your  expedition  to' Lon- 
don shall  be  deferred  no  longer.    Again,  my  dear  boy,  adieu ! " 2 

The  Diary  records  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
first  knowledge  of  St.  George's  insanity  was  received  by 

1  July  24,  1 813,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Washington,  Dec.  25,  1804,  Wm.  Leigh,  Jr.,  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  497 

Randolph.  When  it  reached  him,  he  was  still  lingering 
in  Richmond,  after  having  spent  the  winter  of  1813-1814 
there  so  delightfully.  This  is  the  entry:  "  1814,  May  10. 
Tuesd.  Rec'd  Judith's  letter,  announcing  St.  George's 
insanity.  Set  out  immediately  for  Mrs.  Tabb's  that 
night — next  day  to  Farmville. "  About  two  weeks  later, 
Randolph  took  St.  George  to  his  own  home  at  Roanoke 
from  Farmville,  where  Judith  resided  for  a  while  after  the 
destruction  of  her  home  at  Bizarre ;  and,  from  this  time  on , 
there  are  frequent  references  to  St.  George  in  Randolph's 
letters  to  his  friends. 

"My  eldest  nephew,  St.  George,"  he  wrote  to  Francis 
Scott  Key,  ' '  in  consequence  of  an  unsuccessful  attachment  to 

Miss ,  the  daughter  of  a  worthy  neighbor  of  his  mother, 

had  become  unsettled  in  his  intellects,  and,  on  my  arrival  at 
Farmville,  I  found  him  a  frantic  maniac.  I  have  brought  him 
up  here  and  Dr.  Dudley,  a  friend  and  treasure  to  me  above  all 
price,  assists  me  in  the  management  of  him.  We  have  no 
hopes  of  his  restoration."1 

In  a  letter  to  Key  written  eleven  days  later,  Randolph 
told  Key  that  St.  George  had  made  several  attempts  to 
marry,  and  that,  brooding  over  the  cause  of  his  failure, 
had  reduced  him  to  his  present  state. 2 

When  this  letter  was  written,  St.  George  had  been  taken 
back  to  Farmville,  but  had  been  again  shifted  from  Farm- 
ville to  Roanoke,  because,  as  Randolph  intimated  in  his 
letter,  he  had  become  incurably  alienated  from  his  mother. 

The  exact  mental  condition  of  St.  George  is  clearly 
stated  by  Randolph  in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  the  next 
day  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough. 

"Poor  St.  George  continues  quite  irrational,"  he  said. 
"He  is,  however,  very  little  mischievous,  and  governed  pretty 
easily.     His  memory  of  persons,  things,  words  and  events  is 

1  Roanoke,  June  3,  1814,  Garland,  v.  2,  39. 

2  Ibid.,  Jul.  14,  1814,  Id.,  40. 

VOL.  II. — 32 


498         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

not  at  all  impaired,  but  he  has  no  power  of  combination,  and  is 
entirely  incoherent. '  [ r 

Later,  St.  George  was  confined  in  an  insane  asylum  at 
Philadelphia,  and,  afterwards,  he  was  confined  in  one  at 
or  near  Baltimore.  In  1817,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker 
went  to  see  him  at  Philadelphia,  and,  reporting  what  he 
saw  to  Dr.  Dudley,  Randolph  said:  "He  went  with 
Ryland  to  see  St.  George,  and  was  surprised  to  find  his 
madness  of  so  bad  a  type.  He  tears  everything  to  tatters 
that  he  lays  his  hands  on.  He  recognized  his  uncle  at 
once  but  the  moody  expression  of  his  countenance  indi- 
cated in  Harry 's  opinion,  incurable  insanity.  " 2  Nothing 
can  be  more  pathetic  than  the  language  in  which  Ran- 
dolph spoke  of  St.  George,  after  the  latter  had  lost  his 
reason:  "Poor  St.  George,  ill-starred,  unfortunate  boy!" 
he  wrote  to  Theodore, — ' '  His  destiny  was  sealed  before  his 
birth  or  conception.  Take  care  of  yourself;  you  are  my 
last  stay."3  These  words  were  written  from  Morrisania 
in  1 8 14,  after  the  sight  of  poor  Tudor's  consumptive  face 
there,  and  the  approaching  extinction  of  all  hopes  of  fur- 
ther descent  from  his  father  had  awakened  in  him  the 
feelings  which  afterwards  caused  him  to  exclaim  in  words, 
partly  borrowed  from  the  famous  speech  of  the  Indian 
Chief,  Logan,  that  there  remained  not  a  drop  of  Logan's 
blood,  except  St.  George,  "the  most  bereaved  and  pitiable 
of  the  stepsons  of  nature."4  Even  before  Randolph 
visited  Morrisania,  however,  the  ruin,  in  which  his  whole 
family  line  was  being  involved,  had  become  plain  to  him. 
Writing  to  Key  from  Roanoke  on  July  31,  18 14,  he  penned 
these  harrowing  words : 

"Affliction  has  assailed  me  in  a  new  shape.     My  younger 
nephew,  whom  you  saw  in  Georgetown  a  few  years  ago,  has 

1  Roanoke,  Jul.  15,  1814,  Id.,  41. 

2  Georgetown,  Feb.  23,  1817,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  196. 

3  Morrisania,  Oct.  23,  1814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  163. 

4  Garland,  v.  1,  70. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  499 

fallen,  I  fear,  into  a  confirmed  pulmonary  consumption.  He 
was  the  pride,  the  sole  hope  of  our  family.  How  shall  I 
announce  to  his  wretched  mother  that  the  last  stay  of  her 
widowed  life  is  falling?  Give  me  some  comfort,  my  good 
friend,  I  beseech  you.  He  is  now  travelling  by  slow  journeys 
home.  What  a  scene  awaits  him  there!  His  birthplace  in 
ashes;  his  mother  worn  to  a  skeleton  with  disease  and  grief;  his 
brother  cut  off  from  all  that  distinguishes  man  to  his  advantage 
from  the  brute  beast.  I  do  assure  you  that  my  own  reason  has 
staggered  under  this  cruel  blow.  I  know,  or  rather  have  a 
confused  conception  of  what  I  ought  to  do,  and  sometimes 
strive,  not  altogether  ineffectually  I  hope,  to  do  it.  But  again 
all  is  chaos  and  misery."1 

Some  of  the  letters  written  by  Judith  to  Randolph  when 
St.  George  was  at  Roanoke  in  a  demented  condition  have 
been  preserved,  and  they  are  indicative  of  both  a  strong 
intellect  and  a  lofty  spirit.  After  St.  George  had  been 
absent  from  her  for  about  a  month,  she  wrote  these  affect- 
ing words  to  Randolph : 

1 '  My  dear  B  rother  :  As  there  seems  little  probability  that 
change  of  scene  will  produce  any  permanent  benefit  to  my 
unhappy  child,  I  would  wish  to  know  whether  you  suppose  it 
could  be  any  disadvantage  to  him  to  have  him  removed  to 
Bizarre,  where,  in  a  few  weeks,  I  can  have  a  very  comfortable 
room  fitted  up  for  myself.  You  say  that  you  think  the  negroes 
can  restrain  St.  George  sufficiently,  and  that  he  shows  no  dis- 
position to  injure  persons  or  animals.  If  so,  there  is  no  reason 
why  you  should  suffer  exclusively  the  melancholy  sight  which 
it  is  my  duty  and  my  inclination  to  relieve  you  from.  At  this 
place,  he  cannot  be  kept;  the  vicinity  of  the  highroad;  the 
tavern  opposite,  which  is  now  continually  visited  by  strangers, 
together  with  the  excessive  heat  and  sun  in  this  house,  would 
destroy  him.  In  his  own  little  apartment  at  Bizarre,  he  could 
be  very  comfortable;  it  is  so  well  shaded.  Oh!  had  we  never 
quitted  that  spot,  desolate  as  it  now  is!  my  child  would  never 
have  lost  his  reason!     A  more  guileless,  innocent  and  happy 

1  Id.,  v.  2,  43. 


Soo         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

creature  I  believe  never  existed  than  he,  until  that  fatal  calam- 
ity which  sent  us  forth  houseless."1 

In  response  to  this  letter,  St.  George  was  a  week  or  so 
later  taken  to  Farmville;  but  three  days  afterwards,  for 
some  reason,  he  was  taken  back  to  Roanoke.2  Subse- 
quently, his  condition  improved  for  a  time,  because  in  one 
of  Randolph's  briefer  journals,  under  date  of  Nov.  18, 
1816,  it  is  stated  that  St.  George  had  relapsed.  About 
two  weeks  later,  after  being  bled,  he  was  taken  to  the 
asylum  at  Philadelphia ;  Randolph,  who  was  in  Richmond, 
when  he  reached  that  City,  noting  in  the  journal  just 
mentioned,  under  date  of  Dec.  2,  18 16,  that  he  had  slept 
with  the  poor  fellow  the  night  before. 

Among  the  letters  from  Judith  to  Randolph,  in  regard 
to  St.  George,  when  he  was  at  Roanoke,  is  one  in  which  she 
thanks  him  for  giving  her  every  week  accurate  intelligence 
about  her  son.  ■ '  May  the  mercy  of  Heaven  be  extended 
to  my  beloved  child,"  she  concludes.  "Excuse  me,  my 
dear  brother,  these  idle  and  impertinent  wanderings. 
May  God  bless  you."3  But  the  most  noteworthy  of  all 
the  letters  is  one  upon  the  back  of  which  we  can  still  trace 
a  diligent  effort  by  Randolph  to  converse  with  his  deaf 
and  dumb  nephew.  The  words,  scribbled  by  St.  George, 
are  entirely  irrational,  and,  so  far  as  they  are  intelligible 
at  all,  betray  a  delusion  upon  his  part  that  Randolph  was 
about  to  be  put  in  prison  by  the  people  of  Cumberland 
County;  which  Randolph  endeavored  to  dissipate  by  his 
written  replies.  The  strange  conversation  opens  with 
these  words :  "I  am  glad  to  see  you  so  much  better  these 
two  days,  my  dear  nephew.     I  love  you  much.  "4 

St.  George  died  at  an  advanced  age,  after  being  taken 
under  the  roof  of  his  committee,  Wyatt  Cardwell,   at 

1  Farmville,  June  28,  1814,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  J.  R.'s  Diary. 

3  Farmville,  June  14,  181 4,  Bryan  MSS. 

4  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  501 

Charlotte  Court  House,  and  his  estate,  so  far  as  made  up 
of  what  he  received  from  the  compromise  in  the  Ran- 
dolph will  litigation,  was  distributed,  in  the  proportion  of 
one-half,  among  his  paternal,  and,  in  the  proportion  of 
one-half,  among  his  maternal,  kindred.  A  description  of 
him,  as  he  was  in  1856,  a  few  years  before  his  death,  when 
he  was  at  large  at  Charlotte  Court  House,  and  a  harmless 
lunatic,  has  been  recently  given  to  us  by  Marion  Harland 
in  her  Autobiography.  He  was  then  a  man  of  venerable 
appearance,  with  a  full  white  beard,  but  his  figure,  which 
was  above  the  medium  height,  was  still  "erect  as  a  Vir- 
ginia Pine."  He  planted  his  feet  straight  forward,  like 
an  Indian,  as  he  walked,  his  hair  was  snow-white,  his  eye- 
brows were  black,  his  eyes  were  dark  and  piercing,  and  his 
features  were  finely  chiselled.1  He  had  his  own  riding 
horse,  he  read  and  apparently  enjoyed  Latin  and  French, 
as  well  as  English,  books,  and  retained  a  distinct  recollec- 
tion of  his  famous  uncle  and  of  the  politics  of  his  day. 2  (a) 

Indeed,  Randolph  seems  to  have  felt  a  deep  sympathy 
in  every  respect  with  what  he  calls  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
his  niece  "the  freshness  of  unhackneyed  youth."3 
Bouldin  tells  an  interesting  story  of  the  kindly  manner  in 
which  he  relieved  the  despondency  of  a  sensible  and  meri- 
torious young  man,  who  had  begun  the  study  of  one  of  the 
learned  professions,  by  assuring  him  repeatedly  that  he 
had  nothing  to  fear ;  that  he  had  the  requisite  qualifications 
for  success  in  his  chosen  calling,  and  that  all  he  had  to  do 
was  to  persevere,  as  several  men  of  his  acquaintance  that 
he  mentioned  had  done,  who,  without  splendid  abilities, 
had,  solely  by  their  industry  and  persistency,  won  good 
positions  for  themselves  in  life. 4 

More  definite  is  this  beautiful  tribute  paid  to  Randolph 
by  the  Rev.  John  T.  Clark  in  the  reminiscences  which  we 

1  P.  320.  a  Id.,  322. 

3  Dec.  29,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 

4  Bouldin,  75. 


502         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

have  already  quoted  in  connection  with  Randolph's  views 
on  the  subject  of  slavery : 

"At  the  conclusion  of  the  War,  he  returned  to  his  old 
political  associates,  while  my  father  continued  to  the  end  of  his 
life  a  zealous  and  consistent  Federalist.  After  my  father's 
death,  Mr.  Randolph  was  very  kind  and  considerate  of  my 
mother's  situation  and  feelings,  often  sending  her  in  the  most 
delicate  way  some  little  rarity  like  fish,  or  fruit  or  preserves, 
and  asking  in  return  some  little  favor;  and,  from  his  knowledge 
of  her  character  and  habits,  he  always  asked  something  which 
he  knew  she  would  be  glad  to  send,  and  which,  from  her 
reputation  as  an  elegant  housewife,  he  knew  also  would  come 
to  him  with  the  nicest  and  most  tempting  preparation ;  in  this 
way,  he  made  the  interchange  light  and  pleasant  to  both.  But 
these  attentions,  as  well  as  his  visits  had  gradually  become  less 
and  less  frequent,  so  that  when  I  came  home  from  school  to 
live,  although  kind  feelings  existed,  there  was  but  little  inter- 
course between  the  families.  It  was  therefore,  with  some 
surprise  that  one  morning  (when  it  was  well  understood  among 
my  associates  that  I  had  determined  to  prepare  myself  for  the 
Christian  Ministry  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  and,  whether  I  held 
out  or  not,  I  was  not  diligently  engaged  in  my  Theological 
studies)  I  received  a  small  package  of  religious  books  from  Mr. 
Randolph,  with  a  cordial  invitation  to  come  to  see  him.  This 
I  did  immediately,  and,  when  I  reached  his  house,  I  met  with 
the  most  hearty  reception,  and  found  that  the  reason  he  had 
sent  for  me  was,  he  had  heard  of  my  purpose  to  'take  Orders,' 
as  he  always  spoke  of  my  entering  the  ministry,  and  to  encour- 
age me  in  thus  doing  so,  and  to  give  me  his  advice  as  to  my 
studies  and  course  of  reading.  I  can  say  with  truth  that  this 
was  the  first  encouragement  I  received  from  anyone  to  perse- 
vere in  my  purpose ;  the  first  kind  and  hearty  word  that  had  been 
spoken  to  me  in  an  unhesitating,  unequivocal  tone  and  manner, 
that  held  out  to  me  the  prospect  of  honor  or  usefulness,  or 
distinction  in  the  course  I  wished  to  follow.  The  nearest  thing 
to  encouragement,  that  had  ever  before  this  been  said  to  me, 
was  the  assertion  that  I  was  sincere  in  my  purpose,  although  it 
was  doubtful  as  to  my  being  more  useful  in  the  Clerical  Calling 


Randolph  as  a  Man  503 

than  as  a  wealthy  layman  in  the  Church;  and  that  I  could 
injure  no  one,  and  could  give  no  one  cause  of  complaint,  unless 
it  were  to  my  own  family,  and  that  only  on  the  ground  of 
injury  to  my  estate;  but  Mr.  Randolph's  encouragement,  and 
his  approbation  of  my  course  was  warm  and  eloquent ;  he  took 
me  through  his  library,  and  pointed  out  his  favorite  authors ;  at 
the  same  time  making  remarks  and  criticisms  on  them ;  occa- 
sionally reading,  particularly  from  Milton,  or  quoting  from 
memory  favorite  passages  from  South  and  Burke.  After  going 
through  his  library  in  this  way,  he  then  offered  me  the  use  of 
any  book  he  had,  and  urged  upon  me  the  acceptance,  as  a  pres- 
ent, of  several  valuable  Theological  works;  saying  that  he  was 
now  old,  and  they  would  be  of  no  more  use  to  him,  and  telling 
me  how  valuable  they  would  be  to  me.  Before  my  visit  was 
over,  he  became  so  much  interested,  and  his  religious  feelings 
were  so  much  aroused,  that  he  took  down  a  Prayer  Book  and, 
both  of  us  taking  seats,  he  read  the  Litany.  At  many  of  the 
petitions,  he  would  pause,  and  making  [comments]  on  them. 
he  would  direct  me  how  to  read  them,  and  point  out  their 
beauty  or  appropriateness  or  solemnity.  On  one  petition, 
in  particular  'By  thine  agony  and  bloody  sweat;  by  thy  cross 
and  passion ;  by  thy  precious  death  and  burial ;  by  thy  glorious 
resurrection  and  ascension;  and  by  the  Coming  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  Good  Lord  deliver  us';  he  commented  at  much  length; 
telling  in  his  own  emphatic  language — the  'ardentia  verba,1 
which  he  said  himself  was  eloquence — how  this  wonderful 
petition  always  affected  him.  While  it  lifted  his  heart  and 
thoughts  to  heaven,  yet,  with  what  solemn,  and  almost  terrific, 
feelings  it  filled  his  mind,  when  he  thus  called  over  in  prayer  to 
God  the  account  of  our  Saviour's  sufferings  for  us.  In  this  way, 
we  spent  nearly  the  entire  day ;  and,  before  parting,  he  reminded 
me  the  'Old  Church'  needed  propping,  and  that  I  could  do  it; 
and  the  reader  can  easily  understand  how  a  young  man  would 
feel  at  such  encouragement  and  advice  from  one  so  capable  of 
giving  them.  From  that  time,  for  the  two  short  years  that  he 
lived,  whenever  he  was  at  Roanoke,  his  house  was  always 
open  to  me;  his  library  at  my  command;  and  he  ever  ready 
to  talk  with  me,  and  to  encourage  and  advise.  Never  did  he 
say  an  unkind  word  to  me,  but,  on  the  contrary,  everything  he 


504         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

said  to  me,  either  when  we  were  alone  together,  or  in  company, 
was  kind  and  encouraging,  and  oftentimes  most  complimen- 
tary. So  that  whatever  others  may  say  of  him,  or  whatever 
may  have  been  his  faults  to  others,  I  have  no  feelings  towards 
him  but  of  kindness  and  reverence;  and,  when  I  heard  of  his 
death,  I  felt  that  I  had  lost  a  friend.  And,  if  I  have  been  of 
service  to  the  Church  of  God,  or,  if  I  have  won  any  Souls  to 
Christ,  and  I  think  without  vanity  I  can  say  I  have,  no  one 
gave  me  so  early,  so  decided,  or  such  intelligent  encouragement 
to  dedicate  myself  to  God  in  the  ministry  of  his  Church,  as  did 
John  Randolph  of  Roanoke."1 

The  same  kindly  characteristics  came  out  the  afternoon 
before  Randolph's  death  in  an  interview  between  him  and 
Dr.  Ethelbert  Algernon  Coleman.  These  are  the  words 
in  which  this  interview  is  recalled  in  the  Doctor's  Diary : 

''On  hearing  the  name  on  my  card,  he  had  me  sent  for,  spoke 
very  affectionately  to  me,  enquired  about  my  family  and  his 
horse-tooth  instruments,  [that  he  had  asked  Dr.  Coleman  to 
have  sharpened  for  him]  and,  particularly,  whether  Sister  M. 
was  about  to  be  married,  and  whether  Brother  John  was  to 
meet  me  in  Baltimore.  He  asked  me  to  call,  whenever  at 
leisure,  and  said  he  was  dying.  But,  before  I  saw  him  again, 
he  was  dead.  His  temper  was  particularly  mild  and  even; 
and  the  Landlord  said  that  not  more  than  J4  hour  before  he 
died,  on  understanding  that  a  young  man  of  his  acquaintance 
had  been  refused  a  sight,  he  called  for  paper  and  pencil  to  write 
him  an  apology.  The  writing  was  at  first  proper  and  rational 
in  its  contents,  but,  towards  its  end,  which  could  only  have 
occurred  a  very  few  moments  before  the  catastrophe,  it  ran 
into  rather  a  loop  concerning  the  pedigree  of  some  one  of  his 
horses." 

Among  the  letters  of  affectionate  counsel,  written  by 
Randolph,  are  two  to  his  relation,  Richard  Ryland  Ran- 
dolph, when  the  latter  was  a  medical  student  at  Philadel- 
phia.    "Go  on,  my  young  friend, "  he  tells  Ryland  in  one 

1  Bouldin  MSS. 


FRANCES    BLAND    TUCKER 

Half  Sister  of  John  Randolph,  and  wife  of  Judge  Jno.  Coalter. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  505 

of  these  letters,  "and  may  God  prosper  your  laudable 
endeavors  to  be  worthy  of  the  excellent  father  and  friend 
whom  we  both  deplore. "  *  And  then,  after  some  words  of 
sound  advice,  he  says  in  the  same  letter : 

"There  is  a  struggle  in  the  life  of  every  young  man,  with 
very  few  exceptions,  from  1 6  to  22  whether  he  shall  turn  out  a 
gentleman  or  a  blackguard.  On  this  score,  I  have  no  fears 
for  you  whose  father  was  a  gentleman  (his  example  you  have 
had  before  you  until  within  a  few  months  past)  and  whose 
ancestors  for  ages  have  maintained  that  character.  'We  have 
lost  all  but  our  honor,'  said  Francis  I  of  France;  be  it  our 
motto." 

In  another  letter,  Randolph  advises  Ryland  to  keep  a 
diary  and  gives  him  very  persuasive  reasons  why  he  should 
do  so.  In  the  same  letter  commenting  on  the  rule  which 
Ryland  had  laid  down  for  himself,  "not  to  follow  any  of  the 
maxims  of  the  young  men  of  the  present  day, "  he,  while 
declaring  the  rule  to  be  an  excellent  one,  shrewdly  suggests 
that,  at  the  same  time,  there  was  no  necessity  for  Ryland 
letting  the  young  men  know  it  except  by  his  conduct.  He 
then  digresses  into  these  amusing  observations  on  the 
improper  transposition  of  words : 

"In  short,  I  hear  nobody  who  does  not  transpose  the  two 
verbs  to  lie  and  to  lay.  A  fine  ship — she  lays  at  Murray s 
wharf.'  Query,  eggs  or  wagers?  'Won't  you  lay  down?' 
What?  my  hat,  or  my  principles?  This  unfortunate  word 
happens  to  be  the  infinitive  of  one  verb  and  the  preterite  of  the 
other :  this  may  have  led  to  the  confusion.  Perhaps,  the  odious 
sound  to  lie,  in  one  sense  of  the  term,  has  also  led  to  its  discard 
— if  you  will  suffer  me  to  make  a  noun  of  a  verb  (Nouns  turned 
into  verbs  meet  you  everywhere.  I  have  heard  'to  courtmartial 
an  officer') ;  to  which  picquet  familiarized  my  ear,  when  I  was  a 
boy,  and  played  that  game  with  the  best  of  mothers ;  to  whom 
I  am  indebted  for  what  little  knowledge  I  possess  of  the  idiom 

1  Georgetown,  March  8,  18 16,  Maine  Hist.  Soc. 


506         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  orthoepy  of  the  English  language.   'Laid'  for  lain  is 
equally  common. 

"Learn  for  teach  is  another  error  almost  as  general.  Some 
of  the  tenses  of  the  verb  to  sit,  for  set,  are  also  very  common. 
'He  sat  off  yesterday,'  for  he  set  off  (i.e.,  did  set,  for  this  verb  is 
inflexible,  referring  to  change  in  any  of  its  tenses) .  The  sun  set 
last  evening  at  56  minutes  past  five.  It  is  not  uncommon  to 
hear  this  verb  used  for  the  other.  'Is  the  house  setting?' 
'Setting  what — razors  or  hens?'  'Will  you  set  down.'  'No, 
but  you  ought  to  be  set  down  for  bad  grammar.'  'Sowed, 
for  'sown,'  altho  not,  like  the  rest,  false,  yet  it  is  not  good.  The 
people,  among  whom  you  reside,  are  not  famous  for  their  cor- 
rectness in  language,  altho  they  laugh  in  their  cockney  tongue 
at  the  Virginians  who  richly  deserve  it  for  their  whar  and  thar 
and  stars  (i.e.,  stairs);  about  as  near  as  the  truth  as  weer  or 
wer,  theer  or  ther,  and  steen.  For  orthoepy,  I  refer  you  to 
Walker,  altho  he  cannot  be  always  relied  on.  I  hope  that  you 
do  not  pronounce  'kind,'  'sky,'  with  the  k  hard:  but  that  you 
soften  the  sound  like  that  of  c  in  cards  and  of  g  in  garden  and 
guard.  I  hope  too  that  you  do  not  say  obleeged  for  obliged."1 
(a) 

To  some  of  his  older  relations,  too,  Randolph  was  fer- 
vidly attached.  One  was  his  brother  Richard.  ' '  He  was 
the  best  and  truest  of  brothers, "  Randolph  said  in  a  letter 
to  James  Monroe.  Sawyer  states  that  Richard  was  ' '  a 
man  of  great  personal  beauty  and  superior  talents.  "2  He 
might  have  added  that  he  had  the  faculty  of  winning 
affection,  which  we  are  almost  tempted  to  say  is,  if  not 
abused,  a  better  thing  than  either. 

Of  Judith,  too,  Randolph  was  very  fond,  notwithstand- 
ing the  impatience  that  he  occasionally  exhibited  with 
her  positive  characteristics,  which  were,  doubtless,  asserted 
not  more  emphatically  than  his  own  temperament  at 
times  made  necessary.  The  few  letters  from  her  to  him, 
which  still  exist,  show  that  he  was  both  esteemed  and 

1  Georgetown,  Mar.  17,  18 16,  Maine  Hist.  Soc. 

2  Sawyer,  6. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  507 

beloved  by  her.  Though,  in  a  letter  to  Creed  Taylor,  she 
very  properly  sought  the  independent  advice  of  the  latter 
on  certain  points,  affecting  the  pecuniary  interests  of  her 
sons,  which  had  arisen  out  of  the  partition  of  a  portion  of 
the  estate  of  Randolph's  father  between  Randolph  and  her 
husband's  estate,  and  even  called  attention  to  the  fact  that, 
while  she  had  lived  ''but  a  little  removed  from  poverty, ' ' 
Randolph  had  made  purchases  of  real  estate  to  the  extent 
of  upwards  of  £3,000,  she  yet  disclaimed  any  intent  what- 
ever to  reflect  upon  his  integrity,  and  said :  "To  you,  my 
dear  Sir,  I  need  not  mention  the  long  and  affectionate 
attachment  I  have  cherished  for  the  brother  of  him  who 
was  the  best  of  husbands. "  *  As  to  Taylor  himself,  he  is  dis- 
tinctly on  record  as  expressing  the  opinion  that  Randolph 
was ' '  one  of  the  most  honest  men  in  the  world. ' ' 2  Nothing 
need  be  added  to  what  we  have  already  said  about  the 
estimation  in  which  Judith's  proficiency  as  a  domestic 
manager  was  held  by  Randolph.  In  an  early  letter  to 
his  friend,  Wm.  Thompson,  he  spoke  of  her  as  "that  pat- 
tern of  female  virtue.  " 3  In  another  letter  to  Thompson, 
he  described  her  as  a  woman  who  united  to  talents  of  the 
first  order  a  degree  of  cultivation  uncommon  in  any 
country,  but  especially  in  ours.4  Not  only  William  S. 
Lacy,  in  his  Recollections,  but  John  Randolph  Bryan,  too, 
has  testified  to  the  love  that  Randolph  bore  for  Judith.5 
He  often  visited  her  after  he  left  Bizarre,  and  her  name 
several  times  appears  in  his  journals  as  a  visitor  at  Roa- 
noke. Indeed,  in  one  of  her  letters  to  him  she  says  that 
she  hopes  soon  to  be  up  again,  and  ready  to  return  to 
Roanoke,  and  enter  upon  her  new  occupation  as  house- 
keeper; but  this,  apparently,  she  never  did.6 

1  March  17,  18 10,  Creed  Taylor  Papers. 

2  Creed  Taylor  Papers. 

3  Garland,  v.  I,  173. 

4  Id.,  167. 

s  Letter  to  Mr.  Robertson,  Mar.  27,  1818,  Bryan  MSS. 
6  Undated,  Bryan  MSS. 


508         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

After  the  death  of  Tudor,  and  St.  George's  loss  of  reason, 
Judith,  between  grief  and  declining  health,  presents  her- 
self to  us  as  little  more  than  a  Niobe — all  tears.  Subse- 
quent to  these  events,  she  became  even  more  intimate 
than  before  with  Dr.  John  H.  Rice  and  his  wife,  and  died 
at  their  home  in  Richmond,  where  she  had  resided,  agree- 
ably with  their  repeated  invitations,  ever  since  the  death 
of  Tudor,  on  March  10,  18161 ;  leaving  a  will  by  which  she 
made  Randolph  one  of  her  executors  and  bequeathed  a 
legacy  of  $1,000  to  Dr.  Rice;  which  that  able  and  good 
man,  moved  partly  by  the  fear  that  his  kindness  to  her  in 
her  later  years  might  be  ascribed  to  mercenary  motives, 
distributed  among  various  Christian  charities  which  he 
knew  that  she  had  patronized,  when  living.2  Such  a 
pronounced  pietist  was  Judith,  after  her  conversion  to 
Presbyterianism,  that  Randolph  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
Dr.  Dudley  once  said:  "I  heard  from  Bizarre  today.  All 
there  are  well.  I  shall  not  be  disappointed  if  a  lady  of  our 
acquaintance  should  give  her  hand  to  some  Calvinistic 
parson. " 3  Very  noble  in  spirit  and  form  is  a  letter  from 
Randolph  to  Dr.  Rice,  which  was  written  six  days  after 
Judith's  death,  and  which  furnishes  us  with  but  another 
proof  that  the  affection  and  respect  that  Judith  and  Ran- 
dolph felt  for  each  other  was  never  really  shaken : 

"Your  letter  of  the  13th  is  this  moment  received.  The 
others  have  all  come  to  hand,  although  generally  one  or  two 
days  later  than  the  due  course  of  mail.  They  would  demand 
my  most  grateful  acknowledgements,  if  they  were  not  already 
due  for  obligations  of  a  far  higher  nature — obligations  by  which 
I  am  bound  not  less  to  Mrs.  Rice  than  to  yourself. 

"After  the  first  sharp  pang  was  over,  I  could  not  but  view 
Mrs.  Randolph's  departure  as  a  release  from  sufferings  that  it 
is  to  be  hoped  have  few  examples ;  from  a  world  that  no  longer 

1  J.  R.'s  Diary. 

2  Memoir  of  Dr.  John  H.  Rice,  by  Wm.  Maxwell,  125  (note). 

3  Roanoke,  Oct.  29,  1810,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  73. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  509 

had  a  single  charm  for  her.  I  knew  her  better  than  anybody 
else.  Her  endowments  were  of  the  highest  order ;  and  it  gave 
me  the  greatest  comfort,  of  which  under  such  circumstances  I 
am  susceptible,  to  learn  that  she  died  as  every  Christian  could 
wish  to  die.  The  manner,  in  which  she  spoke  of  me  in  her  last 
moments,  is  also  truly  grateful. 

"I  received  your  letter,  announcing  that  her  case  was  a 
doubtful  one,  the  day  after  Mr.  Leigh's,  which  arrived  on 
Saturday.  His  was  much  the  more  alarming  of  the  two. 
On  Sunday  morning,  I  awoke  with  the  strongest  impression  on 
my  mind  that  Mrs.  R.  was  no  more:  and,  while  penning  the 
note  for  the  prayers  of  the  Church  agreeable  to  our  service,  I 
felt  almost  restrained  by  the  consideration  of  impiety  in  de- 
precating that  which  God  had  willed  and  done.  I  shook  it  off 
however ;  but  I  could  not  shake  off  the  impression  that  she  was 
in  the  land  of  spirits.  I  almost  saw  her  pale  and  shadowy, 
purified  from  the  dross  of  the  body, — looking  sorrowfully  yet 
benignantly  upon  me."1 

The  last  words  uttered  by  Tudor  and  his  mother,  re- 
spectively, certify  as  nothing  but  similar  words  could  do 
to  the  profound  spiritual  change  infused  by  Presbyterian- 
ism  into  the  class  of  Southside  Virginians  of  which  Judith 
was  a  representative.  Those  of  Tudor  were:  "Don't 
grieve  for  me,  for  I  die  happy ' ' ;  those  of  Judith :  '  '  Christ 
is  my  only  hope."2 

Tenderer  still  were  the  relations  of  Randolph  to  his 
sister  Fanny  Bland  Tucker,  who  afterwards  became  the 
wife  of  John  Coalter.  His  letters  to  St.  George  Tucker 
frequently  contain  loving  messages  to  her  when  she  was  a 
mere  girl.  It  is  to  be  deeply  regretted  that  his  letters  to 
her,  with  a  few  exceptions,  should  have  perished,  as  so 
much  else  from  his  pen  did ;  but  a  number  of  her  letters  to 
him  are  extant,  and  they  reveal  an  unusual  capacity  for 
fluent  and  correct  composition,  a  rare  degree  of  fidelity  to 
all  the  domestic  virtues,  a  heart  overflowing  with  love  not 

1  Georgetown,  Mar.  16,  1816,  Memoir  of  Dr.  Jno.  H.  Rice,  125. 

2  Id.,  119  (note)  and  124  (note). 


5io         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

only  for  her  husband  and  children,  but  for  her  kith  and 
kin  generally;  and  alas!  besides  the  consumptive  habit  of 
body  which  finally  brought  her  to  the  grave,  but  which 
never  beclouded  her  spirits  nor  fretted  the  pure  rich  flow 
of  her  affections.  It  is  impossible  to  read  her  letters  to 
Randolph  without  feeling  that  she  too  must  have  been  in 
his  mind  when  he  depicted  in  such  a  happy  manner  in  the 
House  the  Virginia  matron  and  her  distaff.  Her  letters 
to  Randolph  abound  in  references  to  her  children,  includ- 
ing the  one  whom  she  terms  Randolph's  favorite,  and  sup- 
ply one  more  additional  proof  of  the  partiality  that  Ran- 
dolph felt  for  children.  In  one  letter  she  sends  him  the 
love  of  her  children,  and  their  thanks  for  a  present  which 
he  has  just  made  to  them.1  In  another,  referring  to 
Randolph's  "little  favorite,"  she  says:  "Saint  is  a  fine 
fellow.  I  am  sure  you  will  love  him  more  than  ever."2 
One  of  the  most  earnest  cravings  of  her  heart  during  the 
period  covered  by  her  letters  was  that  there  should  be  a 
reunion  of  all  the  descendants  of  her  mother  and  their 
wives  and  children  under  one  roof. 

"How  much  pleasure,  my  dear  brother,"  she  exclaims  in  one 
of  her  letters  to  Randolph,  "would  it  give  me  could  I  see  you, 
with  the  whole  of  the  Roanoke-Bizarre  families,  together  with 
Henry's  and  my  own  family,  under  one  roof.  No  matter 
which  of  our  houses,  but  let  us  hope  ere  we  die  to  be  once 
altogether.  I  am  in  the  center,  and,  therefore,  hope  you  will 
all  give  this  spot  (Elm  Grove)  the  preference — at  least  I  think 
you  ought  to  do  so."3 

In  the  succeeding  year  she  recurs  to  the  same  subject, 
revealing  again  as  she  does  so  the  deep  love  that  she  enter- 
tained for  Randolph : 

"I  wish,"  she  said,  "to  hold  some  affectionate  intercourse 
with  one  so  dear  to  me;  to  tell  you  of  my  children,  and  to  know 

1  Mar.  1 8,  1809,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  May  11,  181 1,  Id.  3  Aug.  19,  1810,  Bryan  MSS, 


Randolph  as  a  Man  51* 

in  return  something  of  yourself — at  least  to  read  assurance  of 
your  continued  love  for  me.  Be  convinced  I  think  much  of 
you,  and  lament  the  destiny  which  has  so  widely  separated  us. 
I  had  hoped  to  see  you  last  Fall,  but  we  were  baffled  in  our 
attempts  to  visit  you.  I  trust,  however,  a  day  may  come  when 
we  shall  be  under  your  roof.  Meantime,  my  object  is  to  meet 
altogether  in  this  place,  and  I  entreat  you  not  to  disappoint 
me.  Brother  Henry  has  promised  to  bring  his  family  with 
him  in  July;  Beverley  and  Polly  will  be  with  us  too,  according 
to  appointment,  and  you,  my  dear  brother,  will  not  withhold 
your  presence.  I  am  sure  you  could  not,  if  you  knew  how 
anxiously  we  wish  to  have  such  a  group  in  our  house."1 

And  so  she  continued  to  write  to  him  as  long  as  her  sweet 
spirit  resided  in  its  "  fleshly  nook. " 

And  these  were  the  endearing  terms  in  which  Randolph 
wrote  to  her  a  year  or  so  after  he  became  a  member  of  the 
House : 

"I  thank  you  most  cordially,  my  beloved  Fan,  for  your  much 
valued  letter.  It  was  rendered  even  more  acceptable  to  me 
by  a  circumstance  which  you  will  find  no  difficulty  in  divining. 
That  'delicate  refinement  known  to  few'  served  but  to  endear 
you  yet  more  to  your  fond  brother,  whose  heart  has  not  been 
for  many  days  unoccupied  during  a  single  moment  by  your 
image.  Forgive  him,  my  sister,  if  in  his  late  letter  there 
escaped  one  thought  which  could  give  you  uneasiness.  There 
was  not  one  sentiment,  which  it  contained,  which  was  not 
dedicated  by  the  tenderest  solicitude  for  you.  For  you,  at  this 
moment,  does  his  heart  throb  with  anxious  affection.  Yes,  my 
dearest  Fan,  I  do  love  you  not  as  ever,  but  infinitely  more. 
So  does  our  poor  dear  Judy ;  although  she  does  not  express  it  so 
frequently  to  you.  After  you  have  perused  the  enclosed,  re- 
turn it  to  me. 

"I  do  not  admit  your  excuse,  even  if  there  were  foundation 
for  it.  I  deny  that  elegance  of  style  constitutes  the  beauty  of 
letter-writing.  Could  you  write  like  Lady  Montague  or 
Madame  de  Sevigne,  it  would  gratify  me,  no  doubt,  but  it  is 

xApr.  4,  1811,  Bryan  MSS. 


5i2         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

neither  the  style,  nor  the  matter  which  is  most  valuable  to  me 
in  your  letters.  It  is  yourself.  It  is  the  token  of  your  love 
which,  if  it  consisted  of  the  initials  of  your  name  only,  would 
be  valuable  to  me.  How  am  I  obliged  to  you  for  playing  my 
tunes  for  my  sake.  I  shall  become  as  much  attached  as  you  are 
to  the  organ,  since  it  is  both  the  memento  of  my  affection  to 
you  and  the  instrument  by  which  you  express  your  regard  for 
me.  Alas!  I  scarcely  ever  see  Mrs.  Mason;  nor  have  I  seen 
Miss  Lloyd  but  for  a  few  moments  during  the  winter.  J  hear 
no  musick.  I  mingle  in  no  diversions.  But  I  want  not  any- 
thing to  remind  me  of  the  best  and  most  beloved  of  sisters. 
Adieu  my  darling  Fan.  Love  him  who  is  truly  and  unalter- 
ably yours.     John  Randolph,  Jr."1 

And  love  each  other  they  did  until  the  very  last. 

Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  Randolph's  "  uterine  broth- 
er," as  he  called  him,  was  one  of  the  correspondents  to 
•whom  Randolph  wrote  almost  as  often  as  he  did  to  Dr. 
Brockenbrough  or  Tazewell.  He  was  an  admirable  man 
in  point  of  intellect,  character,  disposition,  and  manners; 
and  Randolph  was  not  only  truly  attached  to  him,  but  had 
a  profound  underlying  respect  for  him  besides.  This  was 
natural  enough,  for  no  public  man,  except  a  few  of  the  very 
first  rank,  ever  occupied  a  higher  place  in  the  admiration 
of  the  people  of  Virginia  than  Henry  St.  George  Tucker. 
"In  short,  in  my  opinion,"  Judge  E.  C.  Burks,  long  a 
conspicuous  member  of  the  Virginia  Court  of  Appeals 
himself,  declared,  "Judge  Tucker  stands  first  in  the  bright 
catalogue  of  Virginia's  distinguished  jurists;  inter  pares 
facile  princeps."2 

Of  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  when  he  was  a  member  of 
Congress,  Sawyer  says  that  he  was  little  inferior  to  Ran- 
dolph as  a  debater,  and  he  contrasts  the  disposition  and 
temper  of  the  former  with  those  of  the  latter,  decidedly  to 
the  disadvantage  of  the  latter.     But  we  know  nothing 

1  Washington,  Jan.  26,  1802,  Maine  Hist.  Soc. 

2  Va.  Law  Register,  Mar.  1896,  No.  11,  v.  1,  810. 


JUDGE  HENRY  ST.  GEORGE  TUCKER 

From  the  portrait  owned  by  the  Hon.  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  Lexington,  Va. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  5J3 

whatever  to  justify  Sawyer's  statement  that  "  there  ap- 
peared no  such  evident  marks  of  familiar  affection  and 
attachment  between  them  during  the  time  they  served 
together  as  we  were  led  to  suspect  from  their  near  rela- 
tionship. "*  On  the  contrary,  the  frequency  with  which 
Randolph  wrote  to  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  the  deep 
concern  which  he  exhibited  when  the  latter  was  severely 
injured  in  a  stage-coach  accident  in  1816,  and  the  affec- 
tionate references  to  him  in  Randolph's  letters  to  third 
persons,  from  the  early  part  of  Randolph's  life  until  its 
last  hours,  all  fully  warrant  the  view  that  we  have  taken 
of  the  relations  of  the  two  brothers.  In  one  of  his  letters 
to  St.  George  Tucker,  Randolph  said:  "When  I  reflect 
too  that  it  is  your  intention  to  settle  Henry  in  a  distant 
quarter,  where  I  can  never  see  and  seldom  hear  from  him, 
it  brings  the  most  mournful  recollections  and  presages  to 
my  mind."2  In  another  letter  to  his  step-father,  Ran- 
dolph said  playfully:  "My  love  to  dear  Fan.  Why  do 
not  the  boys  write  to  me?  Beg  Hal's  pardon  for  this 
insult  to  [the]  toga  virilis. " 3  In  181 1 ,  Randolph  wrote  to 
Dr.  Dudley  that  he  had  reached  Richmond  half  dead,  but 
that  he  had  been  amply  compensated  by  meeting  with  his 
dear  brother  Henry. 4  Some  10  or  12  years  later,  he  wrote 
to  his  niece :  ' '  What  have  I  done  to  Uncle  Henry  that  he 
will  not  write  to  me?"5  And,  some  three  years  later, 
after  Henry  St.  George  Tucker  had  visited  him  at  Roa- 
noke, he  said  in  his  vivid  way :  ' '  This  visit  of  your  Uncle 
Henry  has  spoiled  me.  A  sudden  flash  of  lightning  makes 
the  succeeding  darkness  more  intense."6  It  was  in  the 
succeeding  year  that  he  wrote  to  his  niece  that  he  had 
given  up  all  his  correspondents  for  a  time,  even  her  Uncle 

1 P-  73- 

2  Bizarre,  Nov.  3,  1801,  Lucas  MSS. 

3  Jan.  10,  1803,  Id. 

4  Hanover  C.  H.,  Nov.  1,  1811,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  114. 
s  Bryan  MSS. 

6  Roanoke,  JuL  27,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 
VOL.  11. — 33 


514         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Henry.1  The  correspondence  was  too  agreeable  to  be 
long  abandoned,  and,  two  years  later,  he  enclosed  a  letter 
from  "Harry"  to  him  to  his  niece,  saying  that  she  would 
read  it  with  great  pleasure  if  it  gave  her  a  hand-breadth 
part  of  the  pleasure  that  it  had  given  him. 2  At  one  time, 
he  seems  to  have  written  to  Henry  every  day. 3  In  1828, 
his  affection  for  him  was  still  undiminished,  as  was  proved 
by  a  letter  to  his  niece  in  which  he  said :  ' '  I  have  now  only 
brother  Harry  and  you  to  be  proud  of.  Tell  him  to  write 
to  me  before  he  leaves  Chatham,  and  as  soon  as  he  gets 
home."4  Randolph  sometimes  visited  his  brother  at  his 
home  at  Winchester,  and  Henry  was  occasionally  at 
Roanoke.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  his  niece,  Randolph 
said  that  he  wished  very  much  to  see  his  brother  Henry, 
even  if  it  were  but  for  a  minute. 5  In  1829,  he  noted  with 
gratification,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  the  fact 
that  the  affection  of  his  brother  Henry  for  him  was  increas- 
ing with  their  advancing  years.6  A  few  days  later,  he 
wrote  to  the  same  friend  that  he  did  not  know  anywhere 
a  more  useful  and  respectable  man  than  his  brother. 7 

While  the  two  brothers  were  separated  during  the  course 
of  their  lives  for  considerable  intervals  of  time,  they  were 
never,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  in  the  slightest  degree 
estranged  from  each  other  at  any  time.  "If  my  dear 
brother  Harry  be  not  gone,  entreat  him  to  come  to  me  on 
the  receipt  of  this, "  were  among  the  last  words  that  Ran- 
dolph ever  penned,  and  were  written  when  he  was  on  his 
way  to  his  deathbed  at  Philadelphia. 8   (a) 

Randolph's  cynical  distrust  of  the  medical  fraternity 

1  Mar.  25,  1826,  Bryan  MSS. 
3  Jan.  8,  1828,  Id. 

3  L.  W.  Tazewell,  Jr.,  MSS.,  March  8,  1826. 
"Roanoke,  Oct.  7,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 
sMar..6,  1824,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 
«  Jan.  26,  1829,  Mrs.  Gilbert  S.  Meem  MSS. 
v  Jan.  31,  1829,  Id. 
«  Garland,  v.  2,  365. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  5J5 

made  an  amusing  story  of  the  professional  attentions 
bestowed  upon  Henry  after  the  stage-coach  accident,  to 
which  we  have  referred. 

"Now  what  do  you  think,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley. 
"Henry  T.'s  shoulder,  that  was  at  first  neither  dislocated  nor 
broken,  but  then  dislocated  by  the  same  doctor,  (neither 
physician  nor  surgeon),  next,  by  'two  able  Winchester  physi- 
cians,' pronounced  not  to  be  dislocated,  but  fractured  in  the 

process  of  the  scapula,  then,  by  the  same  'two  able'  leeches 

(reconsidering  their  opinion,  like  Congress,  in  order  to  make 
confusion  worse  confounded,)  declared  to  be  a  dislocation, 
unusual,  of  the  os  humeri;  whereupon  the  said  'doctors'  and 
'four  strong  men'  put  the  said  patient  to  the  rack,  without  suc- 
ceeding in  tearing  asunder  all  the  muscles  and  ligaments.  This 
injury  has  been  decided  by  P.  W.,  and  D.,  (we  have  now  got  to 
the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  can  go  no  further, — right  or  wrong, 
the  case  is  decided)  to  be  a  fracture  of  the  os  humeri!  and  my 
poor  brother  is  likely  to  be  able  to  attend  Congress  before  the 
end  of  the  session.     This  beats  Moliere,  or  Le  Sage,  hollow. 

"  Now,  my  dear  Theodore,  for  I  think  I  shall  never  call  you 
'Doctor'  again,  on  the  receipt  of  this,  let  the  wagons  set  out,  if 
they  have  a  load,  for  Manchester."1 

A  remarkable  letter  is  the  following  written  by  Ran- 
dolph to  Henry  shortly  after  the  death  of  the  latter's  eldest 
son  in  1826.  It  is  all  the  more  remarkable  in  that  it  was 
penned  after  the  paroxysm  of  religious  enthusiasm,  which 
overthrew  Randolph's  reason  in  1818,  had  subsided: 

"May  he,  who  has  the  power  and  always  the  will,  when 
earnestly,  humbly  and  devoutly  entreated,  support  and 
comfort  you,  my  brother!  I  shall  not  point  to  the  treasures 
that  remain  to  you  in  your  surviving  children,  and  their  mother 
dearer  than  all  of  them  put  together.  No,  I  have  felt  too 
deeply  how  little  power  have  words,  that  play  around  the  head, 
to  reach  the  heart,  when  it  is  sorely  wounded.  The  common- 
places of  consolation  are  at  the  tongue's  end  of  all  the  self- 

1  Georgetown,  Feb.  4,  1817,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  186. 


516         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

complacent  and  satisfied  from  the  pedant  priest  to  the  washer- 
woman. (They  who  don't  feel  can  talk.)  I  abjure  them  all ; 
but  the  father  of  Lord  Russell,  when  condoled  with  according 
to  form,  by  the  book,  replied,  'I  would  not  give  my  dead  son  for 
any  other  man's  living.'  May  this  thought  come  home  to 
your  bosom  too;  though  not  on  the  same  occasion.  May  the 
Spirit  of  God,  which  is  not  a  chimera  of  heated  brains  nor  a 
device  of  artful  men  to  frighten  and  cajole  the  credulous, 
but  is  as  much  an  existence  that  can  be  felt  and  understood  as 
the  whisperings  of  your  own  heart,  or  the  love  you  bore  to  him 
whom  you  have  lost — may  that  Spirit,  which  is  the  Comforter, 
shed  his  influence  upon  your  soul,  and  incline  your  heart  to  the 
only  right  way,  which  is  that  of  life  eternal ! 

"  Did  you  ever  read  Bishop  Butler's  Analogy?  If  not,  I  will 
send  it  to  you.  .  .  .  Have  you  ever  read  THE  BOOK? 
What  I  say  upon  this  subject  I  not  only  believe,  but  I  know  to 
be  true;  that  the  Bible,  studied  with  humble  and  contrite 
heart,  never  yet  failed  to  do  its  work  even  with  them  that 
from  idiosyncracy,  or  disordered  minds  have  conceived  that 
they  were  cut  off  from  its  promises  of  life  to  come. 

"  '  Ask  and  ye  shall  have;  seek  and  ye  shall  find;  knock  and 
it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.'  This  was  my  only  support  and 
stay  during  years  of  misery  and  darkness ;  and,  just  as  I  had 
almost  begun  to  despair,  after  more  than  ten  years  of  penitence 
and  prayer,  it  pleased  God  to  enable  me  to  see  the  truth  to 
which  until  then  my  eyes  had  been  sealed.  To  this  vouch- 
safement  I  have  made  the  most  ungrateful  return.  But  I 
would  not  give  up  my  slender  portion  of  the  price  paid  for  our 
redemption — yes,  my  brother,  our  redemption — the  ransom 
of  sinners — of  all  who  do  not  hug  their  chains  and  refuse  to 
come  out  from  the  house  of  bondage — I  say  I  would  not  ex- 
change my  little  portion  in  the  Son  of  David  for  the  Parthian 
or  Roman  Empires,  as  described  by  Milton  in  the  temptation 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour — not  for  all  with  which  the  enemy 
tempted  the  Saviour  of  men. 

"  This  is  the  secret  of  the  change  of  my  spirits  which  all  who 
know  me  must  have  observed  within  a  few  years  past.  After 
years  spent  in  humble  and  contrite  entreaty  that  the  tremen- 
dous sacrifice  on  Mount  Calvary  might  not  have  been  made  in 


Randolph  as  a  Man  517 

vain  for  me,  the  chiefest  of  sinners,  it  pleased  God  to  speak 
his  peace  into  my  heart — that  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all 
understanding  to  them  that  know  it  not  and  even  to  them  that 
do ;  and,  although  I  have  now,  as  then,  to  reproach  myself  with 
time  mis-spent  and  faculties  mis-employed;  although  my 
condition  has  on  more  than  one  occasion  resembled  that  of 
him,  who,  having  an  evil  spirit  cast  out  of  him,  was  taken 
possession  of  by  seven  other  spirits  more  wicked  than  the  first, 
and  the  first  also — yet  I  trust  that  they  too,  by  the  power  and 
mercy  of  God,  may  be,  if  they  are  not,  vanquished. 

"  But  where  am  I  running  to?  On  this  subject  more  here- 
after. Meanwhile,  assure  yourself  of  what  is  of  small  value 
compared  with  that  of  them  that  are  a  piece  of  yourself — of  the 
unchanged  regard  and  sympathy  of  your  mother's  son.  .  .  . 
Ignorant  of  true  religion,  but  not  yet  an  atheist,  I  remember, 
with  horror,  my  impious  expostulations  with  God  upon  this 
breavement  [the  death  of  his  mother].  'But  not  yet  an 
atheist.'  The  existence  of  Atheism  has  been  denied.  But  I 
was  an  honest  one — and  poor — too.  Hume  began  and  Hobbes 
finished  me.  (I  read  Spinoza  and  all  the  tribe.)  Surely,  I  fell 
by  no  ignoble  hand.  And  the  very  man  [Edmund  Randolph], 
who  gave  me  Hume's  Essay  on  Human  Nature  to  read,  admin- 
istered 'Beattie  on  Truth'  as  the  antidote.  Venice  treacle 
against  arsenic  and  the  essential  oil  of  bitter  almonds ;  a  bread 
and  milk  poultice  for  the  bite  of  the  Cobra  Capello. 

' '  Had  I  remained  a  successful  political  leader,  I  might  never 
have  been  a  Christian.  But  it  pleased  God  that  my  pride 
should  be  mortified;  that,  by  death  and  desertion,  I  should  lose 
my  friends;  that,  except  in  the  veins  of  a  maniac,  and  he  too 
possessed  'of  a  deaf  and  dumb  spirit,'  there  should  not  run  one 
drop  of  my  father's  blood  in  any  living  creature  besides  myself. 
The  death  of  Tudor  finished  my  humiliation.  I  had  tried  all 
things  but  the  refuge  of  Christ,  and  to  that,  with  parental 
stripes,  was  I  driven. 

"  Often  did  I  cry  out  with  the  father  of  that  wretched  boy, 
'Lord  I  believe,  help  thou  my  unbelief ;  and  the  gracious  mercy 
of  our  Lord  to  this  wavering  faith,  staggering  under  the  force 
of  the  hard  heart  of  unbelief,  I  humbly  hoped  would,  in  his 
good  time,  be  extended  to  me  also. — St.  Mark,  ix,   17-29. 


5i8         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Throw  Revelation  aside,  and  I  can  drive  any  man  by  irresistible 
induction  to  Atheism.  John  Marshall  could  not  resist  me. 
When  I  say  any  man,  I  mean  a  man  capable  of  logical  and 
consequential  reasoning.  Deism  is  the  refuge  of  them  that 
startle  at  Atheism  and  can't  believe  Revelation.     And  poor 

(may  God  forgive  us  both !)  and  myself  used,  with  Diderot 

and  Co.,  to  laugh  at  the  Deistical  Bigots  who  must  have  milk, 
not  being  able  to  digest  meat. 

"All  Theism  is  derived  from  revelation;  that  of  the  Jews 
confessedly.  Our  own  is  from  the  same  source.  So  is  the 
false  revelation  of  Mahomet;  and  I  can't  much  blame  the 
Turks  for  considering  the  Franks  and  Greeks  to  be  Idolaters. 
Every  other  idea  of  one  God,  that  floats  in  the  world,  is  derived 
from  the  tradition  of  the  sons  of  Noah,  handed  down  to 
posterity. 

' '  But  enough  and  more  than  enough.  I  can  hardly  guide  my 
pen.  I  will,  however,  add,  that  no  lukewarm  seeker  ever 
became  a  real  Christian;  for  'from  the  days  of  John  the  Baptist 
until  now  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  suffereth  violence  and  the 
violent  take  it  by  force.'  A  text  which  I  read  500  times,  before 
I  had  the  slightest  conception  of  its  application."1 

After  Randolph's  death,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker  was 
very  much  shocked  by  the  aspersions  which  the  will  of 
1 82 1  cast  upon  the  integrity  of  his  father;  but,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  divided  duty  to  the  memory  of  his  father 
and  to  the  memory  of  his  brother,  he  exhibited  an  extra- 
ordinary degree  of  impartial  affection.  Referring  to 
letters  which  he  had  received  from  his  brother  Beverley 
and  Wm.  Leigh,  he  wrote  to  John  Randolph  Bryan: 

"The  letters  disclose  more  and  more  unpleasant  matters 
in  connection  with  my  brother's  will.  They  compel  the 
descendants  of  St.  George  Tucker  to  believe  that,  for  many 
years,  their  brother  was,  by  the  visitation  of  God's  providence, 
bereft  of  reason ;  or  to  feel  a  strong  sentiment  of  indignation  at 
the  calumnious  assertion  found  in  his  will  of  '22  of  one  of 

1  Southern  Collegian,  March  23,  1872. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  5J9 

the  purest  and  most  virtuous  of  men.  Should  that  will  be 
brought  forward,  I  for  one  will  resist  it;  since  I  never  can  admit 
my  brother's  sanity  in  an  instrument  that  either  brands  my 
dear  father  as  a  fraudulent  guardian  and  plunderer,  or  holds 
my  brother  out  as  a  calumniator  and  slanderer."1 

Randolph's  relations  to  his  half-brother,  Beverley 
Tucker,  were  also,  on  the  whole,  very  affectionate.  In 
his  early  letters  to  St.  George  Tucker,  he  sends  the  same 
fraternal  messages  to  Beverley  as  to  Henry.  In  one  of 
them,  he  refers  to  the  two  brothers  as  ''those  dear  fel- 
lows. ' ' 2  "  My  dear  Beverley, ' '  he  said  in  another,  ' '  must 
not  blame  me  for  not  answering  his  kind  letter  by  Mr. 
Bassett.  I  am  as  ever  his  entirely."3  Subsequently, 
after  the  marriage  of  Beverley  to  Miss  Mary  Coalter,  the 
sister  of  Judge  John  Coalter,  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
Roanoke,  and  practiced  law  in  the  surrounding  territory.4 
And  here  he  remained  until  the  year  1815,  when  he 
emigrated  to  Missouri,  where  he  soon  became  a  judge. 
Later,  he  returned  to  Virginia,  and  died  there  after  a 
distinguished  career  as  a  law-lecturer  and  a  man  of  letters. 

Not  long  after  Beverley  removed  to  Roanoke,  Ran- 
dolph conveyed  to  him  a  tract  of  land  near  Roanoke,  and 
transferred  to  him  a  number  of  slaves  with  whom  to 
cultivate  it;  and  Beverley  also  received  some  assistance 
from  his  father.  But,  under  the  influence  of  the  feelings, 
excited  by  the  suspended  expectations  of  early  professional 
life,  and  the  burdens  of  domestic  responsibility,  he  was 
overtaken  by  a  fit  of  despondency  which  elicited  this  most 
affectionate  letter  from  Randolph : 

"It  grieves  me,  my  dear  brother,  to  see  you  so  unhappy. 
If  I  do  not  betray  concern,  it  is  not  because  I  do  not  feel  it,  and 

1  Letter  from  Mrs.  Bryan  to  Mrs.  Lelia  Tucker,  Eagle  Point,  Sept.  19, 
1833,  Bryan  MSS. 

3Richm.,  Apr.  30,  1798,  Lucas  MSS. 

3  Balto.,  Dec.  17,  1805,  Lucas  MSS.,  J.  R.  to  St.  George  Tucker. 

-»  Bizarre,  Nov.  14,  1809,  Lucas  MSS.  . 


520         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

I  do  assure  you  that  I  have  found  much  difficulty  to  command 
myself  when  I  have  seen  you  so  greatly  agitated  or  sunk  into 
the  most  spiritless  dejection.  Time,  however,  teaches  us 
many  things  which  we  little  dreamed  of  in  early  life ;  it  cannot 
teach  me,  however,  to  be  insensible  to  the  sufferings  of  those 
whom  I  love,  from  whatsoever  cause  they  may  proceed.  This 
house,  such  as  it  is,  is  yours,  so  long  as  you  please  to  occupy 
it.  It  will  at  least  afford  a  shelter  to  yourself  and  your  wife. 
The  land  at  Daniel's  and  the  labor  of  Doll's  children  (I  con- 
clude that  your  father  has  given  you  Abraham)  will  insure 
you  bread.  But,  my  dear  Bev.,  can  you  ever  want  whilst  I 
have  anything  left  in  this  world !  Should  I  survive  you,  which 
is  hardly  possible,  your  family  shall  be  to  me  as  my  own.  I 
cannot  write "z 

While  Beverley  resided  at  Roanoke,  or  on  his  own  land 
nearby,  the  most  familiar  and  affectionate  relations 
existed  between  Randolph  and  him  and  his  wife  Polly. 
On  one  occasion,  Beverley  wrote  to  Randolph  that  Polly 
was  quite  "crazy"  to  see  him2;  and,  in  one  of  his  letters 
to  his  sister,  Randolph  asks  her  to  congratulate  Polly,  who 
was  at  the  time  near  Staunton,  in  his  name  on  her  mater- 
nal honors. 3  (a)  It  is  said  that,  whenever  Beverley  was  at 
Roanoke,  he  sat  at  the  foot  of  Randolph's  table,  unless 
there  was  some  clergyman  present  to  occupy  the  place.4 
Before  his  emigration  to  Missouri,  he  acquired  a  good  pro- 
fessional footing  in  Southside  Virginia,  and  his  engage- 
ments as  a  lawyer  are  occasionally  brought  to  our  atten- 
tion in  Randolph's  journals.  His  mobility,  however,  was 
responsible  for  several  indications  of  slight  impatience 
on  Randolph's  part:  "I  fear  I  shall  lose  the  opportunity 
of  Beverley.  He  has  been  missing  ever  since  yesterday 
morning,"5    Randolph  wrote  on  one   occasion   to    Dr. 

1  Geo.  P.  Coleman  MSS. 

2  Roanoke,  June  17,  18 10,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Charlotte  C.  H.,  Aug.  19,  181 1,  J.  C.  Grinnan  MSS. 

4  Bouldin,  24. 

sRichm.,  Jan.  24,  1814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  151. 


JUDGE    N.    BEVERLEY  TUCKER 

From  a  portrait  owned  by  George  P.  Coleman,  Esq.,  of  Williamsburg,  Va. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  521 

Dudley.  In  a  later  letter,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley:  "To 
my  surprise  I  received  a  letter  from  Beverley,  dated  the 
10th,  at  Richmond!  London  would  not  have  been  more 
unexpected."1 

When  Beverley  made  up  his  mind  to  return  to  Virginia, 
Randolph  was  eager  to  welcome  him  back.  "More  than 
half  of  the  allotted  time  within  which  you  'must  be  in 
Missouri'  has  elapsed, "  he  wrote  to  Beverley  at  St.  Louis 
on  the  eve  of  his  return  to  Virginia,  "or  I  would  set  out 
tomorrow  for  Winchester  to  see  you  once  more  before  I 
die,  and  something  tells  me  that  that  time  is  not  far  off. " 
In  conclusion,  he  says :  "Write  to  me  as  often  as  you  can; 
the  oftener  the  better,  and  the  longer  the  better.  "2 

After  Beverley's  return  to  Virginia,  we  occasionally  find 
him  in  close  companionship  with  Randolph,  both  in 
Charlotte  County  and  at  Washington,  and  it  was  Ran- 
dolph's desire  that  he  should  succeed  him  as  the  represen- 
tative of  his  old  District  in  the  House.3 

After  Randolph's  death,  Beverley  was  particularly 
active  in  the  prosecution  of  the  attacks  on  his  wills,  which 
resulted  in  the  final  compromise;  and  among  his  papers, 
which  are  still  in  existence,  is  an  interesting  one,  dated 
May  15,  1836,  in  which  John  R.  Cooke,  one  of  the  counsel 
in  the  Randolph  will  litigation,  outlined  to  John  G.  Mosby, 
another  eminent  Virginia  lawyer  of  that  day,  his  reasons 
for  thinking  that  the  insanity  of  Randolph  could  be 
judicially  established.  The  paper  is  a  curious  specimen 
of  the  unhesitating  zeal  with  which  a  lawyer,  when  he 
wishes  to  make  out  a  case  for  his  client,  will  undertake  to 
construct  a  stone  wall  out  of  batter  puddings.  He  was 
even  prepared  to  assert  that  Randolph  was  insane  in  181 1, 
1812,  1814,  and  1815,  as  well  as  in  1818,  1819,  and  1820.4 

'Apr.  15,  1816,  Id.,  177. 

2  Roanoke,  May  27,  1825,  Geo.  P.  Coleman  MSS. 

3  Testimony  of  Dr.  Brockenbrough  in  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's 
Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va. 

4  George  P.  Coleman  MSS. 


522         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

To  Beverley  Tucker  we  owe  a  slight  sketch  of  Ran- 
dolph.1 More  important,  however,  is  the  following 
tribute  which  he  paid  to  him  in  an  address  delivered 
before  the  students  o±  Randolph-Macon  College. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  in  this  address,  "if  there  be  any 
truth  in  the  ideas  I  have  laid  before  you,  I  owe  the  knowledge 
of  that  truth  to  one  of  those  illustrious  men  whose  names 
you  have  consecrated  by  adopting  them  as  the  designation  of 
your  institution.  You  have  engraven  the  name  of  Randolph 
on  the  shrine  here  erected  to  Literature,  to  Science  and  to  God. 
What  offering  so  fit  for  that  altar;  what  offering  so  proper  for 
me  to  lay  upon  it  as  this  poor  attempt  to  embody  and  preserve 
something  of  the  teaching  of  that  deep  sagacity  and  profound 
wisdom  which  distinguished  him,  and  which  he  labored  to 
impart  to  me.  Love  to  the  brother,  gratitude  to  the  bene- 
factor, even  these  sentiments  should  be  subordinate  to  my 
veneration  for  the  man  from  whose  eloquent  lips  I  have  learned 
more  than  from  all  my  own  experience  and  reflection,  and  from 
all  the  men  with  whom  I  have  ever  conversed,  and  from  all  the 
books  I  have  ever  read."2 

The  fraternal  kindness,  of  which  Randolph  made  Bever- 
ley the  object,  is  also  alluded  to  in  one  of  the  letters 
from  Fanny  Bland  Coalter  to  Randolph.  Speaking  o* 
Beverley  and  his  newly-married  wife,  she  says : 

"Our  brother  and  sister  leave  tomorrow,  my  dearest 
brother,  and  I  cannot  withhold  my  congratulations  to  you  on 
their  marriage;  not  only  as  an  event,  which  promises  much 
comfort  to  you  during  your  days  of  leisure,  but  an  unexhaust- 
ible  source  of  gratification  in  the  reflection  that  their  happiness 
is  the  consequence  of  your  own  beneficence — the  purest 
happiness  surely  which  mortal  can  know.  May  they  both,  my 
beloved  brother,  by  their  gratitude  and  affectionate  attention 
towards  you,  prove  a  solace  and  support  to  you  in  the  hours  of 
pain  and  sickness,  so  many  of  which  fall  to  your  lot."3 

*ffist.  Mag.,v.  2  (1859),  187. 

2  Sou.  Lit.  Mess.,  v.  12,  551 1.  3  Mar.  18,  1809,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  523 

An  effort  was  made  in  the  Randolph  will  litigation  to 
show  that,  before  Beverley  went  off  to  Missouri,  a  serious 
estrangement  had  sprung  up  between  him  and  Randolph, 
but  the  effort  did  not  get  very  far.  The  basis  for  it 
apparently  was  a  statement  of  Randolph's  that  he  had 
given  to  Beverley  the  only  slaves  of  his  that  were  unen- 
cumbered by  the  British  debt,  and  also  a  tract  of  land  in 
Charlotte  County  to  enable  him  to  support  his  family; 
that  the  slaves  were  connected  by  family  ties  with  other 
slaves  retained  by  him ;  that  it  was  understood  by  Bever- 
ley and  himself  that,  as  soon  as  the  slaves  retained  by  him 
were  released  from  the  encumbrance,  Beverley  and  he 
were  to  make  an  exchange  of  slaves  that  would  restore 
those  that  had  been  given  to  Beverley  by  Randolph  and 
their  former  family  ties ;  but  that  Beverley  had  failed  to 
carry  out  his  part  of  the  understanding. z  At  this  late 
day,  this  statement  can  have  no  value  beyond  that  of  a 
merely  ex  parte  one,  which  rested,  besides,  on  oral  testi- 
mony only;  and  the  prudence  of  not  accepting  it  too 
quickly  is  suggested  likewise  by  the  fact  that  the  blame 
for  the  miscarriage  of  the  understanding  was  cast  by 
Randolph  upon  St.  George  Tucker. 2  And  it  is  noticeable 
that  the  same  witness,  who  testified  to  the  statement  in 
the  Randolph  will  litigation,  also  testified  that,  on  the 
first  occasion  that  he  saw  Randolph  and  Beverley  together 
after  Beverley's  return  from  Missouri,  Randolph  treated 
the  latter  with  great  kindness  and  affection,  and  that  their 
relations  at  a  later  date  were  those  of  "great  intimacy.  "3 

The  truth  is  that  Randolph's  brothers  and  sisters  of  the 
half-blood  loved  and  admired  him  in  the  highest  degree, 
and  were  warmly  loved  and  admired  by  him  in  turn,  and 
that,  if  any  fugitive  cloud  ever  threw  its  shadow  over  his 

1  Deposition  of  John  Marshall  in  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor., 
Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va. 

2  Ibid. 

3  Ibid. 


524         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

intercourse  with  any  one  of  the  three,  the  fact  was  solely 
due  to  his  own  idiosyncracies. 

But  where  could  we  go  to  find  anything  more  charming 
or  more  suggestive  of  human  nature  in  its  purest  and 
tenderest  moments  than  the  intercourse  between  Ran- 
dolph and  his  niece — Elizabeth  T.  Coalter?  Here  and 
there  among  the  numerous  letters  from  him  to  her  there 
are  inflections  of  misanthropy,  spiritual  weariness,  and 
physical  pain ;  but,  as  a  whole,  these  letters  are  not  morbid 
enough  to  forfeit  their  right  to  be  compared  with  the  best 
of  the  sort  in  any  language. 

One  of  them  invites  his  niece  to  pay  him  a  visit  at 
Roanoke. 

"My  dear,"  he  says,  "can't  you  and  Fanny  come  down 
sometime  or  other  to  see  me — your  mother's  brother?  I  do 
expect  St.  George  but  suppose  him  to  be  confined  at  school. 
I  assure  you  my  shades  are  as  cool,  as  free  from  dust,  as  Bush 
Hill;  and  as  for  noises,  I  hear  none  but  the  warbling  of  the 
birds  and  the  barking  of  the  squirrels  around  my  windows. 
I  am  here  buried  in  a  solitude  as  deep  as  that  of  Robinson 
Crusoe  himself,  and  like  him  yearn  after  the  converse  of  man- 
kind. I  have  a  few  pretty  well  selected  books  and  a  very 
gentle  saddle  horse,  and,  although  I  am  nearly  worn  down 
with  disease  and  premature  old  age,  I  can  ride  at  the  sober 
pace  that  suits  a  lady."1 

A  letter  in  the  succeeding  year  has  a  word  of  praise  for 
natural,  unstudied  letter-writing;  and  from  this  subject 
Randolph  deviates  to  some  tart  criticism  of  the  changes 
made  in  the  style  and  idiom  of  the  Bible  and  the  Episcopal 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  by  ''pudding-bellied  bishops.  "2 
In  the  same  letter,  he  offers  to  replace  his  niece's  favorite 
pony  with  a  horse  which  he  would  have  thoroughly  broken 
for  her,  he  said. 

Instruction  in  one  form  or  another  was  rarely  out  of  his 

1  Roanoke,  Jun.  12,  1821,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Washington,  Jan.  27,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a'Man  525 

mind  when  he  was  writing  to  his  niece;  and  the  letter 
concludes  with  an  enumeration  of  the  famous  English 
writers  that  he  would  have  her  take  as  models  for  the 
formation  of  her  style. 

"Were  you  ever  struck,"  he  asks,  "with  the  exceeding 
beauty  of  two  little  morsels,  Goldsmith's  'When  Lovely 
Woman  Stoops  to  Folly,'  and  Collins', 

"  'How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest.' 

How  simple  the  words !  By  the  way,  Collins  had  true  inspira- 
tion. It  deserted  Milton  when  he  added  the  two  last  lines  of 
his  Paradise  Lost." 

In  another  letter,  he  counsels  her  not  to  be  afraid  of 
plenty  of  fresh  air,  and  warns  her  against  the  dangers  of 
a  stooping  posture.  ■ 

In  his  correspondence  with  his  niece,  he  was  at  great 
pains  to  see  that  she  did  not  fall  into  artificial  or  preten- 
tious forms  of  expression.  On  one  occasion,  he  tells  her 
that  her  reflections  on  sickness  and  adversity  are,  with  the 
exception  of  a  line  and  a  half,  well  written;  and,  after 
quoting  the  words  which  met  with  his  disapproval,  he 
comments  as  follows : 

"'Why  this  is  affectations,'  as  Sir  Hugh  says.  There  is  a 
good  deal  of  the  same  sort  in  Mrs.  (not  Lady)  Montague's 
letters,  and  there  is  nothing  else  in  Miss  Anne  Seward's,  in 
fifty-nine  volumes  folio,  which  have  been  published,  as  her  will 
directs,  by  her  executor." 

But  he  makes  everything  right  by  ending:  "God  bless 
you,  my  dear.  I  have  a  charming  copy  of  Shakespeare 
for  you."2 

If  he  had  been  her  lover,  he  could  not  have  manifested 

'Feb.  18,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Washington,  Feb.  5,  1822.     Bryan  MSS. 


526         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

more  concern  than  he  did  when  he  heard  that  her  cough 
was  still  dry  and  a  good  deal  harassing. z 

On  one  occasion,  he  had  evidently  inculcated  modera- 
tion of  language  on  the  part  of  his  niece  just  a  little  too 
earnestly ;  for  we  find  him  employing  these  soothing  words : 

"My  dear  Bet,  you  can  use  no  language  too  strong,  I  am 
sure,  to  express  the  force  of  your  affection  to  your  father.  My 
whole  design  was  to  repress  the  habit  of  using  unnecessarily 
strong  terms.  .  .  .  And,  although  I  am  no  friend  to  that 
figure  of  speech,  which  rhetoricians  call  hyperbole,  I  am 
beginning  to  feel  that  I  am  fast  becoming  your  dearest  uncle 
or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  you  are  growing  to  be  my  dearest 
niece"; 

and  then  he  leaves  the  dangerous  topic,  and  goes  on  to  tell 
her  about  the  rout  which  he  had  just  attended  at  Madame 
De  Neuville's  in  Washington:  " There,"  he  said,  "I  saw 
our  poor  wild  men  like  calves  fatting  and  patted  by  the 
butchers  to  make  them  quiet  under  the  knife ;  unlearning 
their  best  qualities  and  learning  our  worst.  My  red  blood 
partook  of  their  injuries."2 

When  necessary,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  take  his  niece 
quite  sharply  to  task  for  misuse  of  language.  Referring 
on  one  occasion  to  her  last  letter,  he  said:  "You  'have 
been  dissipating  it. '  Dissipating  what  ?  You  see  at  once 
the  whole  matter  and  that's  enough."3  On  another 
occasion,  he  wrote  to  her: 

"  However  as  I  hate  prosing  and  commonplace  as  heartily  as 
Honest  Jack  Falstaff  did  security,  I  shall  not  run  into  them, 
and  you  may  be  assured  my  dear  that  you  will  never  see 
'elegantly  studied  composition'  from  my  pen;  above  all  in  a 
letter;  and,  if  you  will  permit  me  to  say  so,  your  own  would 
have  been  still  better  if  less  pains  had  been  taken  with  it — 

1  Feb.  1 8,  1822,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

2  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Feb.  19,  1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  527 

not  in  orthography  or  grammar  or  handwriting,   but  the 
expression,  the  collocation  of  words."1 

On  a  third  occasion,  Randolph  begins  by  telling  his 
niece :  ' '  That  you  can  write  very  charming  letters  I  know, 
having  numerous  proofs  of  the  fact  in  my  possession"; 
but  ends  by  telling  her  that  her  last  letter  "bears  every- 
where the  mark  of  effort,  constraint  and  ambition  of 
ornament,  and  abounds  with  alliteration  and  what  the 
Italians  call  conceit."2 

Once  he  exercised  the  privilege  of  a  chaperone,  and 
admonished  her  that,  when  she  came  in  to  an  evening 
party  in  Richmond  from  her  home  at  Bush  Hill,  near  that 
town,  she  should  pass  the  night  in  the  city.3  But  his 
reproofs  and  admonitions  were  so  liberally  intermixed 
with  approbation  and  praise  that  she  would  have  been 
unreasonable,  indeed,  if  she  had  accepted  them  with  a 
bad  grace. 

" I  would  rather  see  you  dead  than  vain  or  pert,"  he  said  in 
one  of  his  letters.  "But  I  hope  you  can  learn  to  set  a  just 
value  upon  your  far  more  than  ordinary  worth,  and  yet  be 
entirely  free  from  the  disgusting  affectation  and  conceit  of  the 
accomplished  miss  of  the  present  day.  You  would  not  believe 
me,  if  I  were  to  tell  you  that  you  are  not  handsome,  not  only 
because  you  have  heard  the  contrary  from  others,  but  it  would 
not  be  true,  if  I  were  to  say  it.  Yours  is  the  beauty,  not  of 
complexion  or  feature,  but  what  they  cannot  supply,  of 
expression  and  of  grace.  You  have  a  happy  and  ready  wit; 
the  quickness  of  your  apprehension  is  uncommon,  even  in  your 
sex.  I  hope  that  you  add  to  it  solidity  of  judgment,  or  that 
experience  will  bestow  it.  Set  a  proper  value  upon  yourself  for 
my  sake,  for  your  own,  for  your  dear  mother's. 

"I  know  not  how  it  happens  that  very  clever  men  are  prone 
to  ally  themselves  to  very  silly  and  insipid  women,  and  thus 

1  Washington,  Jan.  19,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Washington,  Feb.  14,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Feb.  19,  1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 


528  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

propagate  a  race  of  boobies;  or  that  fine  women  throw  them- 
selves away  upon  coxcombs  and  doom  themselves  'to  suckle 
fools  and  chronicle  small  beer.'  A  fellow  with  no  taste  for 
literature,  a  male  gossip,  with  a  full  portion  of  admiration  for 
his  own  personal  charms  and  attractions,  shall  do  more 
execution  in  a  circle  of  fine  women  than  a  man  of  merit."1 

In  a  letter,  written  nine  days  later,  Randolph  touches 
upon  this  last  topic  again.  The  letter  is  too  well  turned 
not  to  be  quoted  in  its  entirety. 

"  My  dear  child :  Do  you  love  gardening?  I  hope  you  do, 
for  it  is  an  employment  eminently  suited  to  a  lady.  That 
most  graceful  and  amiable  friend  of  mine,  [Mrs.  Dr.  John 
Brockenbrough]  whom  you  now  never  mention  in  your  letters, 
excels  in  it,  and  in  all  the  domestic  arts  that  give  its  highest 
value  to  the  female  character.  The  misfortune  of  your  sex  is 
that  you  are  brought  up  to  think  that  love  constitutes  the 
business  of  life,  and,  for  want  of  other  subjects,  your  heads  run 
upon  little  else.  This  passion,  which  is  'the  business  of  the  idle 
man,  the  amusement  of  the  hero,  and  the  bane  of  the  sov- 
ereign,' occupies  too  much  of  your  time  and  thoughts.  I  never 
knew  an  idle  fellow  who  was  not  profligate  (a  rare  case  to  be 
sure),  that  was  not  the  slave  of  some  princess,  and,  no  matter 
how  often  the  subject  of  his  adoration  was  changed  by  a  mar- 
riage with  some  more  fortunate  swain,  the  successor  (for  there 
is  no  demise  of  that  crown)  was  quickly  invesced  with  the 
attributes  of  her  predecessor,  and  he  was  dying  of  love  for  her 
lest  he  should  die  of  the  gapes.  To  a  sorry  fellow  of  this  sort  a 
mistress  is  as  necessary  an  antidote  against  ennui  as  tobacco ; 
but  to  return  to  gardening,  I  never  saw  one  of  those  innumer- 
able and  lovely  seats  in  England  without  wishing  for  one  for 
Mrs.  B.  [Brockenbrough]  who  would  know  so  well  how  to 
enjoy  while  she  admired  it. 

"Do  you  read  French?  If  not,  why  not?  You  are  not  one 
day  too  old  to  learn  that  and  Italian,  and  everything  else  that 
a  lady  ought  to  know — even  Greek,  if  you  wish  to  imitate 
Lady  Jane  Grey.     I  want  you  to  read  Madame  Sevigne's 

1  Washington,  Mar.  12,  1824,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  529 

letters,  and  not  in  a  translation.     I  want  you  to  be  mistress  of 
the  Roman  mouth  and  the  Tuscan  tongue.     God  bless  you."1 

A  few  weeks  later,  he  tells  Elizabeth  that  a  Washington 
coachmaker  had  promised  to  complete  a  little  carriage  for 
him  by  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  and  that  she  must 
hold  herself  in  readiness  to  accompany  him  from  Rich- 
mond to  Roanoke ;  and  he  asks  her  to  extend  his  invitation 
to  her  father,  her  step-mother,  and  her  brother,  and  to 
Mammy  Aggy  too ;  and  it  was  perhaps  to  make  certain  of 
her  that  he  told  her  in  the  same  letter  that  her  last  letter 
was  admirably  written  and  that,  if  the  manner  fell  short  of 
the  inimitable  grace  of  Madame  de  Sevigne,  the  thoughts 
and  the  language  too  would  not  be  unbecoming  the  pen  of 
Lady  Wortley.  In  short,  it  was  just  what  a  letter  ought 
to  be  with  one  "leetle"  exception  (as  his  good  Southside 
friend,  Major  Scott,  used  to  say).2 

Another  letter  brings  before  us  in  a  single  group  Eliza- 
beth, her  mother,  and  her  grandmother. 

"You  do  right,  my  dear,  in  setting  your  mother  as  a  constant 
example  before  your  eyes,  and  you  have  drawn  her  character 
with  fidelity  and  spirit.  May  you  resemble  her  in  everything 
but  the  fragility  of  her  constitution ;  but  more  especially  may 
the  likeness  be  found  in  that  cheerful  alacrity  of  temper  that 
made  all  around  her  smile.  This  is  a  blessing,  as  far  surpassing 
bodily  health  as  the  mind  is  superior  to  the  body;  for  it  is 
mental  health.  I  knew  your  mother  well  from  infancy  to 
childhood,  from  childhood  to  womanhood.  All  the  dis- 
advantages, and  they  were  innumerable,  of  her  early  orphan- 
age could  not  render  her  unworthy  to  be  called  the  daughter 
of  that  most  distinguished  woman  her  mother;  and  I  will  add  of 
calling  you  her  daughter.  Her  understanding  was  of  the  first 
order;  not  overlaid  by  accomplishments,  nor  yet  unimproved. 
Hardly  a  day  passes  over  my  head  that  I  do  not  think  of  her."3 

1  Washington,  March  21,  1824,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Washington,  April  28,  1824,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Roanoke,  Aug.  25,  1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 

VOL.  II. — 34 


530  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Another  letter  prescribed  a  complete  course  of  reading 
for  his  niece,  which  evidences  in  the  most  striking  manner 
how  familiar  he  was  with  the  best  books  of  the  past.  "I 
wish, "  he  says,  among  other  things,  "I  had  the  leisure  to 
complete  an  Index  Expurgatorius,  since  I  deem  it  more 
important,  if  possible,  to  point  out  those  to  be  shunned 
than  such  as  are  worthy  of  perusal. " * 

Nor  did  Randolph  withhold  from  Elizabeth  his  usual 
arraignment  of  Virginian  barbarisms  of  speech.  After 
quoting  some  of  them  such  as  ''mar"  and  "har"  for 
"mare"  and  "hare,"  he  said: 

"Some  tumble  over  the  other  side  of  the  steed  and  'ginerally' 
say  'Sinate'  etc.  Perhaps  the  first  man  in  Virginia,  if  not  in 
the  Union,  [John  Marshall]  pronounces  irritate,  error  and  ur- 
gent as  if  the  two  first  (each  having  its  distinct  sound)  were 
spelt  like  the  last  with  an  'u.'  The  same  great  man  talks  of 
'independence, '  the  'firmamunt'  etc.,  as  if  it  were  not  as  easy  to 
say  'able,'  short  as  'ubble. '"2 

Some  of  the  letters  were  written  while  Randolph  was 
abroad.  One  of  these  contains  a  reference  to  a  stage- 
coach accident,  which  had  befallen  him  at  Stoney  Strat- 
ford, and  which  had  fractured  one  of  his  shoulder  blades 
and  two  of  his  ribs.  "I  am  returning  a  poor  cripple, 
nearly  helpless,  to  my  native  land, " 3  he  said.  One  letter, 
received  by  Elizabeth,  contained  various  extracts  from  a 
letter4  which  had  been  written  to  Randolph  by  Sir  Grey 
Skipwith,  Bart.,  the  son  of  Sir  Peyton  Skipwith,  of  Prest- 
would,  and  the  brother  of  St.  George  Tucker's  second 
wife,  who  was  then  residing  at  Alvestone,  England,  and 
who  was  at  the  time,  or  recently  had  been,  the  father  of  18 
children,  whom  Randolph  calls  off,  one  by  one,  by  name 

1  Washington,  Jan.  19,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Washington,  Jan.  30,  1822. 

a  At  sea,  Ship  Cortes,  Dec.  2,  1824,  Bryan  MSS. 

« Roanoke,  Oct.  23,  1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  531 

in  another  letter  to  Elizabeth.1  Among  the  extracts,  is 
one  in  which  Sir  Grey  said  dolefully  that  he  was  sorry  to 
add  that  his  very  prolific  wife  was  again  in  a  way  to  add 
to  their  already  numerous  family.  It  would  be  curious, 
to  know  what  the  wife  of  the  good  Baronet  might  have 
said  at  times  about  her  philo-progenitive  husband. 

Seven  years  later,  when  Randolph  was  in  London,  he 
sent  to  Elizabeth  extracts  from  another  letter  written  to 
him  by  Sir  Grey,  in  which  Sir  Grey  informed  him  that  it 
had  pleased  God  to  deprive  him  of  his  dear  and  excellent 
wife. 2 

Many  of  the  letters  are  distinguished  by  the  richest 
strains  of  sentiment  or  reflection: 

M  'Hadst  thou  but  lived  and  lived  to  love  me,'  "  he  quoted 
on  one  occasion.  "Do  you  remember  the  lines  of  which  this 
is  the  burthen,  found  in  Bothwell's  pocket-book  after  his 
death.  He  is  the  masterpiece  of  all  that  author's  characters 
and  it  was  necessary  to  kill  him  in  the  outset.  He  who  can 
open  that  pocket-book  without  feeling  his  heart  soften  is  fit  for 
a  public  executioner." 

And  then,  with  one  of  his  sudden  transitions,  he  adds : 
"And  now  let  me  just  remind  you  that  'on  yesterday'  is 
not  good  English.  Yesterday  is  an  adverb  and  is  not 
governed  by  any  preposition.  "3 

"You  are  right  my  dear,"  he  wrote  several  months  later, 
"the  love  of  such  a  mother  and  sister  as  ours  is  a  strong  bond  of 
union  between  us.  I  have  felt,  and  shall  always  feel,  its  full 
force;  but  I  would,  if  possible,  superadd  other  ties.  I  would, 
for  instance,  wish  so  to  conduct  myself  in  whatever  station  in 
life  it  may  please  God  to  place  me  as  to  secure  your  esteem,  and 
so  to  deport  myself  as  to  deserve  your  love.  Rely  upon  it  that 
you  have  very  little  acquaintance  with  men  when  you  suppose 

1  Dec.  9,  1822,  Id. 

3  London,  Nov.  14,  1830. 

3  Roanoke,  Nov.  20,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 


532  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

that  they  lose  in  the  world  the  recollections  of  their  youth; 
that  they,  too,  do  not  look  back  on  the  joys  of  their  childhood 
with  melancholy,  or  that  the  tide  of  life  in  man  as  well  as 
woman  is  not  stained  with  past  and  present  tears  and  cares."1 

In  1828,  Elizabeth  was  residing  in  the  country  near 
Fredericksburg,  and  this  fact  was  responsible  for  these 
reminiscences : 

My  dear  child  :  I  beg  pardon  of  the  Wilderness  a  thousand 
times.  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  is  a  most  respectable  desert, 
with  a  charming  little  oasis  inhabited  by  very  good  sort  of 
people,  quite  different  from  the  wandering  Barbarians  around 
them.  To  say  the  truth,  I  was  a  little  out  of  temper  with  the 
aforesaid  desert  because  it  had  subjected  me  more  than 
once  to  disappointment  in  regard  to  you.  At  Fredericksburg, 
you  seem  to  be  within  my  reach :  but  there  I  can't  get  at  you. 
I  am  too  much  of  a  wild  man  of  the  woods  myself  to  take  upon 
me  airs  over  my  fellow-savages.  And  I  shall  be  willing  here- 
after to  rank  your  wilderness  along  with  the  far-famed  forest  of 
Arden.  By  the  way,  this  is  not  saying  much  for  it.  I  traveled 
two  weary  days'  journey  through  the  Ardennes  in  1826.  Figure 
for  yourself  a  forest  of  beech  and  alder  saplings  intersected 
by  a  thousand  cart  tracks,  the  soil,  if  soil  it  might  be  called, 
strongly  resembling  the  Stafford  Hills  of  Virginia,  and  where, 
instead  of  spreading  oaks  or  beech,  under  which  I  hoped  to  find 
Angelica  asleep  by  a  crystal  stream,  we  had  much  ado  to  find 
a  drop  of  water  for  our  sorry  cattle,  who  painfully  drew  us 
through  the  ruts  of  a  narrow,  hollow  way,  deeply  worn  in  the 
uneven  ground,  and  sheltered  from  everything  but  the  sun 
(In  August)  by  a  thicket  of  brushwood,  through  which,  every 
now  and  then,  peeped  the  sooty  figure  of  a  charcoal  burner. 
I  did  not  expect  to  meet  with  Rosalind  or  Orlando,  because  I 
had  corrected  a  former  misapprehension  in  regard  to  the  scene 
of  that  enchanting  drama.  Shakespeare,  it  seems,  so  say  the 
critics,  had  in  his  eye  the  forest  of  Arden  in  his  native  Warwick- 
shire, and  a  delightful  forest  it  would  be,  if  there  were  fewer 
towns  and  villages  and  more  trees.     As  it  is,  however,  it  is 

1  Feb.  12,  1826,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  533 

what  is  called  in  England  a  woody  tract,  and  the  woodmen  of 
Arden  meet  there  annually,  and  contend  for  prizes  in  archery 
(a  silver  arrow  or  bugle) ;  excited  by  the  smiles  of  all  the  'Beauty 
and  Fashion'  of  the  neighboring  country. 

"Now  I,  who  have  as  little  taste  for  'Fashion  and  Etiquette' 
as  yourself,  or  any  hamadryad  of  your  favourite  wilderness, 
have  nevertheless  so  much  for  Beauty  that  I  have  found  a 
meeting  of  the  woodmen  of  Arden  'go  off,'  as  the  phrase  is,  very 
well.  Thank  God,  my  praepositus  (that  is  law  Latin)  came 
from  Warwickshire,  and  thank  God!  again  that  his  ancestors 
were  from  Kent,  unconquered  Kent,  whose  motto  is  Invicta, 
and  whose  post  of  right  is  the  centre  and  van  of  the  armed 
force  of  England. 

"There  is  an  old  song  about  the  'men  of  Kent,'  to  which  a 
stanza  was  added  for  the  glory  of  Wolfe  (himself  a  Kentish 
man)  that  used  to  be  sung  in  our  family,  who  in  the  old  times 
hailed  from  Kent.  I  recollect  every  part  of  it.  By  the  way, 
every  Kentish  man  is  not  a  'man  of  Kent' ;  this  justly  proved 
title  being  confined  to  a  certain  district  of  the  county : 

"  'When  Harold  was  invaded,  and,  falling,  lost  his  crown, 
And  Norman  William  waded  thro'  blood  into  a  throne, 

The  counties  round  with  fear  profound 

Beheld  their  sad  condition, 

Laid  down  their  arms,  received  his  terms; 

Brave  Kent  made  no  submission. 
Then  let  us  sing  the  men  of  Kent,  etc.,  etc' 

After  this,  you  may  suppose  the  hops  and  the  beer  and  the 
cherries  there  and  the  Church  of  Canterbury  figure  as  large  as 
life. 

"Now  don't  go  and  expose  my  old  man's  prattle  to  any  eye  or 
ear  but  your  own  on  pain  of  finding  me  hereafter  as  silent  as 
the  grave. 

"Did  I  or  did  I  not  tell  you  that  my  godson  [John  Randolph 
Bryan]  spent  two  or  three  days  in  Fredericksburg  last  autumn 
waiting  for  the  stage  that  was  to  convey  him  to  Roanoke,  and 
that  he  was  much  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  Fredericksburg 
ladies,  whom  he  saw  at  church? 


534         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

1 '  My  hands  are  cramped,  as  you  perceive.  I  am  much  better. 
Yesterday,  when  all  the  world  went  to  worship  the  Great  King, 
I  rode  to  Georgetown,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  passing  the 
morning  with  two  very  amiable  ladies,  one  of  them  a  widow, 
the  other  a  married  woman."1 

And  what  feet  would  not  have  been  tempted  to  tread  the 
fair  meads  of  literature  by  such  a  seductive  letter  as  this : 

"By  the  way,  I  sent  you  a  translation,  for  which  at  school  I 
should  have  been  reproved,  if  not  chastised,  but,  as  I  never 
incurred  either  disgrace  (about  my  book),  so  I  will  make 
amends  now  by  a  frank  confession  of  my  fault.  I  gave  neither 
the  literal  sense  nor  the  aroma,  if  I  may  say  so,  of  the  passage, 
but  a  paraphrase.  I  wish  you  knew  as  much  Latin  as  I  do  at 
the  least,  and  a  great  deal  more  Greek.  And  why  should  you 
not  understand  them  as  well  as  Lady  Jane  Grey  or  Queen 
Elizabeth,  your  namesake,  or  Maria  Theresa,  who,  when  she 
harangued  in  that  tongue  (which  is  in  general  use  also  in 
Poland),  the  states  of  Hungary  received  the  memorable  reply 
from  the  whole  body;  the  action  being  suited  to  the  word; 
swords  leaping  from  their  scabbards.  'Moriamur  pro  nostro 
rege,  Maria  Theresa.  ■  We  will  die  for  our  King,  Maria  Theresa. 
In  Hungary,  there  can  be  no  queen.  She  is  king.  There 
is  a  gallant  Salique  law  for  you.  But  to  return  to  Virgil,  and 
I  will  copy  the  passage  which  describes  Dido,  unhappy  Dido, 
with  a  felicity  approaching  Shakespeare.  On  such  a  night  as 
this  stood  Dido  with  a  willow  in  her  hand  upon  the  wild  sea 
banks,  and  waved  her  love  to  come  again  to  Carthage.  Sam 
Johnson  never  said  a  better  thing,  and  not  often  so  true  a  one, 
as  that  the  Romans  would  never  have  endured  Virgil's  treat- 
ment of  her,  if  she  had  not  been  a  Carthaginian.  Now  for  the 
passage,  to  which  you  are  indebted  to  a  romping  match  be- 
tween my  brother  Richard  and  myself  in  school  time;  for  which 
I  was  tasked  thirty  lines  beginning : 

"  'At  regina  gravi  jamdudum  saucia  cura 
Vulnus  alit  venis  et  caeco  carpitur  igni 

1  Washington,  Jan.  2,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  535 

Multa  Viri  Virtus  animo  multusque  recursat 
Gentis  honos.  Haerent  infixi  pectore  vultus 
Verbaque:  nee  placidam  membris  dat  cura  quietem.' 

"When  I  began,  I  intended  only  to  have  written  as  much  as 
the  first  paragraph  on  the  other  page  contains,  but  you  and 
Dido  are  a  couple  of  seducing  sluts,  and  the  enclosed  note, 
which  you  must  return,  will  show  that  there  is  another  en- 
chantress against  whom  I  must  guard  my  'liver.'  But  to  re- 
turn to  the  pious  JEneas,  the  Sir  Charles  Grandison  of  the 
Ancients  and  Prince  of  Coxcombs,  or  rather  to  his  victim.  His 
face  and  words  stuck  immovably  (fixed)  in  her  breast.  It  is  at 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  book  and  your  brother  will  read  it 
to  you.  lHaeret  lateri  lethalis  arundo.y  The  deadly  arrow 
rankles  in  his  side;  the  word  used  by  Virgil  means  to  convey 
the  idea  of  sticking  like  a  barbed  arrow,  not  to  be  drawn  out, 
deeply  fixed."1 

A  fit  companion-piece  for  this  last  letter  is  another 
which  Randolph  wrote  a  few  days  later  to  his  niece : 

"Why  does  Milton  write  steep  Atlantic  stream?  Because 
poetry  is  not  prose;  altho'  prose  is  often  poetry,  and  of  the 
highest  order.  Dr.  Johnson's  folio  dictionary  is  at  your  hand 
and  may,  perhaps,  help  you  to  solve  the  meaning.  But  I  will 
venture. 

"The  stream  is  'steep,'  not  shelving,  but  perpendicular, 
down  deeper  than  plummet  ever  sounded.  But,  as  poetry 
affects  us  by  exciting  images  and  thoughts  in  us,  as  one  in- 
strument, though  not  struck,  responds  in  unison  to  another, 
it  may  be  because  the  descent  of  'the  gilded  car  of  day'  is 
(apparently)  'steep,'  precipitated,  plunging  right  down.  This 
substitution  is  well  understood  by  rhetoricians  as  well  as  poets. 

"Virgil  writes: 

"  'Aut  conjurato  descendens  que  Dacus  ab  Istro.' 

Now,  although  you  are,  I  believe,  no  Latin  scholar;  yet  you  are 
better  able  to  comprehend  me  than  thousands  that  are,  or  are 

1  Jan.  19,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 


536         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

thought  to  be  such.  I  will  write  over  each  Latin  word  the 
English  one,  premising  that  the  case  is  fixed  by  the  termination ; 
'us'  being  nominative,  and  V  ablative.  Here  you  see  the 
whole  Danube  (i.e.,  the  vast  country  watered  by  it).  A  tame 
imagination  would  have  written  out  conjuratus  descendens  que 
Dacus  ab  Istro,  making  the  Dacian  people  only  the  conspirator. 
The  que  at  the  end  of  the  present  participle  descendens  is 
for  metre  and  euphony  only,  altho'  it  means  'and.'"1 

In  the  following  letter,  his  romantic  love  for  his  niece 
reaches  its  acme : 

M  My  dear  Child.  My  late  apparent  rashness,  I  am  over- 
joyed to  see,  has  not  wounded  you.  That  it  has  made  you 
uneasy,  I  regret,  but  why  was  I  so  moved;  because  I  love  you 
more  than  worlds.  I  am  the  man  in  the  book  with  one  little 
ewe  lamb :  but  I  am  not  the  man  tamely  to  see  the  wolf  carry  it 
away.  I  will  resist  even  unto  blood.  My  fate  was  in  your 
hands.  When  you  come  to  know  my  history,  you  will  see  what 
it  is  that  makes  me  what  the  world  would  call  desperate. 
Desperation  is  the  fruit  of  guilt,  of  remorse.  It  is  for  the 
unjust.  It  is  for  the  wretched  who  had  rather  steal  than  work. 
It  is  for  the  Harrels  (see  Cecilia)  who  prefer  hell  at  home  and 
in  their  own  bosoms  to  the  foregoing  of  dress,  and  shew,  and 
parties,  and  an  equipage,  when  their  fortune  will  not  afford  a 
wheelbarrow."2 

The  range  of  the  letters,  written  by  Randolph  to  his 
niece,  is  sufficiently  wide  to  give  us  a  sharpened  insight 
even  into  his  most  intimate  personal  habits. 

"What  you  say  about  modesty  charms  me,"  he  once  wrote 
to  her.  "  It  is  what  even  a  man  of  delicacy  should  endeavor  to 
bring  himself  to.  Many  men  think  themselves  absolved  (and 
some  ladies,  too,  I  fear),  when  in  private,  from  observances 
which  no  well-regulated  mind  will  ever  depart  from;  as  some 
only  keep  clean  and  nice  those  garments  and  such  parts  of  their 

1  Feb.  i,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Mar.  30,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  537 

persons  as  are  exposed  to  view.  I  remember,  when  I  was  a 
boy,  that  I  never  practiced  any  of  those  slovenly  tricks ;  I  never 
put  on  clean  stockings  on  unwashed  feet,  as  I  have  seen  my 
comrades  do;  nor  thought  myself  at  liberty,  because  I  was 
unobserved,  to  dispense  in  word  or  deed  with  any  of  the 
decencies  that  cover,  as  with  a  garment,  our  naked  and 
shuddering  humanity,  and  distinguish  us  from  Hottentots  and 
brutes."1 

In  some  of  the  letters,  there  are  religious  observations, 
which  bespeak  a  deeper  undercurrent  of  religious  feeling, 
after  all,  than  anything  that  we  find  in  the  letters  that  he 
wrote  during  his  period  of  religious  hysteria ;  but  of  these 
letters,  as  well  as  of  his  religious  manifestations  generally, 
we  shall  have  something  to  say  a  little  later  on. 

Among  the  letters  written  by  Randolph  to  his  niece  and 
her  husband,  was  one  containing  this  advice  which  might 
be  profitably  taken  to  heart  by  a  Virginian  at  the  present 
day. 

"Plant  fruit  and  forest  trees.  Plant  (out  of  sight)  all 
unsightly  objects  such  as  offices,  etc. ;  fence  your  house  from 
the  East  wind  by  evergreens  faced  with  deciduous  trees  and 
shrubs.  Don't  let  it  stand  flaming  a  la  Virginienne,  as  if  it 
stood  for  the  County.  The  nakedness  and  desolation  of  our 
country  seats,  especially  on  the  tidewaters,  is  hideous  and 
detestable."2 

In  another  letter,  written  a  few  weeks  later  to  John 
Randolph  Bryan,  after  giving  him  a  good  deal  of  the  old- 
fashioned  advice  about  economy  and  kindred  virtues 
which  has  rarely  been  known  to  find  lodgment  anywhere 
short  of  the  caverns  of  the  moon,  Randolph  promised  him 
some  acorns  "of  an  oak  from  Turkey,"  and  also  a  few 
English  acorns  and  various  edible  nuts  of  one  kind  or 
another.     This  letter  also  bears  testimony  to  the  difficul- 

1  Washington,  Jan.  21,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  London,  Nov.  14,  1830,  Bryan  MSS. 


538         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

ties,  with  which  the  owner  of  a  country  seat  in  Virginia,  in 
Randolph's  time,  far  removed  from  the  shops  and  skilful 
mechanics  of  urban  centers,  and  dependent  for  its  proper 
care  upon  slipshod  negro  labor,  had  to  contend. 

"The  parsimony  I  preach  up,"  Randolph  said,  "does  not 
extend  to  the  exclusion  of  comforts.  I  hope  never  to  see  a 
fireplace  in  your  house  without  shovel  and  tongs  and  fender, 
nor  with  broken  windows.  When  I  was  on  a  visit  to  poor  B., 
he  had  8  or  10  sponging  visitors  and  their  horses,  and  it  was 
with  difficulty  that  I  could  get  a  basin  or  towel.  Even  the  most 
necessary  article  in  a  bed  chamber  was  missing.  I  do  not 
mean  the  bed,  for  there  was  one,  although  most  uncomfortable; 
no,  furnish  your  rooms  well,  however  plainly.  It  is  a  first 
expense  for  the  whole  of  your  life.  Plate  and  china  and  glass 
you  will  have  no  occasion  to  buy."1 

Poor  B.!  It  is  well  that  Randolph  had  the  habit  of 
amputating  proper  names. 

After  the  death  of  Randolph,  his  niece,  between  the 
injurious  reflections  made  by  him  in  his  will,  executed  in 
1 82 1,  upon  the  integrity  of  her  grandfather  Tucker,  and 
the  fact  that  the  great  bulk  of  his  estate  was  by  his  will, 
executed  in  1832,  given  to  her  son,  John  C.  Bryan,  was 
placed  in  a  very  delicate  and  trying  situation;  especially 
as  it  was  said  by  one  of  Randolph's  overseers  that,  in 
addition  to  the  wills,  executed  by  Randolph,  that  had  been 
brought  to  light  after  his  death,  he  had  made  another,  in 
which,  after  bequeathing  the  sum  of  $50,000.00  to  John 
C.  Bryan,  he  had  left  the  residue  of  his  property  to  his 
natural  heirs.  Just  what  her  feelings  were,  however,  we 
are  at  no  loss  to  know,  because  free  expression  was  given 
to  them  by  her  in  several  letters  to  her  step-grandmother 
which  are  still  extant,  and  go  far  to  confirm  the  high  opinion 
which  Randolph  entertained  of  her  mind  and  character. 
These  letters  show  that  not  only  Randolph's   brothers, 

1  London,  Dec.  28,  1830,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  539 

but  his  brother-in-law,  Judge  Coalter,  felt  that,  whatever 
disposition  might  be  made  of  the  will  of  1832,  that  of  1821, 
with  its  aspersions  on  the  honor  of  St.  George  Tucker, 
should  not  be  allowed  to  stand.  Indeed,  in  a  memoran- 
dum which  accompanied  one  of  them,  Mrs.  Bryan  tells 
Mrs.  Tucker  that  her  father  had  declared  that  the  will  of 
1 82 1  contained  a  slander  on  his  father-in-law  that  should 
not  go  on  record  uncontested  while  his  head  was  warm. s 
In  a  letter,  subsequent  to  the  date  of  this  memorandum, 
Mrs.  Bryan  also  quotes  her  Uncle  Beverley  as  saying : 

"To  both  (St.  George  Tucker  and  John  Randolph)  we  owe 
it  to  show  that  the  charge  was  false,  and  known  to  him  (Ran- 
dolph) to  be  so,  and  to  excuse  the  falsehood  by  proving  his 
derangement.  Leigh  will  relinquish  all  claim  under  the  first 
will ;  nevertheless  we  must  fight  against  it  for  the  honor  of  the 
dead.  About  the  last  (making  Jack  his  heir)  we  will  have  no 
controversy."2 

If  Mrs.  Bryan  failed  at  all  in  living  up  to  all  the  require- 
ments of  her  painful  situation,  it  was,  perhaps,  in  allowing 
herself  to  be  pushed,  by  the  necessities  of  the  case  into 
emphasizing  just  a  little  too  strongly  what  she  believed  to 
be  the  mental  irresponsibility  of  her  uncle.  In  her  first 
letter  to  Mrs.  St.  George  Tucker,  to  whom  she  was  ten- 
derly attached,  she  says : 

"You  will  have  seen  from  the  papers  somewhat  of  Uncle 
Randolph's  will ;  and  no  doubt  wish  to  know  more  about  it,  as 
Jack  is  his  heir  under  one  will.  I  can  only  say  that  I  firmly 
believe  that  he  was  not  for  years  before  his  death  capable  of 
making  a  will.  I,  therefore,  hope  that  both  wills  may  be  con- 
tested and  set  aside.  I  dislike  above  all  things  that  my  child 
should  be  heir  to  so  much  property,  especially  to  the  loss  of  his 
uncles,  who  are  nearer  by  right  of  blood,  and  have  proved 
their  worthiness,  whereas  he  may  or  may  not  be  as  much  so  as 

1  Aug.  15,  1833,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Sept.  19,  1833,  Bryan  MSS. 


54°  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

they  are.  Papa  has  enjoined  silence  on  us  about  this  matter, 
but  to  you  I  always  speak  freely.  I  know  that  my  uncle  was 
not  himself  (on  the  subject  of  property  especially)  for  years. 
As  I  hear  more  on  the  subject,  you  shall  be  informed  of  it. 
In  a  late  affectionate  letter  from  Uncle  B.  (who  with  his  family 
are  at  Roanoke) ,  he  tells  me  that  Mr.  Wm  Leigh  has  partly 
resolved  to  contest  the  last  will  in  behalf  of  the  slaves,  who  are 
emancipated  by  the  first,  but  he  does  not  mean  to  advance  his 
claim  to  the  property  left  him  and  his  son  by  that  same  will. 
I  do  not  know  how  it  may  go.  I  trust  that  the  Great  Ruler  of 
Events  will  decide  the  matter  aright.  I  should  wish  myself  for 
the  freeing  of  the  slaves  and  the  division  of  the  property  among 
the  natural  heirs,  with  a  handsome  provision  for  Mr.  Leigh, 
whose  long  and  tried  friendship  and  services  merit  a  return. 
His  circumstances  would  make  it  acceptable.  So  Jack  does 
not  get  all  I  do  not  much  care  about  it.  If  I  could  see  you,  I 
could  tell  you  more.  This  is  all  that  I  will  put  on  paper,  and 
this  is  in  confidence."1 

In  a  postscript  to  this  letter,  Mrs.  Bryan  further  says : 
"I  dread  as  much  as  possible  the  last  one  (the  will  of  1832) 
and  had  rather  (almost  if  not  quite)  give  up  my  darling 
to  his  Maker  than  have  him  live  to  experience  such  a  trial 
and  temptation.  It  is  dreadful  to  think  of."  In  the 
memorandum,  to  which  we  have  referred,  after  recalling 
what,  her  father  had  said  about  the  will,  she  continues  in 
these  words : 

"So  say  we  all.  All  feel  as  one  man.  All  wish  both  wills  to 
be  set  aside,  and  I  think  it  probable  that  the  law  will  do  it.  I 
pray  God  to  let  the  decision  be  according  to  the  truth.  My 
own  belief  is  that  Uncle  Randolph  did  wish  his  slaves  emanci- 
pated, and  Mr.  Leigh  handsomely  rewarded  for  his  tried  friend- 
ship. I,  moreover,  believe  that  he  intended  to  provide  for 
Uncle  B,  but  disease  acting  on  his  excitable  temperament  kept 
him  always  more  or  less  mad,  and  property  was  the  main 
chord  of  his  insanity.     Death  surprised  him!     If  I  had  not 

1  Eagle  Point,  Aug.  15,  1833,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  541 

always  thought  him  mad,  I  could  not  have  loved  him,  and 
would  not  have  overlooked,  as  I  did,  his  disrespect  to  my  dear 
grandfather.  If  I  did  not  now  believe  him  to  have  been  mad, 
I  could  not  respect  his  memory.  I  admired  his  talents,  loved 
him  from  the  tie  of  blood  and  because  he  loved  me,  and  pitied 
him  because  he  was  sick  and  wretched,  and  sought  my  sym- 
pathy. I  never  expected  for  an  instant  to  be  the  better  for  his 
being  a  rich  man.  I  have  always  felt  independent  of  him, 
and  he  knew  it." 

Another  letter  from  Mrs.  Bryan  to  Mrs.  Tucker  dis- 
closes the  fact  that  the  writer  never  knew  until  after  the 
death  of  her  uncle  that  he  had  ever  assailed  the  integrity 
of  her  grandfather.  She  had  supposed,  she  said,  that  the 
coolness,  which  had  sprung  up  between  them,  had  been 
due  to  Randolph's  prejudice  against  second  marriages 
and  stepmothers. 

"Not  that  I  ever  heard  him  say  even  a  slighting  word  of  you 
but  once,"  she  hastens  to  add,  "and  then  he  said:  'Your 
grandmother,  as  you  call  her'  (having  occasion  to  mention 
you).  I  raised  my  finger  warningly,  and  looked  at  him,  and 
said:  'And  well  may  I  call  her  so.'  He  bowed  and  went  on 
with  his  story."1 

In  this  same  letter,  she  declares  that  she  regarded  the 
charges  in  the  will  of  182 1  "as  the  act  of  a  madman, "  and 
she  added  that  she  had  never  thought  of  Randolph  but 
as  insane  on  many  subjects  since  she  "first  had  very  per- 
sonal intercourse  with  him,"  which  was,  she  thought,  in 
1 8 16.  In  this  letter,  too,  Mrs.  Bryan  declares  that  Ran- 
dolph always  spoke  of  her  father  to  her  "in  the  most 
exalted  and  respectful  terms,"  and  never  said  one  dis- 
respectful word  to  her  about  her  grandfather. 

" On  the  contrary,"  she  said,  "in  the  latter  years  of  my  dear 
parent's  life,  he  several  times  inquired  kindly  about  him,  and 

1  Eagle  Point,  Sept.  19,  1833,  Bryan  MSS. 


542         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

sent  him  his  good  wishes  most  cordially.  When  I  mentioned 
his  illness  and  death,  in  reply  he  said:  'Your  accounts  are  most 
distressing;  I  cannot  reason  away  my  feelings  on  the  subject, 
though  life  has  long  been  to  him  little  but  a  burden.  It  is  a 
mercy  to  God  that  he  has  had  such  a  comforter  as  Mrs.  Tucker.' 
I  quote  from  memory,  but  the  expressions  are,  I  believe. 
verbatim.  I  tell  you  this  to  clear  myself  in  your  eyes.  I  would 
not  for  the  world  that  you  should  think  me  capable  of  loving 
and  respecting  a  man  who  I  knew  to  be  the  slanderer  of  my 
grandfather."1 

Bitter  as  the  enmities  of  Randolph  were,  evidence  can 
readily  be  brought  forward  to  show  that,  long  before  his 
end,  his  feelings  towards  every  one  of  the  individuals  who 
had  been  the  subjects  of  them — Jefferson,  Madison,  Wm. 
B.  Giles,  Samuel  Smith,  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  St. 
George  Tucker — had  undergone  a  more  or  less  softening 
change.  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  says  that  his  father,  Josiah 
Quincy,  was  the  only  friend  that  Randolph  ever  had  with 
whom  he  did  not  quarrel  first  or  last 2 ;  and  Sawyer  tells  us 
that  Randolph  died  almost  friendless.3  Nothing  could 
be  further  from  the  truth  than  either  statement,  though 
the  first  certainly,  and  the  second  possibly,  was  made 
without  malice.  Throughout  his  life,  Randolph  was  never 
without  a  circle  of  devoted  friends,  and,  if  he  did  not  have 
as  many  at  the  end  of  his  life  as  he  had  had  in  its  earlier 
stages,  that  was  simply  the  penalty  which  we  all  pay  for 
living  on  after  crossing  over  the  ridge  which  separates  the 
watershed  of  the  River  of  Life  from  the  watershed  of  the 
River  of  Death.  When  he  wrote  to  his  sister  that  no  man 
ever  poured  out  his  whole  soul  both  in  friendship  and  love 
more  freely  than  her  poor  old  brother  had  done  in  his  early 
days,  he  had  no  little  reason  for  saying  what  he  did,  and 
he  was  simply  reaping  the  just  rewards  of  his  constancy  as 

1  Eagle  Point,  Sept.  19,  1833,  Bryan  MSS. 
3  Life  of  Quincy,  266. 
a  P.  124. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  543 

a  friend  when  he  found  himself  in  a  position  to  declare, 
some  14  years  later:  "What  an  ill-starred  wretch  have  I 
been  through  life — a  not  uneventful  life — and  yet  how 
truly  blest  have  I  been  in  my  friends ;  not  one,  no  not  one 
has  ever  betrayed  me  whom  I  have  admitted  into  my 
sanctum  sanctorum.'"1  Sawyer  says  that  the  tenure  of 
Randolph's  friendship  was  too  frail  to  render  it  sincere  or 
ardent. 2  This  statement  too  is  entirely  destitute  of  found- 
ation. When  W.  J.  Barksdale,  who  knew  Randolph 
intimately,  was  asked  in  the  Randolph  will  litigation 
whether  it  was  not  a  trait  of  Randolph's  character  to  be 
very  variable  in  his  friendships,  he  answered  promptly: 
1 '  According  to  my  observation,  not  at  all  so. " 3  The  truth 
is  that  we  cannot  recall  an  instance  in  which  Randolph 
ever  gave  his  friendship  and  withdrew  it,  when  sane,  for 
reasons  other  than  such  as  would  be  recognized  by  any 
fair-minded  individual  as  good  reasons  for  withdrawing  it. 
He  did  not  dull  his  palm  with  the  entertainment  of  any 
new-fledged  comrade,  for  he  was  too  reserved  to  confer  his 
confidence  upon  anyone  hastily ;  but,  friendship  once  given, 
its  tie,  at  any  rate  until  the  irresponsibility  of  his  latter 
years  set  in,  was  for  him  as  indissoluble  as  the  marriage 
tie  usually  was  in  Virginia. 

"I  never  hazarded  the  wounding  of  a  friend  but  to  serve 
that  friend,"  ...  he  once  wrote  to  his  niece.  "Banister, 
Bryan — they  were  my  friends — Rutledge  he  is  (or  was)  my 
friend.  Never  did  I  wound  either  of  them;  nor  Wm.  Leigh, 
nor  will  I  ever.     The  people  are  my  friends."4 

Banister  and  Rutledge  have  already  been  introduced 
to  the  reader.     When  Randolph  parted  with  Rutledge  in 

1  The  Hague,  Aug.  8,  1826,  Garland,  v.  2,  271. 

2  P.  124. 

3  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

4  Mar.  30,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 


544  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

1796,  he  did  not  meet  him  again  for  a  long  stretch  of  years. 
In  mentioning  some  of  his  friends  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough, 
Randolph  once  said: 

"Bryan,  Benton,  Rutledge — let  me  not  forget  him  whom  I 
knew  before  either  of  the  others,  although  for  the  last  30  years 
we  have  met  but  once.  The  last  letter  that  I  received  on  my 
departure  from  Washington  was  from  him.  In  the  late  elec- 
tion, he  was  the  warm  supporter  of  General  Jackson,  whom  he 
personally  knew  and  esteems,  and  I  confess  that  the  testimony 
of  one  whom  I  have  known  intimately  for  more  than  six  and 
thirty  years  to  be  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche,  and  who  is  an 
observer  and  an  excellent  judge  of  mankind,  weighs,  as  it 
ought  to  weigh,  with  me  in  favor  of  the  veteran."1 

Long  suspended,  as  personal  intercourse  between  Ran- 
dolph and  Rutledge  was,  Rutledge's  image  never  grew 
faint  in  Randolph's  memory.  Of  this  we  need  no  better 
proof  than  the  following  letter,  written  after  Rutledge's 
return  to  the  United  States  from  a  foreign  excursion : 

"My  dear  Rutledge:  When  I  got  home  from  Richmond, 
a  fortnight  ago,  Dr.  Dudley  informed  me  that  he  had,  that 
very  morning,  sent  letters  for  me  to  that  place  by  my  wagon — 
'one  from  Rutledge.'  (I  come  a  different  road  until  within  a 
few  miles  of  my  own  house.)  At  length,  'the  heavy  rolling 
wain'  has  returned — a  safer,  and  ofttimes  a  swifter,  conveyance 
than  the  Post — and  I  have  the  pleasure  to  read  your  letter 
written  on  my  birthday.  I  hope  you  will  always  celebrate 
it  in  the  same  way,  and,  as  probably  you  never  knew  that 
important  fact,  or  have  forgotten  it,  I  must  inform  you  that  it 
falls  just  two  days  before  that  of  our  sometime  king,  on  the 
anniversary  of  whose  nativity  you  tell  me  you  had  proposed  to 
set  out,  or,  as  it  is  more  elegantly  expressed  in  our  Doric  idiom, 
Ho  start'  for  the  good  old  thirteen  United  States.  I  am  too 
unwell  and  too  much  fatigued  to  say  much  more  than  to 

»  The  Hague,  Aug.  8, 1826,  Garland,  v.  2,  271. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  545 

express  my  disappointment  at  not  seeing  you  on  your  Atlantic 
Pilgrimage.  I  knew  that  I  did  not  lie  in  your  route,  and,  altho' 
I  had  no  right  to  expect  such  a  deflection  from  your  line  of 
march,  yet,  somehow  or  other,  joining  an  expression  of  one 
of  your  letters  and  my  own  wishes  together,  I  made  up  a  sort  of 
not  very  confident  hope  of  seeing  you  in  my  solitary  cabin — 
'bag  [and]  baggage'  as  you  say.  I  acknowledge  that  my  con- 
struction of  your  language  was  strained,  but,  when  once  we 
have  set  our  hearts  upon  anything,  'trifles  light  as  air'  serve  our 
purpose  as  well  as  'holy  writ.'  And  so  you  have  been  given 
back  like  another  Orpheus  by  the  infernal  regions — but  with- 
out leaving  your  Eurydice  behind  you.  I  suspect  you  cast  no 
'longing,  lingering  look  behind.'  Pray  tell  me  whether  your 
Ixions  of  the  West  (whom  I  take  to  be  true  'crackers')  stopped 
their  wheels,  as  you  passed;  or  Tantalus  forgot  his  thirst,  and 
put  by  the  untasted  whiskey. 

"You  misapprehend  me,  or,  what  is  more  probable,  I  have 
expressed  myself  very  incorrectly,  if  you  impute  to  me  the 
opinion  that  Burke,  the  great  master  of  political  philosophy, 
has  been  the  model  of  our  4th  of  July  orators  and  spouters  in 
and  out  of  Congress.  I  consider  the  style  of  Burke  to  be  the 
most  flexible  that  can  be  imagined,  and  nothing  can  be  stiffer, 
not  even  our  Russian  Envoy,  than  the  style  we  both  condemn. 
But  read  a  page  of  Fisher  Ames,  or  a  line  of  one  of  Quincy's 
speeches,  and  forget  Burke,  if  you  can.  Sometimes,  you  have 
a  mere  echo,  and,  at  all  times,  a  wretched  imitation.  Of 
Curran,  the  ape  of  Grattan  (who  occasionally  had  Burke  in  his 
eye  too)  and  of  Phillips  (the  ape  of  Curran)  whom  we  ape,  I 
have  already  (I  think)  expressed  my  opinion.  Grattan  goes  to 
the  very  farthest  verge  of  propriety,  and  often  oversteps  the 
modesty  of  nature,  but,  if  he  had  never  said  anything  but  what 
he  delivered  on  the  Irish  propositions,  he  would  stand  with  me 
in  the  foremost  rank  of  orators.  Speaking  of  the  interdiction 
of  the  Commerce  of  Ireland  beyond  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
and  Cape  Horn  he  said — 'It  resembled  a  judgment  of  God 
rather  than  an  act  of  legislature,  whether  measured  by  extent 
of  space  or  infinity  of  duration — and  had  nothing 
human  about  it  except  its  presumption!'  This  is  not  what 
Watts  and  his  disciples  call  reasoning — but  it  is  above  it.     No, 

VOL.  II.— 35 


546         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

my  dear  Rutledge,  if  I  am  enthusiastic  in  anything,  it  is  in 
admiration  of  Burke. 

"Had  I  got  your  letter  in  time,  I  would  have  shot  you  fly- 
ing somewhere  between  Fincastle  and  Winchester;  (our  Win- 
chester). You  must  be  so  heavy  on  the  wing  that  I  could  hit 
you  as  easily  as  a  woodcock.  I  proposed  going  to  our  Sulphur 
Springs  for  a  diseased  liver,  and  it  would  have  been  killing 
two  birds  at  once. 

"Let  me  know  your  future  movements,  and,  perhaps,  I  may 
contrive  a  meeting ;  when  you  will  see  an  old,  withered,  weather- 
beaten,  shrivelled  creature,  and  look  in  vain  for  him  you  once 
knew.  My  best  wishes  attend  Mrs.  R.  and  your  sister.  Your 
children  ought  to  think  of  me  as  one  whom  they  have  long 
known.  Remember  me  to  Middleton  and  his  accomplished 
wife,  and  believe  me,  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word, 
"Your  Friend, 

"J.  R.  of  Roanoke."1 

Other  early  friends  of  Randolph  were  John  Thompson 
and  his  brother,  William  Thompson.  John  Thompson 
was  a  young  man  of  great  promise,  and  created  consider- 
able stir  in  the  last  years  of  the  18th  century  by  his  news- 
paper publications  on  political  topics,  signed  "  Gracchus, " 
"Cassius,"  and  "Curtius";  and  especially  by  a  letter 
which  he  addressed  to  John  Marshall,  when  he  was  a  Fed- 
eralist candidate  for  Congress  in  the  Richmond  District. 
To  him  it  was  that  Randolph  referred  somewhat  grandi- 
osely in  the  debate  on  Gregg's  Resolution  as  "the  author 
of  the  immortal  letters  of  Curtius.  "  However,  the  thread 
of  Thompson's  life  was  slit  too  early  by  sour  Atropos  for 
anyone  to  say  safely  just  what  his  future  would  have  been. 
At  any  rate,  even  before  Randolph  became  a  member  of 
Congress,  this  friend  had  the  foresight  to  descry  the  fame 
that  awaited  him.  Writing  to  William  Thompson  from 
Europe  some  months  before  the  first  election  of  Randolph 
to  the  House,  he  said:   "Our  friend  John  Randolph  offers 

1  So.  Lit.  Mess.  (Nov.  1856),  pp.  380-382. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  547 

for  Congress,  and  will  probably  be  elected.  He  is  a  bril- 
liant and  noble  young  man.  He  will  be  an  object  of 
admiration  and  terror  to  the  enemies  of  liberty. " r 

William  Thompson  was  hardly  less  talented  than  his 
brother,  but  he  was  one  of  those  clever,  wayward,  and 
convivial  young  men,  so  common  in  the  social  and  political 
life  of  his  time,  who  could  never  make  any  steady  progress 
in  the  world  because  liquor  was  forever  tripping  up  their 
heels.  In  1798,  he  and  Randolph  walked  over  to  the 
Virginia  Mountains  to  visit  Richard  Kidder  Meade,  one 
of  Randolph's  relations;  commencing  their  journey  at 
Bizarre,  with  no  impedimenta  except  a  small  bundle  at  the 
end  of  the  cane  carried  by  each. 2  Later,  they  returned  to 
Bizarre  in  fine  health  and  spirits,  and  Thompson  went 
abroad,  wandered  over  the  face  of  Germany,  studied 
medicine,  and  then  abandoned  it  for  the  study  of  the  law, 
and  finally  returned  to  Virginia. 3  A  dissipated  vagabond, 
he  was  rapidly  squandering  all  his  opportunities  and  sink- 
ing into  the  position  of  an  irreclaimable  outcast,  when 
Randolph  extended  his  hand  to  him,  placed  him  under 
shelter  at  Bizarre,  endeavored  by  every  means  in  his 
power  to  rehabilitate  him  in  the  respect  of  others  and  his 
own  self-respect,  and  expended  upon  him  a  measure  of  com- 
mingled patience  and  affection  which  did  no  little  honor 
to  the  amiable  side  of  his  own  character.  Writing  from 
Bizarre  to  Randolph  on  one  occasion,  Thompson  says : 

"  My  Dear  Brother  :  Since  you  left  us,  I  have  been  deeply 
engaged  in  what  you  advised.  I  have  reviewed  the  Roman 
and  Grecian  history;  I  have  done  more;  I  have  reviewed  my 
own.  Believe  me,  Jack,  that  I  am  less  calculated  for  society 
than  almost  any  man  in  existence.  I  am  not  perhaps  a  vain 
fool,  but  I  have  too  much  vanity,  and  I  am  too  susceptible 
of  flattery.     I  have  that  fluency  which  will  attract  attention 

1  Garland,  v.  I,  73. 
3  Ibid.,  72. 
3  Ibid. 


548         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  receive  applause  from  an  unthinking  multitude.  Content 
with  my  superiority,  I  should  be  too  indolent  to  acquire  real, 
useful  knowledge.  I  am  stimulated  by  gratitude,  by  friendship 
and  by  love  to  make  exertions  now.  I  feel  confident  that  you 
will  view  my  foibles  with  a  lenient  eye;  that  you  will  see  me 
prosper  and  in  my  progress  be  delighted."1 

Was  it  with  Judith  that  he  was  in  love?  The  reader 
may  make  his  own  guess  as  we  proceed.  Of  the  relations 
between  the  two,  while  Thompson  was  at  Bizarre,  we  have 
no  information  apart  from  Thompson  and  Randolph 
themselves,  except  a  letter  from  Nancy  Randolph  to  Mrs. 
Creed  Taylor,  in  which  she  says  that  the  fact  that  Thomp- 
son and  Judith  and  "the  girls"  (probably  the  daughters 
of  Mrs.  Guilford  Dudley)  were  out  taking  a  walk  had 
afforded  her  an  opportunity  to  write  to  her  friend. 2  The 
next  time  that  Thompson  swims  into  our  ken  is  in  an 
indignant  and  eloquent  letter  to  Randolph  in  which  he 
castigates  with  no  little  rhetorical  vigor  the  injustice  to 
which  Randolph  had  been  subjected  in  the  matter  of  the 
assault  made  upon  him  at  the  play-house  by  Capt. 
McKnight  and  Lieut.  Reynolds. 3 

While  Thompson  was  at  Bizarre,  and  Randolph  was 
away  from  it,  engaged  with  his  Congressional  duties,  a 
regular  correspondence  was  kept  up  between  them.  The 
following  letter  was  written  by  Randolph  from  Philadel- 
phia, when  Congress  was  sitting  in  that"city,  in  reply  to 
one  which  he  had  received  from  Thompson : 

"Above  all,  it  [Thompson's  letter]  put  my  mind  at  ease  upon 
a  subject  which  has  been  productive  of  considerable  concern. 
I  mean  your  change  of  residence,  which,  as  you  will  find  by 
my  last,  I  understood  you  had  removed  to  Chinquepin  Church. 
Not  knowing  your  reasons  for  leaving  Bizarre,  I  could  not 

1  Garland,  v.  i,  73. 
3  Creed  Taylor  MSS. 
3  Garland,  v.  1,  162. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  549 

combat  [them].  Great,  however,  was  my  surprise  and  pleas- 
ure to  receive  a  letter  from  Judy  [Mrs.  Richard  Randolph]  and 
yourself ;  both  of  which  relieved  my  anxiety  upon  this  head.  I 
am,  moreover,  charmed,  my  friend,  that  you  are  resolutely 
bent  upon  study,  and  have  made  some  progress  therein.  Let 
me  conjure  you  to  adhere  inflexibily  to  this  rational  pursuit. 
Your  destiny  is  in  your  own  hands.  Regular  employment  is  of 
all  medicines  the  most  effectual  for  a  wounded  mind.  If  the 
sympathy  of  a  friend,  who  loves  you,  because  you  are  amiable 
and  unfortunate;  because  you  are  the  representative  of  that 
person  [John  Thompson]  who  held  the  first  place  in  his  heart, 
and  the  first  rank  in  the  intellectual  order;  if  my  uniform 
friendship,  my  dear  Thompson,  could  heal  the  wounds  of  your 
heart,  never  should  it  know  a  pang.  Your  situation  is  of  all 
others  the  one  most  eminently  calculated  to  repair,  so  far  as  it 
is  possible,  the  ills  which  you  have  sustained.  An  amiable 
woman,  who  regards  you  as  a  brother,  who  shares  your  griefs, 
and  will  administer  as  far  as  she  can  to  your  consolation  .  .  . 
such  a  woman  is  under  the  same  roof  with  you.  Cultivate  a 
familiarity  with  her;  each  day  will  give  you  new  and 
unexpected  proof  of  the  strength  of  her  mind,  and  the  extent  of 
her  information.  Books  you  have  at  command;  your  retire- 
ment is  unbroken.  Such  a  situation  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  best 
calculated  for  a  young  man  (under  any  circumstances)  who  will 
study;  or  even  for  one -who  is  determined  to  be  indolent. 
Female  society,  in  my  eye,  is  an  indispensable  requisite  in 
forming  the  manly  character.  That  which  is  offered  to  you  is 
not  to  be  paralleled,  perhaps,  in  the  world.  You  call  on  me, 
my  friend,  for  advice.  You  bid  me  regard  your  foibles  with  a 
lenient  eye;  you  anticipate  the  joy  which  I  shall  derive  from 
your  success.  I  will  not  permit  myself  to  doubt  of  it.  You 
shall  succeed — you  must.  You  have  it  in  your  power.  Exer- 
tion only  is  necessary.  You  owe  it  to  the  memory  of  our 
departed  brother,  to  yourself,  to  me,  to  your  country,  to 
humanity!  Apprised  that  you  have  foibles  to  eradicate,  the 
work  is  more  than  half  accomplished.  I  will  point  them  out 
with  a  friendly  yet  lenient  hand.  You  will  not  shrink  from  the 
probe,  knowing  that,  in  communicating  present  pain,  your 
ultimate  cure  and  safety  is  the  object  of  the  friendly  operator. 


550         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

If  I  supposed  myself  capable  of  inflicting  intentional  and  wan- 
ton pain  upon  your  feelings,  I  should  shrink  with  abhorrence 
from  myself.  In  the  course  of  my  strictures,  I  may,  perhaps, 
appear  abrupt.     I  am  now  pressed  for  time. 

"  Self-examination,  when  cool  and  impartial,  is  the  best  of  all 
correctives.  It  is  a  general  and  trite  observation  that  man 
knows  his  fellows  better  than  himself.  This  is  too  true;  but  it 
depends  upon  every  individual  to  exhibit,  in  himself,  a  refuta- 
tion of  this  received  maxim.  Retirement  and  virtuous  society 
fit  the  mind  for  this  task. 

"Among  your  foibles,  I  have  principally  observed  unsteadi- 
ness; a  precipitate  decision,  and  the  want  of  mature  reflection, 
generally.  It  would  be  uncandid  to  determine  your  character 
by  these  traits,  which  originate,  perhaps,  [in],  or  are,  at  least, 
heightened  by,  the  uneasiness  which  preys  upon  your  mind; 
which  renders  you  more  than  usually  restless.  Endeavor,  my 
friend,  to  act  less  upon  momentary  impulse;  pause,  reflect; 
think  much  and  speak  little;  form  a  steadiness  of  demeanor, 
and,  having  once  resolved,  persevere.  Read,  but  do  not 
devour,  books.  Compare  your  information;  digest  it.  In 
short,  according  to  the  old  proverb,  'Make  haste  slowly.' 
There  is  one  point  upon  which  I  must  enjoin  you  to  beware. 
You  appeared  restless,  when  I  saw  you,  to  change  your  prop- 
erty. Let  things  stand  as  they  are  a  little.  Facilis  descensus, 
sed  revocare  gradum,  hoc  opus.  (Excuse,  I  beseech  you,  this  piti- 
ful display  of  learning.) 

"  The  Due  de  la  Rochefoucault — who,  by  the  by,  is  a  bad 
moral  preceptor — has,  among  others,  this  very  excellent 
maxim :  'We  are  never  made  so  ridiculous  by  the  qualities  we 
possess  as  by  those  which  we  affect  to  have. '  I  never  knew  a 
man  who  would  not  profit  of  this  observation.  To  preserve 
your  own  esteem,  merit  it.  I  have  no  fear  that  you  will  ever 
render  yourself  unworthy  of  its  greatest  good.  Yet,  a  man  who 
is  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  his  own  good  opinion,  is  wrong  to 
despair.  It  may  be  retrieved.  He  ought  to  set  about  it 
immediately,  as  the  only  reparation  which  he  can  make  to 
himself  or  society.  The  ill  opinion  of  mankind  is  often  mis- 
placed; but  our  own  of  ourselves  never. 

"  Pardon,  my  dear  brother,  this  pedantic  and  didactic  letter. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  551 

Its  sententiousness  is  intolerable,  yet  it  was  almost  unavoid- 
able. I  had  written  till  my  fingers  were  cramped.  The  hour 
of  closing  the  mail  approached,  and  I  was  obliged  to  throw  my 
sentiments  into  the  offensive  form  of  dogmas.  That  I,  who 
abound  in  foibles,  and,  to  speak  truth,  vices — that  I  should 
pretend  to  dogmatize,  may  appear  to  many  arrogant  indeed. 
Yet,  let  them  recollect  that  we  are  all  frail,  and  should  sustain 
each  other;  and  that  the  truth  of  a  precept  is  not  determined 
by  the  practice  of  him  who  promulges  it.  Go  on,  my  dear 
Thompson,  and  prosper.  I  regret  that  I  am  debarred  the 
pleasure  of  sharing  your  literary  labors,  and  of  that  interchange 
of  sentiment  which  constitutes  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  my 
enjoyment.  To  our  amiable  sister — for  such  she  considers 
herself  with  respect  to  you — I  commit  you,  confident  that  your 
own  exertion,  aided  by  her  society,  will  form  you  such  as  your 
friend  will  rejoice  to  behold  you.  Write  to  him  frequently, 
I  beseech  you ;  cheer  his  solitary  and  miserable  existence  with 
the  well  known  characters  of  friendship.  Adieu,  my  dear 
brother."1 

To  this  letter  Thompson  replied  in  the  following  terms : 

M  Dear  Jack,  :  I  am  not  ceremonious.  I  feel  a  conviction 
that  your  silence  does  not  proceed  from  a  want  of  regard,  but 
from  a  cause  more  important  to  the  world,  to  yourself,  and,  if 
possible,  more  distressing  to  me  than  the  loss  of  that  place  in 
your  heart,  on  which  depends  my  future  prosperity.  I  had 
fondly  hoped  that  the  change  of  scene,  and  the  novelty  of 
business,  would  have  dissipated  that  melancholy  which  over- 
hung you.  To  see  my  friend  return  happy  and  well,  was  the 
only  wish  of  my  heart. 

"To  the  man,  who  is  not  devoted  to  unnatural  dissipations,  a 
great  city  has  no  charms;  it  awakens  the  most  painful  sen- 
sations in  the  breast  of  the  philanthropist  and  patriot.  It  is 
disgusting  to  behold  such  a  mass  of  vice,  and  all  its  attendant 
deformities,  cherished  in  the  bosom  of  an  enlightened  country. 
Prostitutions  of  body,  and  still  greater  prostitution  of  mind 
excite  our  pity  and  hatred.     The  political  life  has  not  those 

^hila.,  Dec.  31,  1800,  Garland,  v.  1,  166. 


552         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

attractions  to  the  virtuous  which  it  once  had,  and  which  it 
ought  still  to  have  in  this  country.  The  spirit  of  party  has 
extinguished  the  spirit  of  liberty.  The  enlightened  orator 
must  be  shocked  at  the  willing  stupidity  of  his  auditors.  Our 
exertions  are  vain  and  impotent.  Every  man  is  the  avowed 
friend  of  a  party.  Converts  to  reason  are  not  to  be  found; 
whilst  converts  to  interest  are  innumerable. 

' '  You  know  I  promised  not  to  visit  Richmond.  I  have  rigidly 
adhered  to  that.  I  felt  a  necessity  of  cooling  down.  I  fore- 
boded the  acquirement  of  dissipated  habits,  which  would  haunt 
me  unceasingly.  I  saw  that  the  patronage  of  the  virtuous 
would  awaken  an  emulation  in  me  to  attain  their  perfection. 
I  feel  confident  that,  if  my  friends  bear  a  little  longer  with  my 
foibles,  they  will  be  corrected.  I  look  forward  with  honest 
pride  to  the  day  when  I  shall  merit  their  regard — when,  by  my 
conduct  and  by  my  principles,  I  shall  make  some  retribution 
for  the  exalted  generosity  which  I  have  met  with  from  your 
family.  I  am  not  made  of  such  stern  stuff  as  to  resist  singly; 
but  the  idea  of  friendship  will  steel  my  heart  against  tempt- 
ation. Since  you  left  me,  I  have  been  generally  at  home, 
conscious  how  little  I  merit  regard.  That  which  I  feel  for  your 
amiable  family  may  perhaps  appear  presumption,  yet  the 
thought  of  losing  it  is  stinging.  .  .  .  To  your  sister,  your  most 
amiable  sister,  I  try  to  render  myself  agreeable.  There  is  a 
gentleness  of  manners,  an  uniformity  of  conduct,  and  a  majesty 
of  virtue,  which  seem  to  render  admiration  presumptuous."1 

The  next  letter  in  the  correspondence  is  this  one  from 
Randolph  to  Thompson : 

"Your  letter,  my  dear  Thompson,  has  communicated  to  my 
heart  a  satisfaction  to  which  it  has  not  been  at  all  familiar. 
It  has  proved  beyond  dispute  that  the  energies  of  your  mind, 
however  neglected  by  yourself,  or  relaxed  by  misfortune,  have 
been  suspended,  but  not  impaired;  and  that  the  strength  of 
your  understanding  has  not  been  unequal  to  the  ordeal  of  mis- 
fortune, of  which  few  are  calculated  to  bear  the  test.  Proceed, 
my  friend,  in  the  path  in  which  you  now  move;  justify  those 

1  Garland,  v.  I,  169. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  553 

lively  hopes  which  I  have  never  ceased  to  entertain,  or  to 
express,  of  your  future  attainments :  in  the  words,  although  not 
in  the  sense,  of  the  poet,  let  me  exhort  you,  'carpe  diem.'  The 
past  is  not  in  our  power  to  recall.  The  future  we  can  neither 
foresee  nor  control.  The  present  alone  is  at  our  disposal :  on 
the  use  to  which  it  is  applied  depends  the  whole  of  what  is 
estimable  or  amiable  in  human  character."1 

The  moral  atmosphere  at  Bizarre  proved  too  highly 
rarefied  for  Thompson;  for,  in  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1800,  he  went  off  to  Petersburg,  and,  while  there  became 
involved  in  an  amour  which  he  disclosed  in  a  letter  to 
Randolph  upon  his  return  to  Bizarre : 

"You  will  be  surprised,  dear  brother,"  he  said,  "when  you  are 
informed  that  my  stay  in  Petersburg  was  protracted  by  a 
circumstance    against    which    you  warned  me  in  a  letter 

sometime   past.      I   allude    to   Mrs.    B. -.      Nature  has 

compensated  for  mental  imperfection  by  bodily  perfection 
in  that  woman.  And  my  attachment  to  her  corroborates  a 
heresy  in  love  that  desire  is  a  powerful  ingredient.  Her  mind  is 
not  cultivated,  her  disposition  is  not  calculated  to  make  a  man 
of  my  enthusiasm  in  regard  happy.  Fully  aware  of  these  cir- 
cumstances, I  cherished  her  name  as  dear.  Thus  situated,  let 
me  ask  you  a  question.  Had  you  been  told — nay,  had  you 
known  that  this  woman  was  the  victim  of  infamous  oppression 
— that  these  charms  had  been  wrested  from  your  possession  by 
unfeeling  relations,  that  your  name  was  dear,  her  husband's 
name  odious,  that  on  you  she  looked  with  tenderness,  and  on 
him  with  hatred,  what  line  of  conduct  would  you  adopt?  .  .  . 
I  had  resolved  to  shun  her,  and  in  truth  did;  but  that  fate, 
which  shows  refinement  in  its  policy,  forced  me  to  an  inter- 
view. .  .  .  After  several  resolutions,  some  ridiculous  (as  is 
usual  in  such  cases),  and  one  which  had  near  proved  fatal,  I 
fled  to  the  asylum  of  the  distressed  (wisely  thought  of) ,  to  the 
spot  where  tender  friendship  [founded  on  ?]  a  character  exalted 
to  a  height,  which  makes  the  feebler  of  her  sex  look  low  indeed, 

1  Garland,  170. 


554  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

would  make  me  blush  at  my  folly,  and  banish  the  idea  of  a 
baneful  passion.  I  will  not  recapitulate  the  wrongs  of  fortune, 
but  I  fondly  hope  that  they  will  plead  in  apology  for  the  failings 
of  your  friend."1 

And  these  were  the  dissuasives  that  Randolph  in  his 
reply  brought  to  bear  upon  his  friend : 

"April  19,  24  year. — Today  I  received  your  letter  of  the  12th. 
It  has  unravelled  a  mystery,  for  whose  solution  I  have  before 
searched  in  vain.  That  you  should  have  been  in  Petersburg, 
sighing  at  the  feet  of  the  fair  Mrs.  B.,  is  what  I  did  not  expect 
to  learn,  since  I  supposed  you  all  the  while  in  Sussex.  I  am 
now  not  at  all  surprised  at  your  silence,  during  this  period  of 
amorous  intoxication ;  since  nothing  so  completely  unfits  a  man 
for  intercourse  with  any  other  than  the  object  of  his  infatuation. 

"The  answer  to  your  questions  is  altogether  easy,  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  not  true,  because  it  cannot  be  true,  that  this 
lady  was  compelled  to  the  step  which  she  has  taken.  What 
force  could  be  brought  to  act  upon  her,  which  materials  as  hard 
as  wax  would  not  resist?  The  truth  is,  if  ever  she  felt  an 
attachment  to  you,  she  sacrificed  it  to  avarice;  not  because 
money  was  the  end,  but  the  means,  of  gratification;  her  vanity, 
the  ruling  passion  of  every  mind  as  imbecile  as  her  own, 
delighted  in  the  splendor  which  wealth  alone  could  procure. 
At  this  time,  the  same  passion,  which  is  one  of  the  vilest  modi- 
fications of  self-love,  would  gratify  itself  with  a  little  coquetry ; 
and,  if  your  prudence  has  not  exceeded  that  of  the  lady,  it  has 
gone,  I  fear,  greater  lengths  than  she  at  first  apprehended. 
Nor  have  you,  my  friend,  done  this  woman  a  good  office,  in 
rendering  her  discontented  with  her  lot  by  suffering  her  to 
persuade  herself  that  she  is  in  love  with  you,  and  that  oppres- 
sion alone  has  driven  her  to  a  detested  union  with  a  detestable 
brute;  for  such  (on  all  hands,  I  believe,  it  is  agreed)  is  Mr.  B. 
Never  did  I  see  a  woman  apparently  better  pleased  with  her 
situation.  She  did  not  lose  one  pennyweight  of  her  very  com- 
fortable quantity  of  flesh ;  and,  however  she  might  have  hesitated 
between  my  friend  and  the  cash,  minus  the  possessor,  had  you 

1  Garland,  v.  1,  171. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  555 

been  on  the  spot  to  contest  your  right  to  her  very  fair  hand,  yet 
W.  T.,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  or  perhaps  at  the 
bottom  of  it,  was  no  rival  to  the  solid  worth  of  her  now  caro 
sposo.  Perhaps,  in  the  first  instance,  she  might  have  disliked 
the  man,  for  good  reasons ;  and,  in  the  second,  for  no  reason  at  all, 
but  because  her  relations  were  very  anxious  for  the  match ;  but 
be  assured  her  imagination  was  not  sufficiently  lively  to  induce 
her  to  shed  one  tear  on  your  account. 

"You  ask  me,  my  friend,  what  conduct  you  ought  to  pursue; 
and  you  talk  of  revenge.  B.  has  never  injured  you;  he  has 
acted  like  a  fool,  I  grant,  in  marrying  a  woman  whose  only 
inducement  to  the  match,  he  must  be  conscious,  was  his 
wealth;  but  he  has  committed  no  crime;  at  least  he  was  un- 
conscious of  any.  That  the  fellow  should  wear  antlers,  is  no 
great  matter  of  regret,  because  the  os  frontis  is  certainly  sub- 
stantial enough  to  bear  the  weight.  Yet  I  do  not  wish  them 
to  be  planted  by  you,  for  your  sake.  I  will  allow  that  this  lady 
is  as  fair  as  she  is  fat — that  she  is  a  very  inviting  object;  yet 
why  should  you  prevent  her  leading  a  life  of  as  much  happiness 
as  she  is  susceptible  of — fruges  consumere,  &c.  Has  not  her 
conduct  in  relation  to  you  and  to  her  husband  been  such  as 
renders  her  unworthy  of  any  man  of  worth  ?  Has  he  not  con- 
ferred on  you  a  benefit  by  preventing  the  possibility  of  an 
alliance  with  a  woman  capable  of  carrying  on  a  correspondence 
with  any  other  than  her  husband;  and  can  you,  who  enjoy 
the  society  of  .  .  .,  that  pattern  of  female  virtue,  feel  for  this 
woman  any  sentiment  but  contempt?  So  far  from  injuring 
you,  B.  is  the  injured  person,  if  at  all.  His  impenetrable 
stupidity  has  alone  shielded  him  from  sensations  not  the  most 
enviable,  I  imagine.  Do  not  suppose  from  my  style  that  I  am 
unfeeling,  or  have  too  low  an  estimate  of  the  sex;  on  the 
contrary,  I  am  the  warmest  of  their  admirers.  But  silly  and 
depraved  women,  and  stupid,  unprincipled  men,  are  both  ob- 
jects of  my  pity  and  contempt.  I  wish  you  to  form  a  just  esti- 
mate of  what  is  valuable  in  female  character ;  then  seek  out  a 
proper  object  and  marry.  Intrigue  will  blast  your  reputation, 
and,  what  is  more  to  the  purpose,  your  peace  of  mind;  it  will  be 
a  stumbling-block  to  you  through  life.  An  acquaintance  with 
loose  women  has  incapacitated  you  from  forming  a  proper 


55^  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

estimate  of  female  worth.  ...  I  must  congratulate  you  on 
your  escape,  and  on  your  resolution  to  behold  no  more  the 
fascinating  object  which  has  caused  you  so  much  uneasiness. 
I  shall  shortly  have  the  pleasure  of  embracing  you.  .  .  . 

"P.S.  I  have  been  so  hurried  as  perhaps  to  betray  myself 
into  an  inaccuracy  of  expression.  But  let  me  suggest  two  ideas 
to  you.  Has  not  your  conduct  been  such  as  to  injure  a  woman 
for  whom  you  have  felt  and  professed  a  regard  ?  Is  it  a  liberal 
or  disinterested  passion  (passion  is  never  liberal  or  dis- 
interested) which  risks  the  reputation  of  the  beloved  object? 
Has  not  her  conduct  in  admitting  your  attentions  rendered 
her  unworthy  of  any  man  but  her  present  possessor?  View 
this  matter  in  its  proper  light  and  you  will  never  think  more  of 
her.  .  .  .     Success  attend  your  study  of  the  law."1 

The  next  letter  from  Thompson  to  Randolph  was 
written  a  few  weeks  after  this  letter  from  Randoph  to  him. 
It  was  as  follows : 

"What  are  my  emotions,  dearest  brother,  at  seeing  your 
horse  thus  far  on  his  way  to  return  you  among  us!  How 
eagerly  do  I  await  the  appointed  day!  Ryland  [Randolph] 
has  returned,  and  another  of  the  children  of  misfortune  will 
seek  refuge  and  consolation  under  this  hospitable  roof.  He 
has  promised  me  by  letter  to  be  with  us  in  a  day  or  two.  What 
pleasure  do  I  anticipate  in  the  society  of  our  incomparable 
sister,  in  yours,  in  Ryland's!  I  wish  I  had  the  vanity  to 
suppose  I  was  worthy  of  it. 

"We  have  been  visited  by  the  young  ladies  of  Liberty  Neck, 
and  by  its  mentor,  Major  Scott.  I  had  rather  have  his  wisdom 
than  Newton's  or  Locke's;  for  depend  on  it,  he  has  dipped  deep 
in  the  science  of  mind.  According  to  the  laws  of  gallantry,  I 
should  have  escorted  them  to  Amelia;  but  I  am  not  fitted  for 
society,  and  the  continued  round  of  company  in  the  Neck  is 
painful  instead  of  pleasing. 

"Our  sister  is  now  asleep ;  she  would  have  written  but  for  her 
being  busy  in  finishing  the  children's  clothes,  and  being 
obliged  to  write  to  Mrs.  Harrison.     When  I  came  in  last  even- 

1  Garland,  v.  I,  171. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  557 

ing,  I  found  her  in  the  passage,  a  candle  on  the  chair,  sewing. 
I  could  hardly  help  exclaiming,  what  a  pattern  for  her  sex! 
The  boys  are  well;  they  have  both  grown — the  Saint  particu- 
larly, whose  activity  will  astonish  you.  Everybody  is  cheerful ; 
your  arrival  in  anticipation  is  the  cause.  Farewell,  dearest 
brother;  hasten  to  join  us. 

"W.  Thompson." 

"Take  care  how  you  ride  Jacobin,  and,  if  not  for  your  own, 
at  least  for  our,  sakes.  Run  no  risks  by  putting  him  in  a 
carriage.     We  all  dread  the  attempt."1 

This  letter  indicates  that  the  febrifuge  had  not  been 
without  effect,  and  that  Thompson  was  once  more  a  votary 
of  virtue.  In  the  meantime,  however,  of  course,  the 
neighborhood  gossips  were  saying  that  Thompson  was 
insensible  neither  to  Judith's  personal  charms  nor  to  her 
admirable  house-keeping,  and  was  lingering  at  Bizarre 
with  a  view  to  convincing  her  that  a  second  marriage  was 
the  best  solace  for  the  untimely  termination  of  the  first. 
Thompson's  position  became  so  uncomfortable  that  there 
was  nothing  left  for  him  to  do  but  to  make  off  from 
Bizarre  on  his  high  stilts,  and  to  write  the  following  letter 
to  Randolph : 

"The  letter  which  I  have  transmitted  by  the  same  oppor- 
tunity to  that  most  amiable  of  women,  our  sister,  com- 
municates intelligence  of  a  report,  the  effects  of  which  on  my 
mind  you  will  be  fully  aware  of,  from  a  former  conversation 
on  the  subject.  Would  you  suppose,  my  dearest  brother,  that 
the  world  would  have  dared  to  insinuate  that  my  object  in 
remaining  at  Bizarre  is  to  solicit  the  affections  of  our  friend ! 
Time,  and  the  apprehension  that  I  shall  be  intruded  on,  com- 
pel me  to  conciseness.  My  abode  will  be  Ryland's  until  I 
receive  letters  from  you  both.  View  the  subject  with  imparti- 
ality, enter  into  my  feelings,  for  you  know  my  heart,  tell  me 
with  candor  whether  I  am  not  bound  to  leave  the  abode  of 

1  Garland,  v.  i,  173. 


558         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

innocence  and  friendship  ?  Tell  me  whether  refined  friendship 
does  not  demand  on  my  part  a  sacrifice  of  every  prospect  of 
happiness,  to  the  amiable,  to  the  benevolent  and  virtuous 
woman  who  is  wronged  from  her  generous  sympathy  to  the 
hapless."1 

This  letter  placed  Randolph  in  a  very  embarrassing  sit- 
uation, but  his  sublimated  friendship  for  Thompson  was 
equal  even  to  its  requirement. 

"For  the  first  time,"  he  replied,  "I  perceive  myself  em- 
barrassed how  to  comply  with  the  requisition  of  friendship. 
But  yesterday,  and  I  should  have  been  unable  to  comprehend 
the  speculative  possibility  of  that  which  today  is  reduced  to 
practice.  If  I  decline  the  task  which  you  have  allotted  me,  it 
is  not  because  I  am  disposed  to  shrink  from  the  sacred  obliga- 
tions which  I  owe  to  you.  My  silence  is  not  the  effect  of  un- 
feeling indifference,  of  timid  indecision,  or  cautious  reserve. 
It  is  the  result  of  the  firmest  conviction  that  it  is  not  for  me 
to  advise  you  in  the  present  crisis.  It  is  a  task  to  which  I  am 
indeed  unequal.  Consult  your  own  heart,  it  is  alone  capable  of 
advising  you.  The  truly  fraternal  regard,  which  you  feel  for 
our  most  amiable  sister,  does  not  require  to  be  admonished  of 
the  respect  which  is  due  to  her  feelings.  You  alone  are  a 
competent  judge  of  that  conduct  which  is  best  calculated 
not  to  wound  her  delicacy;  and  it  is  that  alone  which  you  are 
capable  of  pursuing.  Whatever  may  be  your  determination, 
you  will  not  be  the  less  dear  to  me.  That  spirit  of  impertinent 
malice,  which  mankind  seem  determined  to  cherish  at  the 
expense  of  all  that  should  constitute  their  enjoyment,  may, 
indeed,  intrude  upon  our  arrangements  and  deprive  me  of  your 
society;  but  it  can  never  rob  me  of  the  pure  attachment  which 
I  have  conceived  for  you,  and  which  can  never  cease  to  animate 
me.  I  hold  this  portion  of  good,  at  least,  in  contempt  of  an 
unfeeling  and  calumnious  world.  Invulnerable  to  every  shaft, 
it  derides  their  impotent  malice. 

"Let  me  suggest  to  you  to  pursue  that  line  of  conduct  which 
you  shall  be  disposed  to  adopt,  as  if  it  were  the  result  of  your 

1  Garland,  175. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  559 

previous  determination.  Prosecute,  therefore,  your  intended 
journey,  and  do  not  permit  malicious  curiosity  to  enjoy  the 
wretched  satisfaction  of  supposing  that  IT  has  the  power  of 
influencing  your  actions. 

"I  have  perceived  with  extreme  pleasure  that  your  mind  has 
for  some  time  been  rapidly  regaining  its  pristine  energy.  Keep 
it,  therefore,  I  beseech  you,  my  friend,  in  constant  exercise. 
Get  up  some  object  of  pursuit.  Make  to  yourself  an  image, 
and,  in  defiance  of  the  decalogue,  worship  it.  Whether  it  be 
excellence  in  medicine  or  law,  or  political  eminence,  determine 
not  to  relax  your  endeavors  until  you  have  attained  it.  You 
must  not  suffer  your  mind,  whose  activity  must  be  employed, 
to  prey  upon  itself.  The  greatest  blessing,  which  falls  to  the 
lot  of  man,  is  thus  converted  into  the  deadliest  curse.  I  need 
not  admonish  you  to  keep  up  the  intercourse  which  subsists 
between  us,  and  which  nothing  shall  compel  me  to  relinquish. 

"1  trust  that  I  shall  hear  from  you  in  the  space  of  a  week  at 
farthest.  Meanwhile  rest  assured  of  the  undiminished  affec- 
tion of  the  firmest  of  your  friends."1 

But  Thompson  never  came  back  to  Bizarre  as  a  home; 
soon  lapsed  into  his  old  vagabond,  dissipated  courses,  and 
could  think  of  nothing  better  to  do  than  to  wander  off  on 
a  long  pedestrian  excursion  to  Canada.2  Degraded, 
however,  as  he  was,  Randolph  did  not  forsake  him,  even 
though  he  manifested  a  disposition  to  keep  entirely  aloof 
from  his  friend. 

1 '  Whatever  may  be  the  motives  which  have  determined  you 
to  renounce  all  intercourse  with  me,"  Randolph  wrote  to  him, 
when  his  fortunes  and  his  reputation  were  at  their  lowest  ebb, 
"it  becomes  me,  perhaps,  to  respect  them;  yet  to  be  deterred 
from  my  present  purpose  by  punctilio  would  evince  a  coldness 
of  temper  which  I  trust  does  not  belong  to  me,  and  would,  at 
the  same  time,  convict  me  to  myself  of  the  most  pitiful  in- 
sincerity, in  professing  for  you  a  regard  which  has  never  been 

1  Garland,  v.  I,  176. 
•Id.,  177. 


560  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

inferior  to  my  professions,  and  which  [it]  is  not  in  any  circum- 
stance entirely  to  destroy.  To  tell  you  that  during  the  last 
three  months  I  have  observed  your  progress  through  life  with 
uninterrupted  and  increasing  anxiety,  would  be  to  give  you  a 
faint  idea  of  what  has  passed  in  my  mind.  The  mortification, 
which  I  have  experienced,  on  hearing  you  spoken  of  in  terms  of 
frigid  and  scanty  approbation,  can  only  be  exceeded  by  that 
which  I  have  felt  on  the  silent  embarrassment  which  my 
inquiries  have  occasioned  those  who  were  unwilling  to  wound 
your  character  or  my  feelings.  You  know  me  too  well,  Will- 
iam, to  suppose  that  my  inquiries  have  been  directed  by  the 
miserable  spirit  which  seeks  to  exalt  itself  in  the  depression  of 
others.  They  have,  on  the  contrary,  been  very  few,  and  made 
with  the  most  guarded  circumspection.  To  say  the  truth,  I 
have  never  felt  myself  equal  to  the  task  of  hearing  the  recital 
of  details  which  were  too  often  within  my  reach,  and  which  not 
unfrequently  courted  my  attention.  They  have  always  re- 
ceived from  me  the  most  decisive  repulse.  My  own  pride 
would  never  bear  the  humiliation  of  permitting  any  one  to 
witness  the  mortification  which  I  felt.  After  all  this  preamble, 
let  me  endeavor  to  effect  the  purpose  of  this  address.  Let  me 
beg  of  you  to  ask  yourself  what  are  your  present  pursuits,  and 
how  far  congenial  to  your  feelings  or  character.  I  have  not,  I 
cannot,  so  far  have  mistaken  you;  you  cannot  so  successfully 
have  deceived  yourself.  Yours  is  not  the  mind  which  can 
derive  any  real  or  lasting  gratification  from  the  pursuits  or  the 
attainments  of  a  grovelling  ambition.  These  may  afford  a 
temporary  and  imperfect  relief  from  that  voice  which  tells  you 
who  you  are  and  what  is  expected  from  you.  The  world  is 
well  disposed  to  forgive  the  aberrations  of  youthful  indiscretion 
from  the  straight  road  of  prudence;  but  there  is  a  point  beyond 
which  its  temper  can  no  longer  be  played  upon.  After  a 
certain  degree  of  resistance,  it  becomes  more  prone  to  asperity 
than  it  had  ever  been  to  indulgence.  But  grant  that  its  good 
nature  were  unlimited,  you  are  not  the  character  who  can  be 
content  to  hold  by  so  humiliating  a  tenure  that  which  you  can 
and  ought  to  demand  of  right.  Can  you  be  content  to  repose 
on  the  courtesy  of  mankind  for  that  respect  which  you  may 
challenge  as  your  due,  and  which  may  be  enforced  when  with- 


Randolph  as  a  Man  561 

held  ?  Can  you  quit  the  high  ground  and  imposing  attitude  of 
self-esteem  to  solicit  the  precarious  bounty  of  a  contemptuous 
and  contemptible  world?  I  can  scarcely  forgive  myself  for 
dwelling  so  long  on  so  invidious  a  theme.  I  have  long  medi- 
tated to  address  you  on  this  subject.  One  of  the  dissuasives 
from  the  plan  is  now  removed.  Let  me  again  conjure  you  to 
ask  yourself  seriously:  what  are  your  present  objects  of  pur- 
suit ?  How  far  any  laudable  acquirement  can  be  attained  by  a 
town  residence,  particularly  in  a  tavern  ?  Whether  such  a  life 
be  compatible  with  the  maintenance  of  that  respectability  of 
character  which  is  necessary  to  give  us  value  in  the  eyes  of 
others  or  of  ourselves  ?  And  let  me  conjure  you  to  dissolve  by  a 
single  exertion  the  spell  which  now  enchains  you.  The  only 
tie  which  could  have  bound  you  is  no  more.  Town  fetters  are 
but  those  of  habit,  and  that  of  but  short  standing.  Were  it 
confirmed,  there  would  indeed  be  but  little  hope,  and  this  letter 
would  never  have  been  penned.  As  it  would  be  improper  to 
urge  the  dissolution  of  your  present  plan  of  life  without  point- 
ing out  some  alternative,  I  recommend  a  residence  of  twelve  or 
eighteen  months  with  Taylor,  and  a  serious  application,  before 
it  be  too  late,  to  that  profession  which  will  be  a  friend  to  you 
when  the  sunshine  insects  who  have  laughed  with  you  in  your 
prosperity  shall  have  passed  away  with  the  genial  season  which 
gave  them  birth.  The  hour  is  fast  approaching,  be  assured, 
when  it  will  be  in  vain  to  attempt  the  acquirement  of  pro- 
fessional knowledge.  Too  well  I  know  that  readiness  of  appre- 
hension and  sprightliness  of  imagination  will  not  make  amends 
for  application.  The  latter  serves  but  to  light  up  our 
ignorance. 

"There  is  one  topic  on  which  I  cannot  trust  even  my  pen. 
Did  I  not  believe  that  this  letter  would  occasion  you  pain,  it 
certainly  never  had  been  written.  Yet  to  write  it  with  that 
view  would  be  a  purpose  truly  diabolical.  You  are  a  physician ; 
you  probe  not  the  wounds  of  the  dead.  Yet  'tis  to  heal,  and 
not  to  agonize,  that  you  insert  your  instrument  into  the  living 
body.  Whatever  may  be  the  effect  of  this  attempt,  whatever 
may  be  the  disposition  which  it  creates  in  you,  I  shall  never, 
while  you  live,  cease  to  feel  an  interest  in  your  fate.  Every 
one  here  remembers  you  with  undiminished  affection.     If  I 

YCff..  n. — 36 


562  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

judge  from  myself,  you  are  more  than  ever  interesting  to  them, 
and  whenever,  if  ever,  you  revisit  Bizarre,  you  will  recognize  in 
every  member  of  the  family  your  unchanged  friends.  Adieu, 
J.  R.,  Jr."1 

It  is  said  that  this  generous  letter  had  its  effect.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  after  spending  a  few  months  with  Creed 
Taylor  in  the  vicinity  of  Bizarre,  Thompson  repaired  to 
Richmond  and  read  law  in  the  office  of  George  Hay. 
When  he  had  completed  his  course  of  study,  Randolph 
procured  a  public  position  for  him  in  the  Territory  of 
Louisiana,  and,  in  the  spring  of  1804,  while  he  was  on  his 
way  to  his  post,  after  marrying  an  estimable  wife,  sent 
him  this  Godspeed : 

"When  I  requested  you  to  inquire  at  the  post-office  at 
Abingdon  for  a  letter  from  me,  it  did  not  occur  to  me  by  how  cir- 
cuitous a  route  my  communication  must  travel  before  it  could 
reach  that  place.  To  guard  against  accidents,  therefore,  I 
have  directed  it  to  be  forwarded  to  Nashville,  in  case  you 
should  have  left  Abingdon  before  its  arrival  there.  We  have 
been  every  day  suggesting  to  ourselves  the  inconvenience  to 
which  you  must  have  been  exposed  by  the  bad  weather  which 
we  have  invariably  experienced  ever  since  your  departure,  and 
regretting  that  the  situation  of  your  affairs  would  not  permit 
you  to  continue  with  us  until  a  change  took  place.  You,  how- 
ever, my  good  friend,  have  embarked  upon  too  serious  a  voy- 
age to  take  into  consideration  a  little  rough  weather  upon 
the  passage.  The  wish  which  I  feel  to  add  my  mite  to  the 
counsels,  through  which  alone  it  can  prove  prosperous,  is 
repressed  by  the  reflection  that  your  success  depends  upon  the 
discovery  of  no  new  principle  of  human  affairs,  but  upon  the 
application  of  such  as  are  familiar  to  all,  and  which  none  know 
better  how  to  estimate  than  yourself.  Decision,  firmness, 
independence,  which  equally  scorns  to  yield  our  own  rights  as 
to  detract  from  those  of  others,  are  the  only  guides  to  the 
esteem  of  the  world,  or  of  ourselves.     A  reliance  upon  our 

1  Garland,  v.  1,  206. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  563 

resources  for  all  things,  but  especially  for  relief  against  that 
arch-fiend,  the  taedium  vitae,  can  alone  guard  us  against  a  state 
of  dependence  and  contempt.  But  I  am  growing  sententious, 
and,  of  course,  pedantic.  Judy  joins  me  in  every  good  wish 
to  yourself  and  Mrs.  Thompson.  Permit  me  to  add  that  there 
is  one  being  in  the  world  who  will  ever  be  ready  to  receive  you 
with  open  arms,  whatsoever  may  be  the  fate  of  the  laudable 
endeavors  which  you  are  now  making."1 

But  this  letter  proved  only  a  last  sad  viaticum  for  poor 
Thompson,  who  died  before  his  journey  was  completed, 
leaving  Randolph,  after  all  his  unselfish  efforts  to  set  him 
on  his  feet,  nothing  to  do  except  to  endorse  on  the  letter 
which  we  have  just  reproduced,  when  in  some  manner  it 
had  come  back  into  his  hands,  the  brief  but  all  significant 
words:   "W.  T.    May  13,  1804.     Alas!"2 

There  are  several  references  to  Maria  Ward  in  Thomp- 
son's letters  to  Randolph.     This  is  one : 

"In  our  lives,  my  brother,  we  have  seen  two  fine  women 
(Mrs.  Judith  Randolph  and  Miss  M — a  W — d) ;  never  extend 
your  list;  never  trust  your  eyes  or  your  ears,  for  they  stand 
alone." 

And  this  is  another : 

"M — a  the  amiable,  the  good  M — a,  has  honored  me  with 
a  short  letter;  such  tokens  of  esteem,  such  evidences  of  gener- 
ous pity,  for  a  man  cast  on  the  wide  world,  unfriended  and 
unprotected,  create  a  gratitude  not  to  be  expressed.  It  is  not 
until  we  are  humiliated  by  misfortune  that  we  feel  these  things, 
for,  in  the  height  of  worldly  prosperity,  the  wish  and  the 
pursuit  go  hand  in  hand,  and  successive  gratifications  blunt  the 
sensibilities  of  our  nature.  Whilst  we  rejoice  in  a  mortality 
as  the  termination  of  lives  mutually  painful,  in  which  we  have 
been  called  on  to  exercise  a  fortitude  sufficient  to  overwhelm 
minds  less  noble  and  less  firm,  in  which  every  fair  prospect  has 

Garland,  v.  1,  209. 
2  Id.,  v.  1,  210. 


564  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

been  blighted,  every  brilliant  expectation  thwarted,  and  every 
tender  emotion  hatefully  disappointed,  let  us  linger  out  a 
remnant  which  cannot  be  long,  mutually  cherishing  and 
supporting  each  other  on  the  tedious  road.  My  dear  friend, 
let  us  not  leave  each  other  behind;  for,  alas!  how  sterile  and 
how  barren  would  creation  then  be!  United,  we  are  strong, 
but  unsupported  we  could  not  stand  against  the  increasing 
pressure  of  misfortune.  Often  do  I  exclaim,  would  that  you 
and  I  were  cast  on  some  desert  island,  there  to  live  out  the 
remainder  of  our  days  unpolluted  by  the  communication  with 
man.  Separated  from  each  other,  our  lips  are  sealed,  for  the 
expression  of  sentiments  which  exalt  and  ennoble  humanity. 
Even  in  the  support  of  virtue  the  cautious  language  of  vice 
must  be  adopted;  even  in  the  defence  of  truth  we  must  descend 
to  the  artifice  of  error."1 

A  very  different  sort  of  friend  from  William  Thompson 
was  Joseph  Bryan,  who  strode  about  on  his  own  honest, 
sturdy  legs  and  scorned  stilts  of  any  kind.  He  was  such 
a  character  as  Sir  Walter  Scott  would  have  loved  to  por- 
tray; bluff,  hearty,  affectionate,  choleric,  vehement,  and 
even  violent,  but  cool  in  the  face  of  peril,  and  quick  to 
make  generous  atonement  for  any  injury  inflicted  by  his 
impetuosity.  Nor  was  his  vigorous  mind,  improved  by  an 
European  education  and  not  unimproved  by  familiarity 
with  good  books,  one  to  be  despised.  ' '  The  character  of  Mr. 
Bryan  was  every  way  original, "  we  are  told  in  an  obituary 
notice  of  him  written  by  Randolph.  "He  was  himself 
and  no  one  else  at  second  hand. "  A  person  that  might 
have  served  as  a  model  to  the  statuary,  wonderful  activity 
and  strength  of  body,  united  to  undaunted  resolution, 
generosity  as  conspicuous  as  the  robust,  unflinching  man- 
hood with  which  it  was  associated,  fidelity  in  friendship, 
unimpeachable  integrity,  and  a  mind  of  the  first  order, 
stored  with  various,  but  desultory,  reading,  are  the  endow- 
ments attributed  by  this  notice  to  Bryan. 2 

1  Garland,  v.  1,  183.  *  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  565 

After  serving  for  three  sessions,  as  a  representative 
from  Georgia  in  the  House,  with  Randolph,  he  resigned- 
his  seat  because  his  father-in-law,  a  resident  of  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland,  to  whom  he  refers  in  one  of  his  letters 
to  Randolph  as  "ye  old  Hidalgo  on  the  Sassafras,"1  had 
announced  his  intention  of  paying  him  a  visit  at  his 
distant  home ;  which  was  on  a  sea  island  near  Savannah. 

After  the  death  of  Bryan,  his  wife  returned  all  the  letters 
written  to  him  by  Randolph  to  the  latter.  They  perished, 
we  suppose,  at  the  hands  of  Judge  Leigh ;  but  many  of  the 
letters  written  by  Bryan  to  Randolph  are  still  in  existence, 
and  they  are  as  fresh  and  animated  as  if  the  writer  had 
penned  them  but  yesterday. 

They  make  manifest,  first  of  all,  the  fact  that  Bryan 
admired  and  loved  Randolph  as  intensely  as  his  son  John 
Randolph  Bryan  did  after  him.  He  died  on  Sept.  5, 
1812,  and  among  his  letters  to  Randolph  was  one  written 
just  a  little  over  a  year  before  in  which  he  said:  "God 
bless  you  and  yours,  is  the  prayer  of  your  friend,  who 
may,  in  some  respects,  be  compared  to  Dry  den's  Hind, 
unchanging  and  unchanged. " 2 

Bryan's  letters  cover  quite  a  wide  range  of  topics. 
One  of  the  earliest,  written  in  January,  1800,  informed 
Randolph,  who  had  recently  become  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, that  he  was  about  to  embark  soon  for  England  and 
wished  him  to  secure  certificates  of  citizenship  for  himself 
and  a  companion  from  President  Jefferson.3  In  another 
letter,  written  shortly  after  this  one,  he  gave  Randolph 
his  reasons  for  leaving  the  United  States. 

"I  have  in  that  time,  [the  preceding  twelve  months]  my 
friend,"  he  said,  "been  on  the  verge  of  becoming  a  member  of 
the  fraternity  of  Benedicts,  as  you  humorously  style  married 
men.     In  short,  I  paid  my  addresses  to  an  accomplished  young 

1  June  11,  1809,  Id. 

2  July  14,  181 1,  Id.  3  Garland,  v.  1,  177. 


566         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

woman,  of  both  family  and  fortune,  in  Carolina — quarrelled 
with  my  father  and  mother  because  I  would  not  relinquish 
the  pursuit — followed  her  with  every  prospect  of  the  desired 
success  for  eighteen  months — went  to  her  abode  last  Christmas 
with  the  comfortable  idea  of  marrying  her  on  the  commence- 
ment of  the  new  year — and  was  discarded  by  her  parents  be- 
cause mine  would  not  consent  to  the  match.     There  were  one 

or  two  other  trifling  objections,  such  as — I  was  a ,  a  man 

of  no  religion — a  Georgian ;  and  would  take  their  child  where 
they  might  never  see  her  face  again,  &c.  All  this  you  may 
think  apocryphal ! — 'tis  true,  upon  my  word.  Yet  'my  heart 
does  not  bleed  at  every  pore  from  the  bitterest  of  recollections' ; 
to  be  sure  I  was  in  a  hell  of  a  taking  for  two  or  three  days.  But 
I  found  that  keeping  myself  employed  made  it  wear  off  to  a 
miracle.  So  much  for  my  love  affairs.  You  may  perhaps  be 
a  little  surprised  at  my  going  to  England;  'twas  a  sudden 
resolution,  I  must  confess ;  I'll  tell  you  how  it  happened.  While 
I  was  laboring  under  the  horrors  of  my  dismission,  I  swore  to 
my  little  grisette,  in  order  to  melt  her,  that,  if  she  would  not 
quit  father  and  mother  and  run  away  with  me,  I  would  go  off 
immediately  and  fight  the  Russians !  She  would  not  do  that, 
so  I  am  obliged  by  a  point  of  honor  to  make  the  attempt 
at  least."1 

When  this  letter  was  written,  Bryan  expected  to  sail 
from  Savannah  about  Feb.  20,  1800.  Through  the 
rather  grandiose  diction  of  the  reply  which  Randolph 
made  to  it,  we  can  discern  the  first  stages  of  the  melan- 
cholia, of  which  he  was  afterwards  to  be  so  frequently 
the  prey. 

"Bryan,  my  friend,"  he  said,  "you  are  about  to  render 
yourself,  me,  all  who  are  interested  in  your  happiness,  wretched, 
perhaps,  for  ever.  These  are  more  numerous  than  you  are  at 
present  willing  to  allow.  At  one  stroke,  you  are  about  to 
sever  all  those  ties  which  bind  you  to  the  soil  which  gave  you 
birth,  to  the  tender  connections  of  your  childhood,  to  the  most 
constant  of  friends — relations  which  give  to  existence  its  only 

Garland,  v.  i»  177. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  567 

value.  Your  sickly  taste  loathes  that  domestic  happiness 
which  is  yet  in  store  for  you — perhaps  you  deny  that  it  can 
have  for  yourself  any  existence ;  you  prefer  to  it,  trash  of  foreign 
growth.  You  seek  in  vain,  my  friend,  to  fly  from  misery.  It 
will  accompany  you — it  will  rankle  in  that  heart  in  whose  cruel 
wounds  it  rejoices  to  dwell.  It  is  of  no  country,  but  yourself, 
and  time  alone  can  soothe  its  rage. 

"Among  the  dangers  you  are  about  to  encounter,  I  will  not 
enumerate  those  of  a  personal  nature ;  not  because  they  are  in 
themselves  contemptible,  however  they  may  be  despised  by 
yourself,  but  because,  in  comparison  to  the  gigantic  mischiefs 
which  you  are  about  to  court,  they  are  indeed  significant.  I 
mean  in  respect  to  yourself — to  your  friends  they  are  but  too 
formidable.  Recall  then,  I  beseech  you,  your  rash  deter- 
mination— pause,  at  least,  upon  the  rash  step  which  you 
meditate!  It  is,  however,  the  privilege  of  friendship  only  to 
advise.  The  certificates  which  you  require,  I  will  endeavor  to 
procure  [in]  time  enough  to  accompany  this  letter.  This  is 
Saturday,  and,  after  the  hour  of  doing  business  at  the  offices; 
and,  to  be  valid,  they  must  issue  from  that  of  the  Secretary  of 
State.  Be  not  impatient,  they  shall  be  forwarded  by  Tues- 
day's mail,  in  any  event;  letters  from  Jefferson  to  some  of  his 
European  friends  shall  follow  them.  .  .  . 

'T,  too,  am  wretched;  misery  is  not  your  exclusive  charter. 
I  have  for  some  months  meditated  a  temporary  relinquishment 
of  my  country.  The  execution  of  this  scheme  has  no  connection 
with  yours.  The  motives  which  produced  it  originated  in 
events  which  happened  before  I  took  my  seat  in  Congress, 
although  I  was  then  ignorant  of  their  existence;  they  were, 
indeed,  prior  to  my  election  to  an  office,  of  which  nothing  but  a 
high  sense  of  the  obligations  of  public  duty  has  prevented  the 
resignation.  A  second  election  could  not  in  that  event  have 
been  practicable,  until  the  present  session  was  somewhat 
advanced.  I  determined,  therefore,  not  to  relinquish  my  seat 
until  its  expiration;  then  to  resign  it,  and  bid  adieu  to  my 
native  shores  for  a  few  years,  at  least.  In  this  determination  I 
still  remain.  If,  therefore,  you  refuse  to  rescind  your  hasty 
resolution,  I  desire  permission  to  be  the  companion  of  your 
voyage — to  partake  your  sorrows  and  to  share  with  you  my 


568         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

own — to  be  the  friend  of  him  who  is  to  accompany  you, 
because  he  is  yours.  Yet,  believe  me,  Joe,  and  it  is  unnecessary 
to  declare  by  what  motives  I  am  influenced  to  the  assertion, 
that  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  that  I  am  to  prosecute  my  voyage 
alone — to  be  informed  that  you  have  receded  from  a  project 
which  has  not,  like  my  own,  been  the  fruit  of  deliberate  resolve. 
I  have  indeed  hoped  that  the  relation  of  your  own  domestic 
enjoyment  would  have  beguiled  many  a  sad  hour  of  my  life. 
But,  pardon  me,  my  dear  fellow,  I  see  my  indiscretion.  It 
shall  not  be  repeated. 

"If,  then,  you  persist  in  carrying  into  execution  your  plan, 
take  a  passage  with  your  friend  for  New  York,  or  the  Delaware, 
it  is  open;  meet  me  here  about  the  middle  of  March — we  rise  in 
April — there  is  a  resolution  laid  upon  our  table  to  adjourn 
on  the  first  of  the  month;  it  will  certainly  be  carried;  they 
even  talk  of  substituting  'March.'  We  will  then  embark 
together  for  any  part  of  the  other  continent  that  you  may 
prefer;  I  am  indifferent  about  places.  But  if  I  go  alone,  I  shall 
take  shipping  for  some  English  port,  London  or  Liverpool.  I 
wish  I  could  join  you  in  Savannah;  but  it  would  be  extremely 
inconvenient.  I  fear  the  climate;  a  passage  would  be  more 
uncertain  too  from  thence,  and  the  accommodations  perhaps 
not  so  good.  Yet  I  will  even  meet  you  there,  or  in  Charleston, 
in  case  you  are  resolved  to  leave  America,  if  I  can  have  your 
company  on  no  other  terms.  Write  immediately  and  solve 
this  business.  I  repeat,  that  it  will  be  very  inconvenient  to 
take  my  passage  from  a  southern  port ;  it  will  likewise  occasion 
delay.  I  shall  have  a  voyage  to  make  thither,  and  then  to 
wait  the  sailing  of  a  vessel ;  whereas,  if  you  meet  me  here,  I  can 
fix  myself  for  any  ship  bound  to  Europe  about  the  time  of  the 
rising  of  Congress ;  and  in  the  great  ports  of  New  York,  Phila- 
delphia, or  Baltimore,  we  cannot  fail  to  procure  a  speedy 
embarkation,  and  agreeable  berths.  Again  I  entreat  you  to 
write  to  me  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  this :  in  expecta- 
tion of  the  answer,  I  shall  remain  under  no  common  anxiety 
until  its  arrival.  Meantime,  remember,  my  friend,  that 
there  is  one  person,  at  least,  and  he  an  unshaken  friend  who  is 
not  insensible  to  your  worth.     Farewell,  dear  Joseph. 

"P.  S.  I  had  like  to  have  omitted  enjoining  you  to  preserve 


MARIA  WARD 

From  the  portrait  owned  by  William  Everard  Meade,  Danville,  Va. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  569 

inviolable  secrecy  with  respect  to  my  designs.  The  reason  I 
will  detail  to  you  at  meeting.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that 
they  are  not  such  as  I  should  be  ashamed  to  avow ;  yet  I  do  not 
wish  it  to  be  known  that  I  am  about  to  leave  the  country  until 
a  week  or  ten  days  before  my  departure.     Adieu'"1 

This  letter  did  not  reach  Bryan  in  time  to  alter  his 
intention  of  sailing  from  Savannah,  and,  in  consequence, 
Randolph's  first  voyage  to  Europe  was  deferred  until  the 
year  1822. 

When  Bryan  returned  from  Europe,  it  was  only,  of 
course,  to  fall  in  love  again;  this  time  with  Delia  Forman, 
the  daughter  of  General  Forman,  of  the  Eastern  Shore  of 
Maryland,  who  had  become  an  intimate  friend  of  Ran- 
dolph, doubtless  through  his  intercourse  with  Joseph  H. 
Nicholson.  This  was  after  Bryan,  at  the  solicitation  of 
Randolph,  had  been  first  an  unsuccessful,  and  then  a 
successful,  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, 2  where  he  gave  Randolph  his  whole-hearted 
support,  when  the  latter  was  hacking  the  heads  of  the 
Yazoo  hydra.  Subsequent  to  his  return  from  Europe, 
he  was  at  least  once  a  guest  at  Bizarre,  and  it  was  from 
this  place  that  Randolph  wrote  to  him  on  Sept.  8,  1804, 
to  this  effect : 

"Should  this  find  you  at  Wilmington,  which  I  heartily  wish  it 
may  not,  I  trust,  my  dear  Bryan,  that  you  will  derive  the  most 
satisfactory  information  from  the  inclosed  respecting  your  fair 
tyrant.  To  me  the  Major  says  not  a  word  on  the  subject  of 
his  daughter,  but  I  infer  from  a  variety  of  circumstances  that 
she  is  about  this  time  on  a  visit  to  her  aunt,  Mrs.  Van  Bibber, 
in  Gloucester,  about  eighty  miles  from  Richmond:  I  hope, 
therefore,  very  soon  to  see  you  in  Virginia. 

"I  have  nothing  worth  relating,  except  that  Mrs.  Randolph 
was  almost  as  much  disappointed  as  myself  when  our 
messenger  arrived  last  night  from  the   post-ofhce  without  a 

1  Garland,  v.  I,  179. 

2  Ibid.,  210. 


57o  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

letter  from  you.  How  easy  would  it  be,  once  a  week,  to  say 
'I  am  at  such  a  place,  in  such  health,  and  tomorrow  shall  go 

to . '    These  little  bulletins  of  your  well-being  and  motions 

would  be  a  thousand  times  more  interesting  to  me  than  those  of 
his  Britannic  Majesty's  health,  or  his  Corsican  Highness's 
expeditions.     Let  me  beg  of  you  to  make  dispatch."1 

The  next  thing  that  the  correspondence  between 
Bryan  and  Randolph  discloses  is  the  fact  that  Bryan  is 
in  Chestertown  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  and 
writing  to  Randolph  with  all  the  unrestrained  joy  of  the 
sheer  love  of  living : 

"You  will  hardly  believe  me  when  I  tell  you  that  my  tyrants 
have  had  the  unparalleled  barbarity  to  postpone  my  marriage 
until  the  25th  of  this  month,"  he  said.  " Sumptuousness, 
pomp,  parade,  &c,  must  be  observed  in  giving  away  a  jewel 
worth  more  than  the  kingdoms  of  this  world.  I  rather  suspect 
I  shall  be  myself  the  most  awkward  and  ungraceful  movable 
used  on  the  occasion:  curse  it,  I  hate  to  be  exhibited;  and 
nothing  but  the  possession  of  the  jewel  itself  would  induce  me 
to  run  the  gauntlet  of  felicitation  I  shall  receive  from  the 

whole  file  of  collaterals. Lovely  as  her  person  is,  I  prize  her 

heart  more.  Jack !  What  have  I  done  to  induce  the  good  God 
to  favor  me  so  highly?  Sinner  that  I  am,  I  deserve  not  the 
smallest  of  his  gifts,  and  behold  I  am  treated  more  kindly  than 
even  Abraham,  who  saw  God  face  to  face,  and  was  called  his 
friend ;  he,  poor  fellow,  had  to  put  up  with  his  sister  Sarah,  who, 
beside  other  exceptionable  qualities,  was  cursed  with  a  bad 
temper;  while  I,  having  sought  among  the  beauties  of  the 
earth,  have  found  and  obtained  the  loveliest  and  best ;  which  I 
am  willing  to  prove  against  all  comers  on  foot  or  on  horseback, 
in  the  tented  field  with  sword  and  spear,  or  on  the  roaring 
ocean  at  the  cannon's  mouth.  If  you  will  come  and  see  us  [in 
Georgia],  my  Delia  will  make  one  of  her  best  puddings  for  your 
entertainment.  In  the  course  of  a  year  or  two,  you  may 
expect  to  see  your  friend  Brain  metamorphosed  into  a  gentle- 
man of  high  polish,  able  to  make  as  spruce  a  bow  and  to  hand  a 

Garland,  v.  I,  ail. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  57 1 

lady  to  her  carriage  with  all  the  graces  of  an  Adonis.     Adieu ! 
may  heaven  prosper  and  bless  you."1 

In  other  letters  from  Bryan  to  Randolph,  there  are 
references  to  Randolph's  quarrel  with  the  Jefferson 
administration,  and  they  indicate  that  the  former  had  fully 
grasped  the  unhappy  effect  which  it  might  have  upon 
Randolph's  political  future.  "You  have  passed  the 
Rubicon,  and  Madison  or  yourself  must  down,"  he  wrote 
in  1 806. 2  He  consoled  himself,  however,  with  the  reflection 
that  if  Randolph  fell,  he  could  only  cease  to  be  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means.  "They  can  hurt 
you  no  more, "  he  said,  "let  them  rain  heaven  and  earth. " 
In  a  subsequent  letter,  he  said  very  sensibly : 

"Lfear  too  that  there  is  a  systematic  arrangement  made 
from  Maine  to  Georgia  to  deprive  you  of  the  influence  you 
have  obtained  in  consequence  of  your  long  and  effective 
struggles  to  further  the  Republican  cause.  The  Federalists 
by  their  deceitful  approbation  will  injure  you  more  than  the 
soi-disant  Northern  Democrats  by  their  open  hostility.  It  is 
a  desperate  remedy,  and  perhaps  illy-advised,  but  I  think,  if 
it  is  compatible  with  the  injunction  of  secrecy,  you  ought  to 
come  forward  and  disclose  the  circumstances  which  induced 
you  to  separate  in  some  measure  from  the  administrators  of 
the  government.     The  people  want  your  motives.  "3 

Equally  sensible  was  Bryan's  advice  about  Jefferson: 
"I  feel  rejoiced  that  you  are  about  to  do  yourself  justice 
on  Madison  and  his  Myrmidons.  If  I  may  advise,  leave 
the  President  alone,  unless  self-defence  makes  it  necessary 
to  use  his  name."4 

Cautious  as  Bryan's  advice  usually  was  to  Randolph 
in  political  respects,  he  entered  zealously  into  the  bold 

1  Garland,  v.  I,  211. 

a  April,  23,  1806,  Bryan  MSS. 

s  June  3,  1806,  Id. 

4  June  24,  1806,  Id. 


572  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

intrigue  by  which  Randolph  sought  to  bowl  Madison  off 
the  Presidential  alley  with  Monroe.  Referring  to  Gideon 
Granger,  Bryan  said  in  another  letter : 

"There  is  no  charm  in  the  name  of  Gideon.  God  will  not 
couple  his  name  or  his  arm  with  such  a  miscreant,  and  his 
squadron  will  be  discomfited.  Let  not  him  be  your  aim. 
Shoot  at  nobler  game ;  strike  at  the  root  and  the  branches  and 
leaves  will  come  to  the  ground.  In  short,  the  future  President 
must  be  of  the  old  school,  and  you  must  have  a  hand  in  making 
him  President."1 

He  did  all  that  he  could  to  secure  popular  support  for 
Monroe  in  Georgia,  and  he  kept  Randolph  fully  apprized 
of  every  movement  of  the  political  tides  there.  After 
Randolph's  speech  on  Gregg's  resolution,  he  wrote 
derisively  of  Milledge,  a  Georgia  politician : 

"  Milledge  is  in  great  wrath  with  you  for  saying  'You  would 
rather  be  tried  by  a  British  jury  than  Bonaparte  with  a  file  of 
grenadiers  in  the  wood  of  '  Valenceniennies ' — (Spelt  as  pro- 
nounced)." "His  own  words  verbatim,  repeated  to  about  a 
dozen  crackers  in  my  presence,"  Bryan  adds  disdainfully.3 

He  was  quick  to  tell  Randolph  that  the  Georgia  Legis- 
lature had  named  one  of  its  new  counties  after  him;  a 
county  which  bid  fair  to  become  one  of  the  most  important 
in  the  State. 3  In  another  letter,  he  tells  Randolph  that 
he  may  do  what  he  pleases  with  Troup  and  Smelt,  two 
active  Georgia  politicians,  "by  condescension  or  brandy, " 
although  he  believed  that  neither  was  deficient  in  under- 
standing or  honesty,  and  that  both  Harris  and  Spalding, 
two  other  active  Georgia  politicians,  adored  him.4 

Encouraged  by  Randolph's  reviving  influence  during  the 

1  Apr.  23,  1806,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Sept.  12,  1806,  Id. 

3  Dec.  2,  1807,  Id. 

4  Nov.  7,  1808,  Id. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  573 

second  session  of  the  Ninth  Congress,  Bryan  wrote:  "I 
find  that  you  are  getting  ahead  again;  an  easy  matter  to 
you,  no  flattery. " *  In  one  of  his  letters,  he  also  mentioned 
the  fact  that  Eppes  had  written  to  him  in  "becoming, 
nay,  high  terms"  of  Randolph;  though  at  the  same  time 
expressing  his  regret  that  Randolph's  manners  to  him 
should  be  repulsive ;  and  Bryan  added  that  he  wished  that 
Randolph  could  be  reconciled  to  him. 2 

The  political  features  of  these  letters,  however,  are  by 
no  means  the  most  interesting.  One  of  them  deals  with 
the  point  of  honor  involved  in  the  duel  as  if  it  were  a  sort 
of  colic  to  be  relieved  only  by  a  little  blood-letting. 
Speaking  of  a  wrathful  conversation  that  he  had  had 
with  an  individual  named  Wright  about  the  Yazoo  Fraud, 
Bryan  said : 

"  I  threw  a  tumbler  at  him,  which  hit  him  on  the  head.  He 
returned,  and,  while  my  friends  very  kindly  pinioned  me, 
struck  me  twice  in  the  face.  You  will  oblige  me  by  settling 
matters  with  him,  or  his  friend,  as  soon  as  may  be,  in  such  a 
way  as  you  know  calculated  to  give  me  ease.  "3 

Bryan  was  not  slow,  however,  to  make  amends  for  one 
of  his  rash  outbreaks.  He  was  no  mere  fixator  de  lana 
caprina.  Among  the  Bryan  manuscripts  is  a  letter  to 
some  one  in  which  he  refers  to  a  fracas  into  which  he  had 
been  drawn  at  Louisville,  Georgia,  in  these  contrite  terms: 
"You  may  suppose,  Sir,  that  I  am  pleased  with  the  issue 
of  this  affair.  I  solemnly  assure  you  I  am  not.  I  am 
ashamed  of  the  beginning,  ashamed  of  the  consequences 
and  ashamed  of  the  end."4  Pleasingly  contrasted  with 
this  violent  explosion  of  ill-regulated  temper,  are  the 
revelations  of  Bryan's  devoted  affection  for  Randolph, 

1  Jan.  24,  1807,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Mar.  8,  1807,  Id. 

3  Jan.  27,  1806,  Id. 

4  Dec.  10,  1802,  Id. 


574         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  his  own  family,  and  for  plantation  life  in  Georgia, 
which  we  find  in  his  letters  to  Randolph.  "Adieu,  dear 
misanthrope,  I  am  going  to  Delia,"  are  the  concluding 
words  of  one  of  them.1  "  God  bless  you,  you  have  many 
friends  here,  none  of  which  love  you  more  than  Joseph 
Bryan,"  are  those  of  another.2 

One  of  the  desires  of  Bryan's  heart  was  that  Randolph 
should  pay  him  another  visit : 

"You  are  much  beloved  in  this  State,"  he  wrote,  "and  I 
wish  you  could  come  among  us.  Remember  your  promise  to 
visit  me  in  May.  You  must  lay  your  hands  on  my  son  and 
yours  before  I  die.  Call  him  what  you  please,  so  you  bless 
him.  My  little  Georgia  thrives  apace.  I  have  inherited 
about  40  negroes  since  November,  and,  if  you  will  come  out 
and  say  the  word,  '  I  want  them, '  they  are  yours.  God  bless 
you.     Randolph  can  say  godfather."3 

Indeed,  Bryan  rarely  wrote  a  letter  to  Randolph  in 
which  he  did  not  have  something  to  say  about  Randolph's 
godson.  A  request  from  Randolph  that  he  might  be  the 
godfather  of  the  child  provoked  these  characteristic 
comments: 

"If  you  are  godfather  to  anything  of  the  name  of  Bryan,  I 
fear  you  will  have  more  sin  to  answer  for  than  was  packed  on 
the  back  of  Christian  in  The  Pilgrim's  Progress.  I  take  the 
request  to  be  a  further  proof  of  your  friendship,  and,  if  the 
poor  soul  is  to  enter  at  all  into  the  pale  of  Grace,  I  will  attend 
to  it."4 

A  few  weeks  later,  he  wrote  to  Randolph : 

"My  boy,  as  he  increases  in  age,  increases  in  beauty.  He 
has  fine  blue  eyes,  fair  complexion  and  hair  darker  than  yours. 

1  Feb.  SI,  1806,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  June  3,  1806,  Id. 

3  Jan.  31,  1808,  Id. 

4  March  18,  1806,  Id. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  575 

His  mother  thinks  him  a  finished  performance.  As  to  me,  I 
say  no  more  than  what  is  above  written.  I  wish  he  may- 
possess  the  talent  and  virtues  of  his  future  godfather.  "■* 

Another  letter  pronounces  the  child  truly  a  cherub.2 
In  still  another,  Bryan  writes:  "Citizen  Randolph  is 
making  a  terrible  racket  in  the  room,  dressed  in  a  scarlet 
frock  and  check  apron."3  And  in  yet  another,  he  fears 
that  Randolph's  godson  would  need  a  dozen  godfathers 
to  keep  him  from  sinning;  for  a  more  mischievous  child, 
he  said,  never  was  born,  nor  one  more  obstinate.4  Later 
on,  he  wrote  to  Randolph  that  his  protege  was  as  saucy  as 
need  be,  spelt  in  two  syllables  and  was  as  active  as  a  cat, 
but  that  the  writer's  son,  Tom,  was  worth  two  of  him.5 
This  letter  was  written  some  months  after  a  preceding 
one  in  which  Randolph  had  been  informed  that  his  godson 
had  as  much  spirit  in  embryo  as  his  godfather,  and  that, 
a  few  minutes  before,  he  had  thrown  a  large  piece  of 
lightwood  at  his  father,  believing  that  the  latter  was 
hurting  his  mother. 6 

Many  are  the  playful  references  in  Bryan's  letters  to 
the  help  that  Randolph  had  given  him  in  his  courtship 
of  Delia.  After  telling  him  in  one  letter  that,  if  he  would 
pay  him  a  visit,  he  would  find  lamb,  veal,  fish,  terrapin,  and 
laughter  in  abundance,  would  literally  kill  poor  Spalding 
with  joy,  and  make  the  midriffs  of  Houston  and  Bailey, 
as  well  as  those  of  his  other  friends,  quiver  with  ecstasy, 
Bryan  said : 

"  It  is  worth  the  ride  to  see  Randolph,  who,  taken  altogether, 
is  nearly  as  much  your  son  as  mine.  You  courted  for  me, 
recommended  me  to  the  papa,  and  he  bears  your  name,  to  say 

1  Apr.  23,  1806,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Oct.  19,  1806,  Id. 

3  Dec.  28,  1806,  Id. 

4  July  16,  1809,  Id. 
s  May  27,  1 8 10,  Id. 
6  Jan.  4,  1810,  Id. 


576         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

nothing  of  the  holy  rite  which  is  to  place  his  hopes  of  eternal 
salvation  on  the  moral  lessons  you  will  give  him."1 

In  the  succeeding  year,  he  refers  to  Delia  again : 

"You  send  your  love  to  Delia  by  every  letter,  and,  faith,  I 
begin  to  think  she  loves  you  more  than  she  ought  to  do,  con- 
sidering some  things  before  marriage.  She  says  that,  if  you 
are  worth  2  pence,  you  ought  to  come.  I  move  to  amend  by 
striking  out  two  pence  and  inserting  one  hundred  dollars."2 

At  home,  all  the  interests,  joys,  and  sorrows  of  Bryan 
were  those  of  a  typical  Southern  planter.  His  place  of 
residence  was,  of  course,  very  malarious,  and  Randolph 
observed  on  one  occasion  that,  in  his  references  to  the 
health  of  his  family  and  himself,  he  always  spoke  of  "the 
fever"  as  if  he  had  taken  out  a  patent  on  it.3  In  one 
letter  to  Randolph,  he  says  that  he  has  nearly  100  bags 
of  cotton  on  hand,  commonly  worth  $10,000,  after  having 
disposed  of  one- third  of  his  crop  to  advantage;  but  that, 
owing  to  the  embargo,  this  residue  was  worth  little  more 
than  nothing.4  In  another  letter,  he  says:  "I  am  a 
planter  and  nothing  else.  All  my  faculties  are  employed 
by  grass,  bugs,  rains,  dry  weather,  etc."5  At  times,  he  was 
in  debt,  as  most  Southern  planters,  no  matter  how  much 
their  lands  and  negroes  might  increase,  were  likely  to 
be.  In  1812,  he  wrote  to  Randolph  that  he  believed 
that  he  might  with  safety  assert  that  he  was  "worth 
nearly  twice  as  much  property"  at  that  time  as  he  had 
possessed  when  he  married6;  but,  struggle  as  he  might,  he 
found  himself  face  to  face  occasionally  with  the  necessity 

1  Nov.  28,  1806,  Bryan  MSS. 
3  March  8,  1807,  Id. 

3  Letter  to  Nicholson,  Bizarre,  Sept.  27,  1806,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr. 
Cong. 

4  Feb.  23,  1808,  Bryan  MSS. 
sMay  27,  1807,  Id. 

6  March  1,  1812,  Id. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  577 

of  selling  some  of  his  land  and  negroes.     In  one  of  his 
letters,  he  wrote: 

"However,  I  am  in  truth  a  very  rich  man,  could  I  bear  the 
idea  of  selling  land  and  negroes.  This  I  shall  do,  however  my 
feelings  may  be  injured,  next  winter,  if  something  out  of  the 
common  course  does  not  happen.  Were  cotton  to  rise  to  the 
usual  price,  and  no  curse  of  the  elements  or  caterpillars  molest 
me,  I  could  be  all  right.  "* 

On  another  occasion,  he  sums  up  pithily  in  his  own 
case  the  lot  of  most  Southern  planters,  even  the  richest : 
"  I  have  little  money,  but  plenty  of  everything  else. " 2 

The  whinny  of  the  horse,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say, 
runs  through  Bryan's  letters.  In  one  of  them,  he  tells 
Randolph  that  he  is  about  to  purchase  an  imported 
stallion,  "a  grandson  of  Rockingham' '  and  that  he  had 
purchased  a  mare  impregnated  by  Bedford. 3  In  another 
letter,  he  notes  that  Randolph  still  has  "a  little  love  for 
the  smack  of  the  whip,"  and  then  follow  some  observa- 
tions on  Hyperion,  his  "poor  friend  Roanoke,"  "old 
Jacobin,"  and  Randolph's  colt  out  of  his  imported  mare 
by  Dragon,  which  were  doubtless  very  interesting  to 
Randolph  at  the  time,  but  have  become  a  little  passe  with 
the  lapse  of  114  years.4 

After  reading  the  following  letter  from  Randolph  to 
Bryan,  our  regret  that  almost  all  of  his  letters  to  Bryan 
should  have  been  destroyed  receives  a  new  edge : 

"If  you  had  been  'like  other  men, '  our  friendship,  perhaps, 
had  never  existed;  or,  what  is  more  probable,  it  would  have 
terminated  long  ago.  It  was  because  I  thought  you  'made 
of  different  materials'  from  the  rest  of  the  world  that  I  first 
attached  myself  so  strongly  to  you.     Your  mention,  however, 

1  July  14,  181 1,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  March  8,  1807,  Id. 

3  Oct.,  1807,  Id. 

4  Oct.  19,  1806,  Id. 

vol.  11. — 37 


57$         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

of  the  price  of  the  chair  smells  strongly  of  the  pomps  and 
vanities  of  this  wicked  life,  which  you,  or  your  godfathers  for 
you,  have  long  since  solemnly  renounced.  It  is  as  if  you  were 
not  only  as  other  men,  but  our  connection  a  mere  dirty  traffic 
of  interest,  or  convenience,  instead  of  being  what  it  really  is, 
the  offspring  of  pure  and  disinterested  attachment.  I  did 
not  oppose  your  purchasing  Meade's  carriage,  in  order  to 
sell  you  mine,  but  from  considerations  of  the  inconvenience 
he  might  feel.  I  hope,  therefore,  to  hear  no  more  about  the 
price  of  my  chair.  On  a  fair  settlement  of  our  accounts,  were 
such  a  thing  practicable,  I  believe  I  should  fall  more  than  its 
value  in  your  debt.  I  returned  home  yesterday  after  a  week's 
absence.  I  was  summoned  on  the  federal  grand  jury,  which 
gave  me  an  opportunity  of  being  acquainted  with  the  mys- 
teries of  the  celebrated  Logwood  [the  forger]  a  gentleman  of 
great  ingenuity  and  address,  who  has  kindly  undertaken  to 
supply  the  deficiency  of  our  circulating  medium. 

"I  took  Petersburg  in  my  way  home,  where  I  saw  Meade, 
who  is  at  length  settled  there.  He  is  in  bad  health,  threatened 
with  a  return  of  his  old  complaint  in  the  breast,  and  worse 
spirits.  He  spoke  of  you  with  the  warmest  affection.  Ryland 
Randolph,  too,  has  returned,  much  benefited  by  his  trip  to 
New  York.  For  Heaven's  sake,  make  haste  and  put  old 
Archer's  advice  into  execution,  that  you  may  return  once 
more  among  Us.  I  have  not  shewn  you  half  my  friends,  and 
the  few  neighbors  I  have  were  buried  in  professional  business 
when  you  were  here.  Apropos  of  returning.  A  letter  from 
Forman,  dated  Rose  Hill,  25  April,  1804,  Extract:  'Delia 
returned  home  last  week  from  Chestertown;  she  is  quite  well 
and  in  good  spirits.'  If  the  fascinating  spell  of  her  name 
does  not  bring  you  northward,  I  shall  begin  to  think  you  a 
faint-hearted  fellow,  who  will  never  win  a  fair  lady,  unless  the 
proverbial  wisdom  of  our  nurses  and  grandmothers  should 
prove  sheer  nonsense,  which  I  am  by  no  means  inclined  to 
believe,  at  least  in  relation  to  female  concerns.  Besides,  you 
seem  to  have  entered  into  the  spirt  of  racing,  and  will  be  able  to 
hold  as  learned  a  discourse  on  blood,  bone,  speed  and  bottom, 
as  the  major,  or  myself,  before  the  winter.  Therefore,  dis- 
patch your  worldly  concerns,  and  attend  to  the  spiritual. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  579 

Congress  meets  on  the  first  of  November,  and,  in  despite  of 
'bad  accommodations,  worse  roads,  extravagant  bills,'  yea 
and  even  of  'drunken  society,'  you  must  take  this  house  in 
your  way  to  Washington.  If  this  was  a  case  that  admitted 
of  argument,  I  would  ask  whether,  if  Congress  sat  on  Cape 
Florida  (as  I  wish  they  did),  you  would  suffer  me  to  go  by 
water  to  Augustine  and  pass  you  by  as  if  I  were  a  Pharisee 
or  a  Levite  (which  I  am  not)  and  you  a  publican  and  sinner 
(which  you  are).  Yes,  a  publican  who  entertains  all  comers 
gratis.  I  therefore  signify  to  you  my  pleasure  that  you  appear 
here  accordingly.  By  the  way,  how  you  found  the  road  expen- 
sive, where  I  have  never  been  able  to  get  rid  of  more  than 
three  dollars  in  twenty-four  hours,  I  know  not,  or  rather  I  do 
know.  I  have  very  little  propensity  to  a  rigid  economy 
myself,  but  I  never  paid  more  than  1 5  or  20  cents  for  crossing 
Staunton  River,  where  you  generously  gave  six  dollars.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  expresses  were  instantly  dispatched  to  let 
all  persons  concerned  know  that  a  rich  Georgian  Nabob,  with 
pockets  more  distended  than  his  cotton  bags,  was  on  the  road. 
You  say  yourself  that  you  are  a  little  purse-proud,  and  those, 
who  are  so  but  a  little,  pay  for  it  a  great  deal.  Now  as  20  :  600 
::  your  expenses  :  to  mine,  and,  as  I  disbursed  about  three 
dollars  a  day,  you  must  have  expended  ninety.  So  says  the 
rule  of  three.  You  had  need  to  travel  at  a  pretty  rapid  rate 
under  such  circumstances."1 

Other  intimate  friends  of  Randolph  in  the  earlier  stages 
of  his  career  were  Joseph  H.  Nicholson;  Joseph  C.  Clay; 
James  W.  Garnett;  and  Nathaniel  Macon  (a),  all  of  whom 
served  in  the  lower  House  with  him.  It  was  doubtless 
through  Nicholson  that  Randolph  first  became  acquainted 
with  Delia  and  her  father,  General  Forman.  "  Bryan 
was  so  kind  as  to  give  me  his  company  for  some  time  on 
his  way  to  Georgia,"  Randolph  wrote  to  Nicholson, 
before  Delia  became  Bryan's  wife.  ' '  And  a  most  pleasant 
time  it  was.  Do  you  see  his  Dulcinea  frequently?  She 
is  a  charming  woman,  and  deserves  such  a  worthy  fellow 

1  Bizarre,  30  May  (1804),  Bryan  MSS. 


580         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

as  my  friend,  which  is  what  I  would  not  venture  to  say  to 
all  the  ladies  whom  I  have  seen. ' ' *  Subsequent  to  Delia's 
marriage,  he  wrote  to  the  same  friend : 

"I  have  late  letters  from  Rodney  and  Bryan.  They  are 
both  well,  and  the  last  is  happy  with  his  little  piquant  wife  as 
heart  could  desire.  She  is,  indeed,  a  charming  woman  and, 
for  her  sake,  I  regret  extremely  the  breach  with  her  father. 
Pray  let  me  know  if  there  is  any  prospect  that  my  friend,  the 
Major,  will  at  last  acquit  himself  with  credit  in  this  business.  "2 

Just  what  the  cause  of  this  breach  was  is  not  entirely 
clear.  Perhaps,  it  was  because  General  Forman  was 
averse  to  having  his  daughter  live  at  such  a  great  distance 
from  him.  At  any  rate,  we  know  that  he  offered  to  give 
Bryan  a  life  estate  in  his  country-seat  on  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland,  called  ' '  Rose  Hill, "  if  he  would  become 
a  resident  of  Maryland.  Perhaps,  it  was  because  the 
General  tied  his  purse  strings  into  too  hard  a  knot. 

"Speaking  of  the  papa,"  Bryan  declared  in  one  of  his  letters 
to  Randolph,  when  he  anticipated  a  visit  from  his  father-in- 
law,  "I  request  that,  in  case  he  passes  through  Washington, 
and  sees  you,  you  will  treat  him  in  a  friendly  way — if  the 
contrary,  he  will  be  apt  to  suppose  your  conduct  the  conse- 
quence of  impressions  stamped  by  myself.  He  is  coming  too 
fast.  He  is  a  queer  mortal ;  but  after  all  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know 
whether  he  is  resolved  to  do  right  or  wrong.  I  suspect  the 
former.  As  to  the  property,  old  men  seldom  like  to  part  with 
any;  besides  it  may  not  suit  him  at  this  time.  "3 

Whatever  the  origin  of  the  breach  was,  Randolph  soon 
noted  that  General  Forman  kept  aloof  from  him,  and  the 
relations  between  the  General  and  Bryan  were  never 
cordial.     But,  like  a  good  daughter,  Delia  made  a  per- 

1  Bizarre,  July  I,  1804,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 
3  Bizarre,  July  28,  1805,  Id. 
3  Nov.  28,  1806,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  581 

sistent  point  of  being  reconciled  to  her  father,  and  formed 
a  cordial  regard  for  his  second  wife,  who  may,  after  all, 
have  supplied  the  ferment  that  stirred  up  the  whole 
trouble. 

Many  of  the  observations  made  by  Randolph  in  his 
letters  to  Nicholson  on  the  course  of  political  events  have 
already  been  laid  before  the  reader.  Others  are  worthy 
of  mention,  especially  those  in  which  Randolph  com- 
municated to  Nicholson  the  feelings  with  which  he  had 
been  inspired  by  the  efforts  of  Samuel  Smith  and  his 
brother,  Robert  Smith,  of  Maryland,  "the  Lords  Balti- 
more" of  Maryland  politics,  as  they  were  called,  and  their 
fellow  conspirators,  to  drive  Albert  Gallatin  out  of  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  During  the  admin- 
istration of  Madison,  the  group  became  known  to  Ran- 
dolph, Macon,  and  their  friends  as  "the  invisibles," 
because  of  the  secret  manner  in  which  their  machinations 
were  conducted.  Speaking  of  the  Smiths  in  one  of  his 
letters  to  Nicholson,  Randolph  said: 


"The  doughty  General  is  vulnerable  at  all  points,  (a)  and 
his  plausible  brother  not  much  better  defended.  The  first 
has  condemned  in  terms  of  unqualified  reprobation  the  general 
measures  pursued  by  the  administration,  and  lamented  that 
such  was  the  public  infatuation  that  no  man  could  take  a 
position  against  it  without  destroying  himself  and  injuring 
the  cause  which  he  attempted  to  serve;  with  much  more  to 
the  same  tune.  I  called  some  time  since  at  the  Navy  Office 
to  ask  an  explanation  of  certain  items  of  the  estimates  for 
this  year.  The  Secretary  called  up  his  Chief  Clerk,  who 
knew  very  little  more  of  the  business  than  his  master.  I 
propounded  a  question  to  the  Head  of  the  Department;  he 
turned  to  the  clerk,  like  a  boy  who  cannot  say  his  lesson,  and 
with  imploring  countenance  beseeches  aid.  The  clerk,  with 
much  assurance,  gabbled  out  some  commonplace  jargon, 
which  I  would  not  take  for  sterling.  An  explanation  was 
required,  and  both  were  dumb.     This  pantomime  was  re- 


582         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

peated  at  every  new  item,  until,  disgusted  and  ashamed  of  the 
degraded  situation  of  the  principal,  I  took  leave  without 
pursuing  the  subject,  seeing  that  my  object  could  not  be 
attained.  There  was  not  one  single  question  relating  to  the 
Department  that  the  Secretary  could  answer."1 

For  a  time,  all  intercourse  between  Gallatin  and  Ran- 
dolph ended,  though  Randolph  never  ceased  to  entertain 
a  high  degree  of  admiration  for  Gallatin's  ability  and 
usefulness,    (a) 

"Like  yourself,"  he  wrote  to  Nicholson,  "I  have  no  com- 
munication with  the  great  folks.  Gallatin  used  formerly  to 
write  to  me,  but  of  late  our  intercourse  has  dropped.  I  think 
it  is  more  than  two  years  since  I  was  in  his  house.  How  this 
has  happened  I  can't  tell,  or  rather  I  can,  for  I  have  not  been 
invited  there.  As  to  the  rest,  they  were  not  worth  cultivat- 
ing." 

It  was  in  this  letter  that  in  his  witty  way,  after  express- 
ing the  opinion  that  the  Jefferson  Administration  would 
be  as  supine  under  the  Chesapeake  outrage  as  it  had  been 
under  previous  outrages,  Randolph  said : 

"  I  should  not  be  surprised,  however,  if  the  Drone  or  Humble 
Bee  (the  Wasp  has  sailed  already)  should  be  dispatched  with 
two  millions  (this  is  our  standing  first  bid)  to  purchase  Nova 
Scotia;  and  then  we  might  go  to  war  in  peace  and  quiet  to 
ascertain  its  boundaries."2 

Afterwards,  the  Smith  faction,  reinforced  by  Wm.  B. 
Giles,  harassed  Gallatin  and  the  administration  of  Madi- 
son so  successfully  that  Randolph  declared  in  a  letter  to 
Nicholson  that  Madison  was  President  de  jure  only. 

"Who  exercises  the  office  de  facto,"  he  said,  "I  know  not; 
but  it  seems  agreed  on  all  hands  that  '  there  is  something  be- 

1  Feb.  17,  1807,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Bizarre,  Jul.  21,  1807,  Id. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  583 

hind  the  throne  greater  than  the  throne  itself. '     I  cannot 

help  differing  with  you  respecting 's  [Gallatin's] 

resignation.  If  his  principal  will  not  support  him  by  his 
influence  against  the  cabal  in  the  ministry  itself,  as  well  as  out 
of  it,  a  sense  of  self-respect,  it  would  seem  to  me,  ought  to 
impel  him  to  retire  from  a  situation  where,  with  a  tremendous 
responsibility,  he  is  utterly  destitute  of  power.  Our  cabinet 
presents  a  novel  spectacle  in  the  political  world,  divided 
against  itself,  and  the  most  deadly  animosity  raging  between 
its  principal  members.  What  can  come  of  it  but  confusion, 
mischief  and  ruin.  "* 

Three  days  later,  Randolph  was  reduced  to  such  a 
state  of  despair  that  the  whole  world  seemed  black : 

"I  am  not  convinced  by  your  representations  respecting 
altho    they    are    not    without    weight.     Surely    it 


would  not  be  difficult  to  point  out  to  the  President  the  impos- 
sibility of  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  Government  with  such 
a  counteraction  in  the  very  Cabinet  itself  without  assuming 
anything  like  a  disposition  to  dictate.  Things  as  they  are 
cannot  go  on  much  longer.  The  Administration  are  now  in 
fact  aground — at  the  pitch  of  a  tide,  and  a  high  tide  too: 
nothing  then  remains  but  to  lighten  the  ship,  which  a  dead 
calm  has  hitherto  kept  from  going  to  pieces.  If  the  Cabal 
succeed  in  their  present  projects;  and  I  see  nothing  but 
promptitude  and  decision  that  can  prevent  it;  the  nation  is 
undone.  The  state  of  affairs  for  some  time  past  has  been 
highly  favorable  to  their  views,  which  at  this  very  moment 
are  more  flattering  than  ever.  I  am  satisfied  that  Mr.  G, 
[Gallatin],  by  a  timely  resistance  to  their  schemes,  might  have 
defeated  them,  and  rendered  the  whole  Cabal  as  impotent 
as  nature  would  seem  to  have  intended  them  to  be,  for  in 
point  of  ability  (capacity  for  intrigue  excepted)  they  are 
utterly  contemptible  and  insignificant.  I  do  assure  you,  my 
friend,  that  I  cannot  contemplate  the  present  condition  of  the 
country  without  the  gloomiest  presages.  The  signs  of  the 
times  are  of  the  most  direful  omen.  The  system  cannot 
1  Georgetown,  Feb.  14,  181 1,  Id. 


584  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

continue  (if  system  it  may  be  called),  and  we  seem  rushing 
into  one  general  dissolution  of  law  and  morals.  Some  Didius, 
I  fear,  is  soon  to  become  the  purchaser  of  our  Empire — but, 
in  whatever  manner  it  be  effected,  everything  appears  to 
announce  the  coming  of  a  master.  Thank  God !  I  have  no  chil- 
dren ;  but  I  have  those  who  are  yet  dear  to  me  and  the  thought 
of  their  being  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water — or  what 
is  worse,  sycophants  and  time-servers,  to  the  venal  and  corrupt 
wretches,  that  are  to  be  the  future  masters  of  this  once  free  and 
happy  land,  fills  me  with  the  bitterest  indignation.  Would  it 
not  almost  seem  that  man  cannot  be  kept  free :  that  his  igno- 
rance, his  cupidity,  and  his  baseness  will  countervail  the  effects 
of  the  wisest  institutions  that  disinterested  patriotism  can 
plan  for  his  security  and  happiness?"1 

The  struggle  between  Gallatin  and  the  Smith  and  Giles 
cabal  finally  came  to  absorb  the  attention  of  Randolph 
to  an  extent  that  he  himself  could  hardly  understand. 

"I  could  not  learn,  as  I  passed  through  Washington,"  he 
wrote  to  Nicholson  later,  "how  matters  stood  respecting  G. 
and  S.  The  general  impression  there  was  that  S.  would  go  out 
and  that  the  Department  of  State  would  be  offered  to  Monroe. 
I  do,  however,  doubt  whether  Madison  will  be  able  to  meet  the 
shock  of  '  The  Aurora, '  !  Whig,  •  'Enquirer, '  'Boston  Patriot, ' 
etc.,  etc.,  and  it  is   highly  probable  that,  beaten  in  detail 

by   the  superior  activity  and  vigor  of  the  S s,    he  may 

sink  ultimately  into  their  arms,  and  unquestionably  will  (in 
that  case)  receive  the  law  from  them.  I  know  not  why  I 
should  think  so  much  on  this  subject,  but  it  engrosses  my 
waking  and  sleeping  thoughts.  "2 

As  usual,  Randolph  was  in  the  possession  of  authentic 
information.  He  was  always  a  capital  scout,  and  on  one 
occasion  declared  that  he  had  paid  more  for  information 
than  any  public  man  of  his  time. 3 

1  Georgetown.  Feb.  17,  181 1,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Richmond,  Mar.  16,  1811,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libi.  Cong. 

3  Letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  Dec.  26,  1827,  Garl.,  v.  2,  297. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  585 

Some  of  the  weightiest  comments  made  by  him  on 
contemporary  politics  were  made  in  letters  to  Nicholson. 
Take,  for  example,  the  following  letter  in  regard  to  the 
foreign  relations  of  the  United  States  in  1808: 

"Suspend  your  opinion  until  you  see  the  joint  letter  of  M. 
and  [the]  P.  accompanying  the  rejected  treaty.  For  some 
good  reason,  no  doubt,  the  S.  of  S's  strictures  on  the  treaty 
were  first  read  (even  before  the  treaty  itself),  to  secure,  I  pre- 
sume, the  first  impression.  Your  surprise,  I  have  no  doubt, 
will  equal  mine  when  you  hear  that  the  P.  peremptorily 
enjoined  upon  M.  to  connect  with  the  demand  for  reparation 
of  the  outrage  on  the  Chesapeake  claims  which  he  had  a  previous 
knowledge  would  not  be  conceded  by  G.  B.  even  under  the  late 
ministry,  thus  shutting  with  his  own  hand  the  door  of  repara- 
tion to  that  insulting  injury.  As  to  G.  B.,  I  view  her  as  the 
aggressor  upon  us,  and  as  acting  a  part  little  short  of  madness, 
and  yet  I  am  convinced  that  the  present  crisis  grows  out  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  session  of  1 805-6,  and  that  our  govern- 
ment does  not  wish  to  come  to  any  accommodation  with 
England  for  fear  of  the  resentment  of  France.  The  rejection 
of  the  treaty  was  a  fatal  step,  and  exasperated  the  new  min- 
istry as  a  slight  upon  the  nation,  altho'  I  believe  they  were 
'otherwise  glad  of  it. 

"With  you,  I  am  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  G.  B.  has  not 
a  shadow  of  right  to  require  the  withdrawal  of  the  Proclama- 
tion (neither  had  France,  in  1798  any  right  to  expect  a  renewal 
of  negotiations  by  a  new  mission  from  the  U.  S.),  but,  when 
we  had  gone  as  far  as  we  had  done,  it  was  hardly  worth  while 
to  go  to  war  for  the  decimal  fraction  of  a  punctilio.  The 
issuing  of  the  Proclamation  without  any  attempt  to  enforce 
respect  to  it  was  a  weak  measure.  The  withdrawal  was  of 
less  consequence,  inasmuch  as  it  might  have  been  laid  on 
again  in  half  an  hour,  in  case  the  reparation  proved  insufficient. 
Besides,  the  declaration  of  G.  B.  that  she  disavowed  the  act, 
as  unathorized  by  her,  and  that  she  was  ready  (by  a  special 
mission,  suited  to  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion)  to  make 
reparation,  was  a  complete  saving  of  our  honor. 

*'  I  forgot  to  state  that  the  note  which  proved  so  offensive  to 


5^6    John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

our  government  appears  to  me  (taking  into  consideration 
especially,  the  persons  for  whom  it  came)  as  a  proof  of 
Candor  and  Good  Faith;  thereby  putting  us  on  our 
guard;  for  surely,  if  no  such  caution  had  been  given,  the 
right  to  retaliate  upon  the  French  would  not  have  been 
affected. 

"I  send  you  an  extract  which  will  shew  you  how  the  business 
of  impressment  stood.  Our  right  was  reserved.  G.  B.  engaged 
to  forbear  the  exercise  of  that  claimed  by  her,  and  stipulated 
that  hereafter  she  would  enter  into  a  negotiation  on  the 
reserved  right.  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  read  Mr. 
Monroe's  letter  to  the  S.  of  S.  upon  the  subject  of  the  rejected 
treaty  in  which  all  his  objections  are  refuted  in  a  most  masterly 
style.  If  there  is  time  for  its  operation,  it  will  work  prodigious 
effects.  "x 

Not  without  interest  too  is  this  letter : 

"As  to  politics,  I  have  nothing  to  say.  Like  the  sailor  who 
was  blown  up  at  a  theatre,  I  am  wondering  what  trick  they 
will  play  next.  If  some  change  be  not  wrought  very  soon,  I 
shall  be  blown  up  in  good  earnest.  Peter  the  Great,  it  seems, 
was  a  bungling  barbarian.  Instead  of  contenting  himself 
with  the  navigation  of  his  own  Mississippi,  the  Volga,  and 
establishing  manufactories  at  Moscow,  he  plunged  into  a 
bloody  war  in  order  to  procure  an  outlet  thro'  the  Baltic  for 
the  rude  and  bulky  products  of  his  country  and  an  outlet  for 
foreign  manufacturers.  In  those  days,  the  virtue  of  perpetual 
embargoes  was  unknown.  It  would  be  pleasant,  if  it  were  not 
sorrowful,  to  observe  in  what  opposite  direction  the  poor, 
plodding  farmers  of  England  and  America  are  driven  by  the 
monied  interest  to  attain  the  same  end.  England  bleeds  at 
every  pore  to  force  a  vent  for  her  manufactures,  and  we  are 
cooped  up  to  force  a  home  consumption.  Who  is  it  that  says 
that  corruption  is  a  proof  of  freedom,  since  arbitrary  power 
has  but  to  order  and  is  obeyed  ?  Pity  that  corruption  should 
be  too  often  the  only  proof  of  freedom.  "2 

1  Washington,  March  8,  1808,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Bizarre,  Aug.  15,  1809. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  587 

"War  carried  on  by  Giles  and  old  Smilie  and  Willis 
Alston!"  Randolph  exclaimed  scornfully  on  another 
occasion.  "It  must  be  against  the  pismires,  for  the 
pigmies  and  cranes,  or  the  frogs  and  mice,  would  be  too 
formidable  antagonists. " J 

Nicholson  died  on  Mar.  4.  18 17,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine, 
(a)  and,  at  least,  until  Mar.  20  1812,2  the  intercourse 
between  him  and  Randolph  was  of  the  most  affectionate 
description.  This  was  not  because  Randolph  was  not  as 
candid  with  him  as  he  was  with  everyone  else.  On  one 
occasion  he  wrote  to  Nicholson  in  these  frank  terms : 

"  I  should  be  deficient  in  my  duties  to  you  were  I  to  neglect 
to  apprize  you  that  your  absence  has  excited  observation  and 
even  censure.  It  has  been  remarked,  I  know  not  how  truly, 
that  you  have  not  obtained  from  the  House  a  dispensation 
from  its  duties.  I  hope  you  know  me  too  well  not  to  perceive 
at  once  the  only  motive  which  prompts  this  communication, 
and,  although  I  fear  that  I  am  but  little  calculated  to  live 
forever  in  the  palace  of  truth,  I  sincerely  wish  that,  if  the 
monster,  called  the  world,  shall  ever  take  the  trouble  to  scruti- 
nize my  conduct,  you  will  be  good  enough,  when  occasion 
offers,  to  apprize  me  of  such  parts  of  it  as  his  sovereign  pleasure 
may  disapprove.  "3 

As  usual,  when  Randolph  loved  a  friend,  he  loved 
Nicholson's  wife  and  children  too,  and  many  are  the 
affectionate  messages  to  her  and  them  that  we  find 
scattered  through  his  letters  to  her  husband.4  "Give 
my  love,  yes,  my  love,  to  her  and  them, "  was  one  of  these 
messages.5  On  another  occasion,  he  referred  to  Mrs. 
Nicholson  as  Nicholson's  "charming  moiety."6 

1  Bizarre,  Feb.  15,  18 10,  Id. 

2  Id. 

3  Jan.  1,  1 801,  Id. 

4  Bizarre,  June  3,  1806,  Id. 
s  Richm.,  Oct.  12,  1805,  Id. 

6  Letter  to  Nicholson,  Bizarre,  Oct,  23,1805,  Beverley  D.  Tucker  MSS. 


588         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Among  the  letters  from  Randolph  to  Nicholson,  are 
two  mysterious  ones,  written  some  three  years  apart,  and 
yet  both  apparently  inspired  by  the  same  circumstances. 
In  the  first,  he  wrote  to  Nicholson  in  these  terms : 

"By  you,  I  would  be  understood.  Whether  the  herd  of 
mankind  comprehend  me  or  not  I  care  not.  Yourself,  the 
speaker  and  Bryan  are  of  all  the  world  alone  acquainted  with 
my  real  situation. 

"On  that  subject  I  have  only  to  ask  that  you  will  preserve 
the  same  reserve  that  I  have  done.  Do  not  misunderstand 
me,  my  good  friend.  I  do  not  doubt  your  honor  or  discretion 
— far  from  it.  But,  on  this  subject,  I  am  perhaps  foolishly 
fastidious. 

"God  bless  you,  my  noble  fellow.  I  shall  ever  hold  you 
most  dear  to  my  heart. '** 

In  the  second  of  the  two  letters,  Randolph  said : 

"Do  you  remember  the  event  which  some  years  ago  pros- 
trated all  my  faculties  and  made  a  mere  child  of  me.  I  am 
that  very  same  child  still.  I  have  tried  wine,  company,  business, 
everything  within  my  reach  to  divert  my  mind  from  the 
subject,  but  haeret  lethalis  arundo."2 

To  what  event  in  the  life  of  Randolph  do  these  two 
letters  refer  ?  Doubtless  to  the  rupture  of  his  engagement 
to  Maria  Ward. 

It  seems  that  Mrs.  Nicholson,  as  well  as  her  husband, 
was  interested  in  finding  a  wife  for  Randolph;  but  this 
was  early  in  his  Congressional  career. 

"I  beg  that  you  will  make  my  compliments  to  Mrs.  Nichol- 
son," he  wrote  to  Nicholson  on  one  occasion,  "and  tell  her 
that  the  happiness  which  she  has  allotted  to  me  is  too  great  I 
fear  to  be  realized.     It  is  not  my  good  fortune  to  obtain  that 

1  Monday,  Mar.  4,  1805,  Nicholson  MSS. 
3  Bizarre,  May  27,  1808,  Id. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  589 

title  to  her  esteem  which  the  possession  of  an  amiable  woman 
can  never  fail  to  confer.  "J 

In  the  same  letter,  there  is  a  touch  of  the  conservative 
sentiment  which  was  such  a  marked  feature  of  Randolph's 
character : 

''I  am  sorry,"  he  said,  "that  you  have  demolished  the  old 
house,  because  I  fear  that  you  are  about  to  enter  upon  a  scene 
of  greater  trouble  than  you  are  aware  of ;  and,  moreover  because 
I  have  a  respect  for  all  that  is  antique  (with  a  few  important 
exceptions).  I  would  prefer  dwelling  in  the  mansion  where 
I  had  passed  my  infancy,  even  were  it  ruinous,  to  the  posses- 
sion of  a  palace.  "2 

When  Nicholson  sent  in  his  resignation  to  Congress, 
Randolph  was  affected  even  to  tears. 3 

With  the  differences  of  opinion,  aroused  by  the  War  of 
1812,  the  correspondence  between  the  two  friends  came 
to  an  end  (a),  and  a  premonition  of  this  result  can  be 
found  in  the  following  letter  written  by  Randolph  from 
Georgetown  on  Dec.  20,  181 1 : 

"I  was  highly  gratified  this  evening  to  recognize  among  my 
letters  your  well  known  character — but  really,  my  good  friend 
— for  I  must  indulge  the  frankness  of  my  temper — I  was  not 
merely  disappointed  but  mortified  when  I  had  broken  the  seal : 
mortified  to  find  from  the  general  air  of  your  letter  that  you 
had  been  hurt  at^  my  last.  Need  I  assure  you  that  nothing 
was  ever  farther  from  my  intention.  Bear  with  me,  I  beseech 
you.  Recollect  that  I  stand  in  no  common  situation,  and 
that  he,  who  is  beset  with  assassins  of  his  character,  and  of 
his  life  too,  must  feel  that  it  is  no  time  for  him  to  press  himself 
upon  his  friends.  It  is  in  the  sunshine  of  prosperity  that  I 
could  intrude,  nay  force  myself  upon  them.  My  dear  friend, 
I  never  did  nor  ever  will  keep  a  ledgered  account  of  courtesies 

1  Aug.  12,  1800,  Nicholson  MSS. 

2  Ibid. 

3  H.  of  R.  alias  Bedlam,  Apr.  10,  1806. 


590         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

and  visits  and  epistles  with  any  man  whom  I  esteem.  But  I 
did  think  that  there  was  something  in  my  letters  from  Roanoke 
that  called  for  a  reply — and,  when  I  got  your  message  from 
D.  R.  Williams,  I  told  him  to  say  to  you  (what  I  understood 
he  had  expressed)  that  you  were  two  letters  in  my  debt.  Your 
letter  has  sunk  the  barometer  of  my  spirits  to  a  low  ebb.  It 
has  not  been  very  high  of  late.  'Time  and  chance,  which 
happen  unto  all  men, '  have  not  left  me  out  of  their  visitations. 
Unconnected,  unconsulted  and  betrayed,  I  still  wage  a  feeble 
war  against  that  horde  of  upstart  patriots  who  are  ruining  our 
common  country:  but  it  requires  an  unceasing  recurrence  to 
the  principles  and  motives,  by  which  I  am  actuated,  to  sustain 
me  in  the  unequal  conflict;  a  conflict  where  more  is  to  be 
apprehended  from  the  barrenness  of  the  country,  from  thirst 
and  famine,  than  from  the  shafts  of  the  Enemy. "x 

Exactly  how  the  estrangement  of  Nicholson  from 
Randolph  came  about  we  are  unable  to  say.  We  only 
know  that  the  War  of  1812  produced  a  passing  coolness 
in  the  relations  of  Randolph  and  Macon  as  well  as  those 
of  Randolph  and  Nicholson.  "I  cannot  account  for  the 
coldness  with  which  you  say  he  treated  you,  or  his  not 
staying  at  your  house  while  in  Baltimore, "  Macon  wrote 
to  Nicholson  of  Randolph  in  1815.2  On  the  other  hand 
we  find  Randolph  complaining  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Dudley 
that  Nicholson  had  not  called  upon  him  when  he  passed 
through  Baltimore. 3  (a)  There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  no  real  termination  of  the  friendship  was  ever  effected 
and  that,  if  the  life  of  Nicholson  had  not  been  cut  off  when 
it  was,  the  intercourse  between  him  and  Randolph  would 
have  been  as  completely  renewed  as  that  between  Macon 
and  Randolph  was.  We  need  no  better  confirmation  of 
this  assertion  than  a  letter  which  Randolph  wrote  to  his 
niece  after  the  death  of  Nicholson : 

1  Georgetown,  Dec.  20,  181 1,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Feb.  1,  1 815,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

^  Baltimore,  Oct.  13,  18 14,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  162. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  591 

"Mrs.  Nicholson  (the  widow  of  Joseph  H.  N.,  late  of  our 
House)  was  here  on  a  short  visit  to  her  sister, "  he  said,  "and 
Mr.  Frank  Key  pressed  me  to  dine  with  her  in  Georgetown  at 
his  house — the  farthest  off  of  any  in  the  place.  It  was  one  of 
those  cases  where  it  was  impossible  to  decline  the  invitation. 
The  consequences  were  in  such  weather  unavoidable.  I  had 
known  Mr.  and  Mrs.  N.  intimately  many  years  ago.  She 
was  then  young  and  affluent.  At  present,  her  circumstances 
are  narrow,  but  she  bears  all  her  bereavement  with  a  noble 
fortitude.  She  was  very  much  affected  at  meeting  me,  and 
so  was  I  also."1    (a) 

So  far  as  we  know,  no  letters  from  Randolph  to  Joseph 
Clay  are  in  existence;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
his  relations  with  Clay  were  as  affectionate  as  his  relations 
with  Nicholson.  When  he  heard  that  Clay  had  been 
stricken  with  the  illness  which  resulted  in  his  death,  he 
wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley,  who  was  then  in  Philadelphia:  "I 
shall  be  on  thorns  until  the  arrival  of  the  next  mail";2 
and,  a  few  days  later,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley:  "I  leave 
you  to  judge  of  the  state  of  my  feelings  when  I  tell  you 
that  I  rode  30  miles  through  the  rain  yesterday  for  the 
sake  of  hearing  of  Mr.  Clay's  situation,  and  found  no 
letter  from  you."3  A  few  days  more,  and  the  afflicting 
intelligence  reached  Randolph,  through  Dr.  Brocken- 
brough,  that  Clay  was  dead. 

"It"  (Dr.  Brockenbrough's  letter),  he  told  Dudley, 
"dropped  from  my  hands  as  if  I  had  touched  a  living  firebrand. 
I  cannot  tell  you  what  I  feel.  I  could  not,  if  I  knew  myself; 
but  I  do  not.  I  am  stupefied ;  I  do  not  know  what  I  am  about. 
I  will  try  and  write  again  tomorrow.  Say  to  Mrs.  Clay  what 
I  could  not  say  if  I  were  with  her ;  I  could  only  wring  her  hand 
and  mingle  my  tears  with  hers.  "4 

1  Washington,  Feb.  14,  1823,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Mr.  Bruce's,  Halifax,  Aug.  25,  181 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  98. 

3  Charlotte  C.  H.,  Sept.  2,  181 1,  Id.,  99. 

4  Roanoke,  Sept.  8,  1811,  Id.,  102. 


592  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

In  the  Diary,  the  name  of  Clay  is  associated  with  these 
words:  "Died  Monday,  July  26,  181 1,  'Quis  desiderio  sit 
modus  tarn  cari  capitis! ' " 

But  with  no  friend  was  Randolph  on  easier  or  more 
familiar  terms  than  with  James  M.  Garnett,  of  Essex 
County,  Va.,  who  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives from  1805  to  1809,  and  one  of  his  inflexible 
adherents.  ' '  Mine  ancient,  "Randolph  fondly  called  him 
in  a  letter  to  Tazewell. x  Indeed  so  heartlelt  and  informal 
was  the  intercourse  between  Randolph  and  Garnett  that 
it  is  for  that  very  reason  perhaps  that  the  numerous  letters 
from  the  former  to  the  latter,  which  are  still  in  existence, 
are  not  more  important  than  they  are.  In  other  words, 
Randolph  brought  to  his  letters  to  Garnett  a  spontaneous, 
careless  flow  of  feeling  which,  while  very  attractive  so  far 
as  it  goes,  does  not  cover  any  considerable  variety  of 
topics,  (a)  Nothing,  however,  could  be  more  affectionate 
than  the  terms  in  which  the  two  friends  address  each 
other  during  the  long  period  of  their  intimacy. 

"Our  friendship,"  Randolph  wrote  on  one  occasion,  " com- 
menced soon  after  he  took  his  seat  in  Congress,  and  has  con- 
tinued uninterrupted  by  a  single  moment  of  coolness  or  alien- 
ation during  three  and  twenty  years,  and  very  trying  times, 
political  and  otherwise.  I  take  a  pride  in  naming  this  gentle- 
man among  my  steady,  uniform  and  unwavering  friends.  In 
Congress  he  never  said  an  unwise  thing  or  gave  a  bad  vote.  "2 

"One  whom  I  love,"  is  the  way  in  which  Randolph 
described  Garnett  in  a  letter  to  Garnett  himself. 3 

More  like  the  love  of  a  woman  for  a  man  or  a  woman, 
than  of  a  man  for  a  man  was  that  which  Randolph  and 
Nathaniel  Macon  bore  for  each  other.  It  began  during 
the  Sixth  Congress,  and  never  ended  so  long  as  they  lived. 

1  Mar.  8,  1826,  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  Jr.,  MSS. 

2  Bouldin,  289  (note). 

3  Mar.  30,  1812,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  593 

Indeed,  as  Randolph's  ancestors  believed  that  the  warrior 
still  retained  his  favorite  bow  in  the  happy  hunting 
grounds  beyond  the  grave,  so  it  costs  us  almost  a  struggle 
to  realize  that  the  life-long  communion  of  spirit  and  con- 
viction which  marked  the  lives  of  these  two  men  could  be 
dissolved  even  by  death:  "Jonathan  did  not  love  David 
more  than  I  have  Randolph, "  Macon  wrote  to  Nicholson 
during  the  brief  period  when  he  thought  it  possible  that 
he  might  lose  his  friend  and,  when  we  remember  that  envy 
and  jealousy  are  among  the  most  general  of  all  human 
passions,  we  cannot  but  find  something  uncommonly 
sweet  and  winning  in  the  unfailing  sympathy  and  admira- 
tion with  which  Macon  drank  in  all  of  Randolph's  great 
oratorical  displays.  One  of  Randolph's  speeches  on  the 
Yazoo  question  he  pronounced  the  most  eloquent  speech 
ever  made  within  the  walls  of  the  House.  '  In  their  early 
lives,  they  were  both  devotees  of  the  Arcadian  Republican- 
ism which  the  first  election  of  Jefferson  to  the  Presidency 
was  expected  to  establish.  Later,  after  the  political 
divergences,  created  by  the  War  of  1812,  had  come  to  an 
end,  they  were  again  brought  into  harmonious  fellowship 
by  the  State-Rights  cause.  The  understanding  between 
them  became  as  perfect  as  it  had  ever  been,  and  finally, 
when  from  advancing  years  and  physical  infirmity  they 
were  compelled  to  hug  their  fireside  at  Washington  more 
closely  than  they  had  done  in  the  past,  they  grew  almost 
like  a  husband  and  wife,  who  have  shared  the  same 
thoughts  and  feelings  so  long  that,  from  the  ties  of  habit, 
if  nothing  else,  they  are  indispensable  to  each  other.  "I 
can't  read, "  Randolph  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  in 
1827,  "and  my  old  friend's  cough  is  excited  by  talking; 
so  we  sit  and  look  at  the  fire  together,  and  once  in  half  an 
hour  some  remark  is  made  by  one  or  the  other. " 2  About 
a  year  later,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough :    ' '  I  go  no- 

1  A.  of  C,  1809-10,  v.  1,  735, 

2  Jan.  12,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  282. 

vol.  11— 38 


594  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

where,  and  see  nobody  but  Mr.  Macon.  He  is  so  deaf 
that  he  picks  up  none  of  the  floating  small  trash  in  the 
Senate,  and  I  am  hard  put  to  it  to  make  him  hear  my 
hoarse  whispers."1  It  was  during  the  same  year  that 
Randolph  wrote  to  his  niece  of  Macon:  "He  is  as  pure 
and  upright  a  man  as  lives  and  the  wisest,  take  him  for 
all  in  all,  that  I  ever  knew.  During  a  friendship  of  30 
years,  he  has  steadily  gained  upon  my  regard.  " 2   (a) 

In  his  will,  executed  in  1832,  Randolph  was  still  sure 
enough  of  himself,  after  making  various  specific  bequests 
to  Macon,  to  declare  that  he  was  "the  best,  purest  and 
wisest  man"  that  he  had  ever  known ;  and  this  declaration 
was  but  the  last  repetition  of  what  he  had  over  and  over 
again  said  during  the  long  years  of  their  intercourse.3 
That  "warm-hearted  and  sound-headed"  man,  is  his 
description  of  Macon  on  one  occasion. 

"To  him,"  Randolph  said  on  another  occasion,  "may  be 
applied  with  more  justice  than  to  any  man  that  I  have  ever 
known,  not  excepting  Mr.  Wickham,  the  maxim,  nullum 
numen  abest  si  sit  Prudentia.  Johns  Hopkins'  assurance  and 
Burr's  audacity  combined  could  not  have  prevailed  upon 
Macon  to  invite  the  latter  to  dine  with  him,  especially  with 
the  Chief  Justice  for  a  guest.  The  best  part  of  it  is  (ars  est 
celare  artem)  that  he  seems  to  be  almost  indiscreet.  It  is  but 
a  seeming  that  gives  ten-fold  power  to  the  effect  of  his  cau- 
tion."4 

Subsequently,  after  Randolph  had  left  Congress  forever, 
he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  that  he  had  just  received 
two  letters  from  Macon,  "written  evidently  in  fine  spirits." 
"The  good  old  man,"  he  said,  "is  amusing  himself  with 
fox-hunting,  but  is  by  no  means  an  inattentive  or  in- 
different observer  of  public  affairs.  "s   (a) 

1  Dec.  26,  1827,  Id.}  297. 

2  Washington,  Jan.  12,  1827,  Bryan  MSS.  3  Bouldin,  212. 

«  J.  R.  to  Tazewell,  Washington,  Feb.  20, 1826,  L.  W.  Tazewell,  Jr.,  MSS. 
s  Washington,  Jan.  28,  1829,  Mrs.  Gilbert  S.  Meem  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  595 

In  another  letter,  the  fact  is  brought  to  our  attention 
that  Macon,  when  fox-hunting,  experienced  some  annoy- 
ance from  the  fact  that  his  hounds  had  a  way  of  deserting 
the  sport  and  running  off  after  wild  turkeys.  Despite  age 
and  domestic  troubles,  of  which  he  had  his  full  share,  he 
hunted  both  foxes  and  deer  until  the  last. ■ 

Of  the  domestic  troubles,  we  have  an  inkling  in  a  shrewd 
observation  of  his  prompted  by  these  troubles  which 
Randolph  was  in  the  habit  of  quoting.  Moved  by  the 
burdens  which  had  been  imposed  upon  him  by  grand- 
children, who  should  have  been  taken  care  of  by  their 
own  father,  he  called  the  attention  of  Randolph  to  the 
fact  that  men  are  the  only  grandfathers  in  the  whole 
range  of  the  animal  creation  who  concern  themselves 
about  their  grandchildren. 

It  is  an  appropriate  thing  that  the  names  of  these  two 
friends  should  have  been  blended  in  the  name  of 
"Randolph-Macon  College";  even  though  it  has  been 
hinted  that  the  dual  name  of  the  institution  owed  its 
origin  to  a  desire  to  propitiate  the  pecuniary  favor  of 
two  of  the  most  affluent  planters  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Roanoke. 

A  very  good  summary  of  the  character  of  Macon  is  to 
be  found  in  a  letter  written  to  Hugh  Blair  Grigsby  by 
Mark  Alexander,  of  Mecklenburg  County,  who  served  in 
Congress  with  both  Randolph  and  him. 

"Mr.  Macon  was  a  man  of  no  literary  attainments,  being 
bred  in  the  Revolution.  He  spoke  but  little  in  the. latter  part 
of  his  life,  but  always  in  plain  language  and  to  the  purpose, 
with  no  pretension  to  eloquence;  but  no  one  ever  left  the 
Senate  with  a  higher  reputation  for  sound  judgment  and  purity 
of  character — a  second  George  Mason.  Mr.  Randolph  always 
spoke  of  him  as  the  wisest  man  he  ever  knew.  "2    (a) 

1  J.  R.  to  J.  R.  Clay,  Cronstadt,  Sept.  7,  19,  1830,  Clay  MSS.,  Libr. 
Cong. 

3  To  Hugh  Blair  Grigsby,  July  2,  1876,  Herbert  F.  Hutcheson  MSS. 


596         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Next  to  the  effort  of  the  philosopher  Locke  to  establish 
an  order  of  Caciques  in  South  Carolina,  we  know  few 
things  of  the  sort  more  amusing  than  the  coat  of  arms 
which  Randolph  designed  for  Macon  when  he  was  in 
London  in  1830,  and  his  comments  on  it  in  a  letter  to 
Macon : 

"What  you  say,"  he  said,  "about  'public  debt  and  paper 
money  and  taxes  to  support  their  credit'  is  both  pithy  and 
apropos — for  I  have  made  a  coat  of  arms  for  you.  The  Field, 
which  is  Or,  is  divided  by  a  cross;  Argent  in  each  quarter  is  a 
tobacco  plant;  the  Crest  is  a  plant  of  Indian  corn  in  full  bear- 
ing— Motto  'suum  cuique,'  and  over  the  crest — 'Hard  Money.' 
I  had  the  tobacco  topped  to  8  leaves  (4  plants  to  the  lb.),  but 
the  painter  and  engraver  made  the  stalk  of  corn  so  like  a  Cat 
Tail  of  our  marshes,  and  the  tobacco  so  like  thistles  that  I 
cancelled  the  plate  and  ordered  the  tradesman  to  send  me  a 
drawing  of  each  plant  from  a  botanical  work  before  he  put 
the  next  in  hand.  At  first,  I  intended  that  the  Field  should  be 
Gules  emblematical  of  your  red  hand,  but  the  gold  was  preferred 
in  reference  to  both  the  mottoes;  for,  without  hard  money, 
interlopers  will  feed  out  of  our  corn  crib  and  chew  our  tobacco. 
I  wish  they  would  take  only  what  they  can  chew.  I  say  '  our, ' 
as  one  of  us  the  people.  "* 

A  close  friend  of  both  Randolph  and  Garnett  was 
Richard  Stanford,  of  North  Carolina,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  House  from  1797  to  1816.  "Honest  Dick, "Ran- 
dolph sometimes  called  him,  and  he  was  as  sensible  as  he 
was  honest,  though  apparently  somewhat  eccentric. 

"Neither  of  us,  I  believe,"  Garnett  wrote  to  Randolph 
immediately  after  Stanford's  death,  "ever  had  or  shall  have  a 
more  sincere  friend,  both  personally  and  politically,  and  the 
public  never  lost  a  more  faithful,  conscientious  and  zealous 
servant.  His  understanding  was  very  far  above  the  estimate 
commonly  made  of  it;  and  we  might  say  of  him  with  truth 
what  I  have  scarcely  ever  known  a  man  of  whom  the  same 

1  London,  Dec.  8,  1830,  So.  Lit.  Mess.,  Nov.  1856,  pp.  382—385. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  597 

could  be  asserted — that  no  one  ever  continued  so  long  in 
public  life  less  contaminated  by  its  numerous  temptations 
and  corruption.  In  losing  him,  I  literally  feel  as  if  I  had  lost 
a  part  of  myself."1 

During  Stanford's  last  illness  he  was  faithfully  nursed 
by  Randolph's  servant  Jupiter,  until  he  succumbed  to  his 
exhausting  vigils,  and  became  ill  himself.  During  the 
last  night  of  his  friend's  existence,  Randolph  sat  up  with 
him  until  he  died.2  Two  weeks  after  Stanford's  death, 
saddened  by  it  and  the  recent  deaths  or  estrangement  of 
other  persons,  who  had  been  dear  to  him,  Randolph  wrote 
to  Garnett  in  these  terms :  "Indeed,  for  the  last  fortnight 
(it  is  exactly  that  length  of  time  since  his  melancholy  and 
untimely  end)  I  have  been  in  a  state  of  depression  that 
disables  me  from  thinking  of  anything  except  a  sense  of 
unhappiness  which  hangs  heavy  about  my  heart."3 
Stanford  was  one  of  the  friends  who  clung  to  Randolph 
through  all  his  political  vicissitudes,  without  the  slightest 
mutation  of  loyalty.  "In  him,"  Randolph  wrote  to  Dr. 
George  Logan,  "I  lost  the  best  political  friend  that  I  had 
left  on  the  floor  of  Congress.  "4    (a) 

And  Dr.  George  Logan  himself,  who  served  in  the 
Senate  from  1801  to  1807,  was  also  one  of  Randolph's 
friends.  He  was  a  grandson  of  James  Logan,  the  friend 
of  William  Penn  and  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  resided  at 
St  en  ton,  the  home  of  his  ancestor  near  Philadelphia. 
When  Randolph  was  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  winter  of 
1 8 14-18 1 5,  he  more  than  once  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of 
this  historic  home,  and  to  its  master  and  mistress  he  was 
truly  attached.  Once,  when  sending  Ryland  Randolph 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  Dr.  Logan,  he  said:  "You  will 
find  him  and  his  lady  two  of  the  most  amiable  and  well 

1  Apr.  19,  1816,  Theodore  Garnett  MSS. 
*  Garland,  v.  2,  85. 

3  Georgetown,  April  23,  1816,  Theodore  Garnett  MSS. 

4  Georgetown,  Apr.  27,  1816. 


598         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

informed  people  in  the  world.  An  excursion  to  Stenton 
will  be  an  agreeable  relaxation,  as  the  spring  advances.  "J 

And  now  that  we  have  been  deflected  from  Washington 
to  Stenton,  we  might  add  that  Randolph  had  another 
warm  friend  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  person  of  David 
Parish,  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  prominent  citizens 
of  Philadelphia.  "He  is  a  gentleman  of  great  worth  and 
intelligence,"  is  the  judgment  that  he  passed  upon  him 
in  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley. 2  Both  when  Randolph 
stopped  over  in  Philadelphia  on  his  way  to  Morrisania 
in  1 8 14  and  when  he  stopped  over  there  on  his  return  to 
Virginia,  he  was  the  recipient  of  much  hospitable  kindness 
at  the  hands  of  conspicuous  Philadelphians ;  such  as 
Parish,  Dr.  Nathaniel  Chapman,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
and  a  Philadelphia  physician  of  high  repute;  T.  W. 
Francis,  Dr.  Logan  and  others.  Parish  had  a  home  at 
Ogdensburg  on  the  St.  Lawrence  as  well  as  in  Philadelphia, 
and,  on  one  occasion,  Randolph  wrote  to  him  playfully : 
1 '  Save  me  an  island  in  the  St.  Lawrence  of  about  300  acres. 
I  mean  actually  to  take  a  farm  there  and  become  one  of 
your  subjects.  "3  In  the  same  letter,  he  told  Parish  that 
he  would  like  to  know  whether  his  neighbor,  Charles 
Kahn,  had  received  a  few  twists  of  chewing  tobacco  which 
he  had  sent  him  for  a  Mr.  Yard,  and  that  he  hoped  that 
Parish  himself  had  received  his ' '  Virginian  Champagne  " — 
whatever  that  was;  brandy  or  whiskey,  we  shrewdly 
suspect. 

It  was  when  Randolph  was  in  Philadelphia  in  the  win- 
ter of  1814-1815  that  he  had  a  sharp  encounter  with  the 
Abbe  Correa,  the  Portugese  Minister  to  the  United  States, 
who  had  been  so  incautious  at  dinner  as  to  use  language 
which  Randolph  construed  into  a  reflection  upon  Virginia. 
On  this  occasion  Randolph  is  supposed  to  have  been  rather 

1  Georgetown,  Mar.  17,  181 6,  Maine  Hist.  Soc. 

'Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  118. 

3  Washington,  Jan,  23,  1816,  Beverley  D.  Tucker  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  599 

worsted,1  with  the  result  that,  afterwards,  when  he  called 
at  the  house  in  Washington  of  Walsh,  the  newspaper 
editor,  with  whom  Correa  lived,  his  penetrating  voice 
was  heard  in  the  parlor  by  Mrs.  Walsh  saying  to  the 
servant  at  the  door,  "Mind  that  card  is  for  Mr.  Walsh. 
I  do  not  call  on  Ministers  who  board  out.  "2 

It  was  when  Randolph  was  a  guest  of  David  Parish  in 
1815  that  George  Ticknor  met  him  for  the  first  time,  and 
received  the  impressions,  as  much  the  result  of  previous 
prejudice  as  of  actual  knowledge,  which  have  come  down 
to  us  in  these  words : 

"I  dined  today  with  Mr.  Parish  a  banker  and  a  man  of 
fortune.  He  is  a  bachelor  and  lives  in  a  style  of  great  splendor. 
Everything  at  his  table  is  of  silver  and  this  not  for  a  single 
course  or  for  a  few  persons,  but  through  at  least  three  courses 
for  twenty.  The  meat  and  wines  corresponded;  the  servants 
were  in  full  livery  with  epaulets  and  the  dining  room  was 
sumptuously  furnished  and  hung  with  pictures  of  merit.  But 
what  was  more  to  me  than  his  table,  or  his  fortune,  John  Ran- 
dolph is  his  guest  for  some  weeks.  The  instant  I  entered  the 
room  my  eyes  rested  on  his  lean  and  sallow  physiognomy. 
He  was  sitting  and  seemed  hardly  larger  or  taller  than  a  boy 
of  15.  He  rose  to  receive  me  as  I  was  presented  and  towered 
half  a  foot  above  my  own  height.  This  disproportion  arises 
from  the  singular  deformity  of  his  person.  His  head  is  small 
and  until  you  approach  him  near  enough  to  observe  the  pre- 
mature and  unhealthy  wrinkles  that  have  furrowed  his  face, 
you  would  say  that  it  was  boyish,  but  as  your  eye  turns  towards 
his  extremities  everything  seems  to  be  unnaturally  stretched 
and  protracted.  To  his  short  and  meagre  body  are  attached 
long  legs  which  instead  of  diminishing  grow  larger  as  they 
approach  the  floor  until  they  end  in  a  pair  of  feet  broad  and 
large,  giving  his  whole  person  the  appearance  of  a  sort  of 
pyramid.  His  arms  are  the  counterfeit  of  his  legs;  they  rise 
from  small  shoulders  which  seem  hardly  equal  to  the  burden, 

1  The  Centenary  of  the  Wistar  Party,  by  Hampton  L.  Carson,  12. 
3  Life,  etc.,  of  Geo.  Ticknor,  v.  I,  16. 


6oo         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

are  drawn  out  to  a  disproportionate  length  above  the  elbow 
and  to  a  still  greater  length  below;  and  at  last  are  terminated 
by  a  hand  heavy  enough  to  have  given  the  supernatural  blow 
to  William  of  Deloraine,  and  by  fingers  which  might  have 
served  as  a  model  for  those  of  the  Goblin  page.  In  his  phys- 
iognomy there  is  little  to  please  or  satisfy  except  an  eye  which 
glances  on  all  and  rests  on  none.  You  observe,  however,  a 
mixture  of  the  white  man  and  the  Indian,  marks  of  both  being 
apparent.  His  long  straight  hair  is  parted  on  the  top  and  a 
portion  hangs  down  on  each  side,  while  the  rest  is  carelessly 
tied  up  behind  and  flows  down  his  back.  His  voice  is  shrill 
and  effeminate  and  occasionally  broken  by  low  tones  which 
you  hear  from  dwarfs  and  deformed  people.  He  spoke  to  me 
of  the  hospitality  he  had  found  in  Philadelphia  and  of  the 
prospect  of  returning  to  a  comfortless  home  with  a  feeling  that 
brought  me  nearer  to  him  for  the  moment  and  of  the  illness  of 
his  nephew  Tudor  and  the  hopes  that  it  had  blasted  with  a 
tenderness  and  melancholy  which  made  me  think  better  of  his 
heart  than  I  had  before.  At  table  he  talked  little,  but  ate  and 
smoked  a  great  deal."1 

Other  Northern  men,  with  whom  Randolph  was  con- 
nected by  a  tie  of  genuine  friendship  were  John  Langdon, 
of  New  Hampshire,  Josiah  Quincy,  and  Rufus  King. 

Langdon  was  President  of  Marache's  Club,  where  the 
members  of  Randolph's  mess  boarded,  when  Congress 
was  still  sitting  in  Philadelphia;  and  for  him  Randolph 
cherished  a  high  degree  of  respect  and  affection. 

"I  subscribe  to  your  opinion  unequivocally  of  the  North- 
eastern character,"  he  once  wrote  to  Nicholson.  "John 
Langdon  yet  redeems  that  people  in  my  eyes.  There  is  at 
least  one  righteous  man  amongst  them,  and,  did  we  draw  our 
opinions  from  a  knowledge  of  their  yeomanry,  instead  of  that 
wretched  sample  of  priests  and  pettifoggers  who  have  con- 
trived to  wriggle  themselves  to  the  surface,  how  different  might 
be  our  estimate  of  their  worth!"2 

1  Life,  Letters  &  Journals  of  Geo.  Ticknor,  v.  I,  27. 

2  Bizarre,  Nov.  8,  1805,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  601 

Some  15  months  or  so  later,  he  wrote  to  Nicholson: 

1 '  Since  my  last,  I  have  had  letters  from  Bryan  and  the  old 
President  of  Marache's.  They  both  speak  of  you  as  you  could 
wish.  Mr.  Langdon  writes :  '  You  say  that  our  mutual  friend, 
Judge  Nicholson,  is  with  you.  Pray  shake  him  by  the  hand 
for  me.  When  I  think  of  Marache's  Club  (which  I  often  do), 
immediately  are  presented  to  my  view  a  Macon,  a  Nicholson 
and  other  worthy  members,  now  employed  in  our  country's 
service,  and  in  whose  talents  and  integrity  I  have  the  fullest 
confidence.  I  should  have  the  greatest  happiness  in  taking 
you  all  by  the  hand.'  God  bless  the  old  veteran!  If  ever 
nature  formed  an  honest  man,  he  is  one.  "I    (a) 

Nothing  but  the  old  grating  conflict  of  sectional  aims 
and  sympathies  kept  Randolph  and  Quincy  from  being 
the  fastest  of  friends.  The  correspondence  between  them 
and  the  feelings,  which  were  entertained  about  Randolph 
by  Quincy' s  sons,  Edmund  and  Josiah,  make  it  clear  that 
the  two  men  had  a  natural  affinity  for  each  other.  The 
manner,  in  which  they  became  friends,  has  been  narrated 
by  Quincy  in  these  words : 

"I  had  no  predilection  for  John  Randolph,  and  liked  not 
the  idea  of  taking  a  man  so  fickle,  wayward  and  overbearing 
as  a  sort  of  leader.  However,  I  acceded  to  the  policy  of  my 
friends  during  the  first  session,  and  was  true  to  it.  The  first 
struggle  was  to  get  Macon  of  North  Carolina,  one  of  Ran- 
dolph's friends,  into  the  Speaker's  Chair,  which  was  effected 
with  some  difficulty,  to  his  great  joy  and  the  annoyance 
of  the  friends  of  the  Administration.  Macon  immediately 
appointed  Randolph  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means,  for  which  place,  had  Jefferson's  friends  been  successful, 
they  had  selected  Barnabas  Bidwell,  of  Massachuestts.  I 
was  placed  upon  the  same  committee,  which  gave  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  a  personal  acquaintance  with  Randolph,  which  re- 
sulted in  as  much  intimacy  as  was  practicable  between  me 
and   a   Southern   man,    haughty   and   wedded  to   Southern 

1  Georgetown,  Feb.  15,  1807,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


602         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

supremacy,  and  who  made  no  concealment  of  his  want  of 
general  sympathy  for  Northern  men  and  Northern  interests. 
Towards  me  personally,  his  manners  were  polite  in  the  extreme, 
and,  during  our  whole  political  life,  nothing  ever  occurred 
between  us  which  was  not  of  the  most  agreeable  and  friendly 
character.  Our  general  views  concerning  Jefferson  and  his 
party  were,  for  the  most  part,  coincident,  and  in  debate  we 
seldom  came  in  collision.  **" 

Edmund  Quincy  tells  us  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
imagine  two  men  more  dissimilar  in  character  and  opinions 
than  Randolph  and  Quincy  were,  and  that  yet  the  regard 
which  they  entertained  for  each  other  was  a  very  real  one. 2 

In  the  correspondence  between  them,  it  is  clear  enough 
that  Randolph,  though  a  slave-holder  and  an  anti-Feder- 
alist, was  disposed  to  bestow  upon  Quincy  a  measure  of 
cordial  friendship  which  the  latter,  with  his  sectional  and 
partisan  prejudices,  was  unable  altogether  to  reciprocate. 
On  one  occasion,  Mrs.  Quincy  asked  her  husband  how  it 
had  happened  that  Randolph  had  referred,  in  a  highly 
complimentary  manner,  to  the  speeches  delivered  by 
Harmanus  Bleecker  and  James  Emott,  of  New  York,  both 
Federalists,  in  a  debate  in  the  House,  and  yet  had  made 
no  mention  of  his  speech  in  the  same  debate.  Quincy' s 
reply  betrays  some  little  amour  propre. 

"As  to  his  studied  compliments  to  Bleecker  and  Emott, 
and  his  silence  with  regard  to  me,  of  which  [Isaac  P.]  Davis 
spoke,"  he  replied,  "I  never  troubled  myself  to  inquire  the 
reason,  or  noticed  the  fact,  as  I  never  deemed  him  either  the 
dispenser  of  fame  or  the  criterion  of  character.  "3 

Randolph  and  he,  Quincy  further  said,  however,  were 
upon  friendly  and  confidential  terms,  as  far  as  it  was 
possible  to  be  so  with  a  man  so  wayward  and  versatile 

1  Life  of  Josiah  Quincy,  94. 

2  Id.,  266. 
i  Id.,  304. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  603 

in  his  friendships  and  enmities  as  he  had  shown  himself. 
Nor  did  Quincy  fail  to  say  that  he  had  seen  no  evidence 
of  any  disposition  on  the  part  of  Randolph  not  to  do 
justice  to  him.  If  there  was  any,  he  was  inclined  to  think 
that  it  was  due  to  the  fact  that,  next  to  the  name  of 
Timothy  Pickering,  his  name  was  the  most  obnoxious  to 
the  Southern  States.  There  was  really  no  reason  why 
this  letter  should  have  been  colored  by  pique,  for,  in  a 
second  letter  to  his  wife,  Quincy,  in  touching  upon  the 
idea  which  she  had  formed  that  Randolph  was  inclined 
to  be  unjust  to  him,  stated  that  he  had  said  to  Randolph 
the  day  before:  " Randolph,  have  you  any  news  from 
Virginia?";  that  Randolph  had  replied:  "Yes!"  very 
significantly,  and  had  put  into  his  hands  a  letter  from  a 
Mr.  Leigh,  a  gentleman  of  distinction  there,  who,  in 
acknowledging  the  receipt  of  a  speech  by  Quincy  from 
Randolph,  had  expressed  himself  upon  it  in  a  style  very 
far  too  nattering  for  him  to  repeat;  and  that  Randolph 
had  evidently  seemed  gratified,  although  he  did  not  say 
a  word  except,  M  That  man's  opinion  is  worth  something, 
Quincy."1 

But  it  was  the  kind  attentions  paid  by  Quincy  to 
Tudor,  when  Tudor  was  at  Cambridge,  that  implanted  in 
Randolph's  breast  a  sentiment  of  lasting  friendship  for 
him.  Not  only  did  Quincy  take  Tudor  on  from  Wash- 
ington to  Cambridge,  when  the  young  man  became  a 
matriculate  of  that  institution,  but  he  secured  for  him  the 
privilege  of  living  in  the  home,  and  under  the  immediate 
eye,  of  President  Kirkland. 2  He  even  undertook  to  keep 
up  an  oversight  of  Tudor' s  pecuniary  outlays — a  task 
which  proved  by  no  means  a  sinecure;  for  while  the  boy 
was  not  irregular  in  his  habits,  and  soon  acquired  the 
reputation  of  being  a  brilliant  student,  he  was  somewhat 
profuser  in  his  expenditures,  especially   in  the  gratifi- 

1  Life  of  Quincy,  304. 

2  Id.,  267. 


604         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

cation  of  what  Joseph  Bryan  called  the  love  for  the 
smack  of  the  whip,  than  his  circumstances  really  war- 
ranted. ' 

Quincy  has  been  the  means  of  preserving  for  us  some 
of  the  phrases  in  which  Randolph  had  such  a  happy  way 
of  hitting  off  his  ideas,  however  intemperate.  Freedom 
of  commerce  and  navigation  was  never  advocated  in 
more  sweeping  terms  than  it  was  by  Randolph,  if  what 
Jacob  Lewis  told  Quincy  at  a  dinner  party  in  New  York 
about  a  conversation  that  had  taken  place  between  Ran- 
dolph and  one  of  the  Departmental  Heads  at  Washington 
is  to  be  believed : 

"He  who  carries  away  the  produce  of  my  plantation," 
declared  Randolph,  "is  like  him  who  blacks  my  shoes;  so  long 
as  he  does  it  in  the  best  manner,  and  at  the  cheapest  rate,  I 
employ  him ;  but,  if  another  will  do  either  upon  more  advan- 
tageous terms,  be  he  foreigner  or  native,  the  other  must  and 
ought  to  lose  his  employment.  "2 

Our  thanks  are  also  due  to  Quincy  for  bringing  to  our 
knowledge  what  was  thought  of  Randolph  by  Sir  Augustus 
Foster,  the  British  Minister  at  Washington  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  War  of  1812. 

"This,  however,  I  will  tell  you, "  Sir  Augustus  observed  in  a 
letter  which  he  wrote  to  Quincy  some  six  years  after  Ran- 
dolph's death.  "That  I  have  a  foible  for  your  division  of  the 
country  of  Transatlantidis ;  that  is,  for  New  England,  which 
I  look  upon  as  nearly  as  much  superior  to  the  districts  south 
of  the  Susquehanna  as  old  England  is  to  Hungary  or  Sicily. 
Randolph  once  told  me  that  slaves  were  necessary  to  form  a 
gentleman;  but  Randolph  knew  little  of  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts,  and  would  have  made  an  excellent  Russian 
nobleman."3 

1  Life  of  Quincy,  342. 

■  Id.,  76. 

3  Turin,  July  18,  1839,  Id.,  462. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  605 

When  Quincy  read  these  words,  he  doubtless  did  not 
forget  those  other  words  which  Randolph  had  written  to 
him  a  year  or  so  after  Sir  Augustus  had  shaken  the  dust 
of  Transatlantidis  from  his  feet,  and  gone  back  to  Eng- 
land: "The  curse  of  slavery,  however, — an  evil  daily 
magnifying,  great  as  it  already  is — embitters  many  a 
moment  of  the  Virginian  landholder  who  is  not  duller 
than  the  clod  beneath  his  feet. "x 

And,  if  he  had  ever  heard  what  Randolph  had  said  of 
Sir  Augustus  in  a  letter  to  Rufus  King,  we  may  be  sure 
that  he  had  not  forgotten  that.  "It  seems  to  me, "  said 
Randolph,  "that  the  various  administrations  of  the  British 
Government  fell  into  the  error  of  supposing  that  narrow 
instructions  would  cure  the  defect  of  narrow  understand- 
ings when  they  sent  us  such  men  as  Merry  and  Erskine 
and  Foster,  who,  although  a  good  fellow,  was  no  Solomon, 
you  know."2 

In  the  correspondence  between  Sir  Augustus  and  Quincy 
we  also  find  a  very  extraordinary  tribute  to  the  singular 
influence  exerted  in  the  House  by  Randolph's  peculiar 
methods  of  parliamentary  warfare,  which  would  have 
still  more  interest  for  us,  if  it  had  been  accompanied  by 
just  a  little  fuller  recognition  of  the  fact  that  to  Quincy, 
at  any  rate,  Randolph's  relations  were  always  those  of 
heartfelt  and  sincere  respect,  and,  so  far  as  the  mutual 
repulsions  of  their  several  environments  would  permit, 
of  affection : 

"  Poor  Randolph !  America  could  well  have  spared  a  better 
man.  In  a  highly  civilized  state  of  society,  and  possessing  a 
cultivated  intellect,  he  had  the  temper  and  spirit  of  his  savage 
ancestress,  Pocahontas.  His  tomahawk  was  continually  in 
his  hand,  and  his  scalping-knife  ever  hung  at  his  side.  His 
warfare  was  never  of  the  regular,  but  always  of  the  partisan, 
character.     Enemies  he  could  not  destroy  he  never  failed  to 

1  Richm.,  Mar.  22,  18 14,  Life  of  Quincy,  350. 

2  Roanoke,  Nov.  5,  1818,  Life,  etc.,  of  Rufus  King,  by  King,  v.  1, 167-168. 


606         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

cripple.  Those  he  could  not  conquer,  he  was  apt  to  leave 
skinned  alive.  Before  his  death,  his  eccentricities  had  become 
so  great  that  he  was  thought  by  many  to  be  deranged.  But 
peace  to  his  ashes. "  * 

In  addition  to  the  letters  written  by  Randolph  to 
Quincy  on  political  topics,  from  which  we  have  made  free 
extracts  in  a  preceding  chapter,  there  are  two  others  of  a 
different  character,  which  we  do  not  feel  that  we  can  pass 
over  or  even  abridge,  except  slightly.  The  second  of  the 
two  letters  is  the  last  that  Quincy  ever  received  from 
Randolph,  and  we  agree  with  Edmund  Quincy  in  thinking 
that  its  liveliness,  wit  and  pathos  make  it  a  fit  conclusion 
of  their  correspondence: 

(i) 

"It  would  require  an  essay  to  answer  your  inquiries;  how- 
ever, I  will  try  what  can  be  done  within  the  compass  of  a  letter. 
Before  the  Revolution,  the  lower  country  of  Virginia,  pierced 
for  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  the  seaboard  by  numerous 
bold  and  navigable  rivers,  was  inhabited  by  a  race  of  planters 
of  English  descent,  who  dwelt  on  their  principal  estates  on  the 
borders  of  these  noble  streams.  The  proprietors  were  gener- 
ally well  educated, — some  of  them  at  the  best  schools  of  the 
mother  country;  the  rest  at  William  and  Mary,  then  a  semi- 
nary of  learning  under  able  classical  masters.  Their  habita- 
tions and  establishments,  for  the  most  part  spacious  and 
costly,  in  some  instances  displayed  taste  and  elegance.  They 
were  the  seats  of  hospitality.  The  possessors  were  gentlemen ; 
better-bred  men  were  not  to  be  found  in  the  British  dominions. 
As  yet  party  spirit  was  not.  This  fruitful  source  of  mischief 
had  not  then  poisoned  society.  Every  door  was  open  to  those 
who  maintained  the  appearance  of  gentlemen.  Each  planter 
might  be  said,  almost  without  exaggeration,  to  have  a  harbor 
at  his  door.  Here  he  shipped  his  crop  (tobacco),  mostly  on 
his  own  account,  to  London,  Bristol,  or  Glasgow,  and  from 
those  ports  received  every  article  of  luxury  or  necessity  (not 
raised  by  himself)  which  his  household  and  even  his  distant 

1  Life  of  Quincy,  459. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  607 

quarters  required.  For  these,  a  regular  order  was  made  out 
twice  a  year.  You  may  guess  at  the  state  of  things  when  a 
bill  of  exchange  on  London  for  half  a  crown  was  sometimes 
drawn  to  pay  for  a  dinner  at  the  ordinary.  Did  a  lady  want  a 
jewel  new-set,  or  a  gentleman  his  watch  cleaned,  the  trinket 
was  sent  home.  Even  now  the  old  folks  talk  of  '  going  home  to 
England. ' 

"Free  living,  the  war,  docking  entails  (by  one  sweeping  act 
of  Assembly),  but  chiefly  the  statute  of  distributions,  under- 
mined these  old  establishments.  Bad  agriculture,  too,  con- 
tributed its  share.  The  soil  of  the  country  in  question,  except 
on  the  margin  of  the  rivers,  where  it  was  excellent,  is  (originally) 
a  light,  generous  loam  upon  a  sand;  once  exhausted,  it  is  dead. 
Rice  never  constituted  an  object  of  culture  with  us.  The 
tide  swamps — a  mine  of  wealth  in  South  Carolina — here  pro- 
duce only  miasma.  You  will  find  some  good  thoughts  on  this 
head,  and  on  the  decay  of  our  agriculture  generally  in  our 
friend  J.  T.'s  (John  Taylor,  of  Caroline)  whimsical,  but 
sensible,  work,  Arator. 

"Unlike  you,  we  had  a  church  to  pull  down,  and  its  destruc- 
tion contributed  to  swell  the  general  ruin.  The  temples  of 
the  living  God  were  abandoned,  the  glebe  sold,  the  University 
pillaged.  The  old  mansions,  where  they  have  been  spared  by 
fire  (the  consequence  of  the  poverty  and  carelessness  of  their 
present  tenants),  are  fast  falling  to  decay;  the  families,  with  a 
few  exceptions,  dispersed  from  St.  Mary's  to  St.  Louis;  such 
as  remain  here  sunk  into  obscurity.  They,  whose  fathers  rode 
in  coaches,  and  drank  the  choicest  wines  now  ride  on  saddle- 
bags, and  drink  grog,  when  they  can  get  it.  What  enterprise 
or  capital  there  was  in  the  country  retired  westward;  and,  in 
casting  your  eyes  over  the  map  of  Virginia,  you  must  look 
between  the  North  Mountain  and  a  line  drawn  through  Peters- 
burg, Richmond  and  Alexandria  for  the  population  and  wealth 
of  the  State.  The  western  district  is  almost  a  wilderness. 
The  eastern  tract,  from  the  falls  of  the  great  rivers  to  the 
shore  of  the  Chesapeake, — the  region  above  all  others  in 
United  America  the  best  adapted  for  commerce — becomes 
yearly  more  deserted.  Deer  and  wild  turkeys  are  nowhere 
so  plentiful  in  Kentucky  as  near  Williamsburg.     I  say,  'the 


608         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

shore  of  the  Chesapeake, '  because  our  Eastern  Shore  (the  two 
counties  that  lie  beyond  that  bay)  must  be  excluded  from  this 
description.  There,  the  old  Virginian  character  is  yet  (I  am 
told)  to  be  found  in  its  greatest  purity;  although  before  the 
Revolution  it  was  a  poor,  despised  region.  Here  are.  the 
descendants  of  those  men  who  gave  an  asylum  to  Sir  W.  Berk- 
eley during  Bacon's  rebellion.  The  land,  although  thin,  bears 
a  good  price,  and  is  inhabited  by  a  hospitable,  unmixed  people. 
On  this,  the  western  shore,  land  within  two  hours'  sail  of  Nor- 
folk may  be  bought  for  one-half  the  money  which  the  same 
quality  would  command  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
tide-water.  The  present  just,  necessary,  and  glorious  war  has 
not,  as  you  may  suppose,  served  to  enhance  its  price.  Per- 
haps, after  all,  you  may  say  that  I  reassert  a  fact,  when  asked 
for  the  cause.  The  country  is  certainly  unhealthy;  more  so 
than  formerly;  but' this  is  only  one  of  the  causes  of  its  depopu- 
lation. Bears  and  panthers  have  within  a  few  years  made 
their  appearance  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Dragon  and 
Dismal  Swamps. 

"You  are  once  more  enjoying  the  'uda  mobilibus  pomaria 
rivis'  of  Quincy.  When  you  count  over  the  olentis  uxores 
mariti  (if  the  dignity  of  a  merino  will  brook  such  an  epithet), 
and  reckon  your  lambs  before  yeaning,  you  are  not  likely  to 
be  interrupted  by  any  unpleasant  Transatlantic  recollections. 
Do  you  know  that  you  have  written  a  letter  of  three  pages 
without  a  syllable  on  the  subject  of  'Foreign  Relations'? 
This  bespeaks  the  quiet  of  the  heart  within.  You  and  I,  whom 
the  delators  of  the  post-office  are  ready  to  swear  they  have 
detected  in  carrying  on  a  treasonable  correspondence,  to  be 
writing  about  'old  times'  that  'are  changed' — 'old  manners 
gone' — tobacco  and  wool!  .  .  .  The  smaller  critics  would 
perhaps  remind  me  that  Horace's  flock  were  of  the  hairy,  or 
no-wool  breed,  and  that  they  must  have  been  goats.  But  that 
is  by  no  means  a  necessary  consequence.  Did  not  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son import  sheep  without  wool  (sent  him,  I  presume,  by  some 
brother  savant  of  the  Academy  of  Lagado),  and  does  Captain 
Lemuel  Gulliver  give  us  any  reason  to  doubt  that  in  point  of 
antiquity  that  illustrious  people  nourished  long  before  the 
age  of  Augustus?     This  valuable  breed  of  sheep,  although 


Randolph  as  a  Man  609 

destitute  of  wool,  had  a  double  allowance  of  horns, — there 
being  four  to  each  head,  two  of  them  projecting  like  the  fabled 
unicorn's.  With  these  the  ram  actually  tore  out  the  entrails 
of  a  poor  child  in  Washington,  and  killed  it.  (See  Mai  thus 
on  Population.)  There  is  an  apparent  levity  in  this  letter 
which  is  foreign  to  my  real  temper,  at  this  moment  especially. 
I  do  but  mock  myself.  '  It  may  deceive  all  hearts  save  that 
within. '  If  you  see  Tudor,  tell  him  his  brother  is  better,  much 
better."1 

(2) 

"Your  letter  was  'right  welcome  unto  me,'  as  my  favorite 
old  English  writers  say  or  sing,  but  much  more  welcome  was 
the  bearer  of  it.  Son  of  yours,  even  with  far  less  claims  from 
his  own  merit  than  this  gentleman  obviously  possesses,  shall 
never  be  shown  the  'cauld  shoulther.'  I  hope  that  you'll 
pardon  my  using  the  Waverley  tongue,  which  I  must  fear  bodes 
no  good  to  the  good  old  English  aforesaid,  and  which  I  shall 
therefore  leave  to  them  that  like  it, — which  I  do  not,  out  of 
its  place, — and  not  always  there.  In  short,  I  have  not  catched 
the  literary  'Scotch  fiddle,'  and,  in  despite  of  Dr.  Blair,  do 
continue  to  believe  that  Swift  and  Addison  understood  their 
own  mother  tongue  as  well  as  any  Sawney,  'benorth  tha' 
Tweed.'  Nay,  further,  not  having  the  fear  of  the  Edinburgh 
Reviewers  before  my  eyes,  I  do  not  esteem  Sir  Walter  to  be  a 
poet,  or  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chalmers  a  pulpit  orator.  But,  as  I  do 
not  admire  Mr.  Kean,  I  fear  that  my  reputation  for  taste 
is,  like  my  earthly  tabernacle,  in  a  hopeless  state. 

"The  fuss  made  about  that  mountebank,  who  is  the  very 
fellow,  although  not  'periwig-pated,'  that  Shakespeare  de- 
scribes, has,  I  confess,  disgusted  me  not  a  little.  What  are  we 
made  of  to  take  sides  in  the  factions  of  the  circus  (green  or 
blue),  and  to  doat  upon  the  professions  of  'feeling'  and  'senti- 
ment' and  ' broken-heart edness'  from  the  lips  or  pen  of  a 
fellow  whose  vocation  it  is  to  deal  in  those  commodities, — who 
has  a  stock  of  them  in  his  travelling  pack,  like  an  Irish  fortune- 
hunter  on  a  visit  to  a  'young  ladies'  seminary'  of  learning, 

1  Roanoke,  Va.,  July  I,  1814,  Life  of  Quincy,  353. 
vol.  11 — 39 


610         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

anything  but  good?  For  my  part,  like  Burchell  in  the  Vicar 
of  Wakefield,  I  say  nothing  but  cry,  'Fudge!' 

"By  the  common  law,  stage-players  come  under  the  descrip- 
tion and  penalties  of  vagrants  and  sturdy  beggars.  To  be 
sure,  Shakespeare  was  on  the  stage,  and  Garrick  and  Siddons 
and  Kemble  were  stage-players;  but,  you  know,  exceptio  probat 
regulam. 

"  I  did  not  (when  I  began)  intend  to  have  turned  the  page, 
but  must  do  it  to  say  that  the  stage  comes  emphatically  under 
Lord  Byron's  sweeping  ban  and  anathema  against  the  world,  as 

'One  wide  den  of  thieves,  or — what  you  will.' 

"My  right  hand  has  forgot  its  cunning.  With  great  respect 
and  every  good  wish  to  you  and  yours,  I  am,  dear  sir,  your 
obedient  servant,  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke." 

"P.S.  I  often  think  on  Aula1  Lang  Syne  (more  Scotch). 
Though  'seas  between  us  broad  have  rolled'  since  those  days,  I 
have  a  perfect  recollection  of  most  of  them.  I  can  see  you 
now  just  as  you  were  when  a  certain  great  man  that  now  is  was 
beginning  to  be ;  but  why  revive  what  is  better  forgot  ?  One 
thing,  however,  I  will  revive  (what  I  shall  never  forget),  your 
kindness  to  my  poor  boy, — 'the  last  of  the  family' — for  I  am 
nothing;  it  will  soon  be  utterly  extinct.  He  lies  in  Chelten- 
ham graveyard.  I  bought  the  ground.  I  need  not  say  that  it 
was  my  first  pilgrimage  in  England.  As  you  go  from  the  Town 
to  the  Spring,  he  lies  on  the  right  hand  ...  of  the  pathway 
through  the  churchyard,  leaving  the  church  on  your  left."1 

Strange  as  the  fact  may  seem,  Randolph  not  only 
acquired  a  friendly  footing  with  Quincy,  but  even  with 
such  a  rabid  Federalist  as  Timothy  Pickering.  In  one  of 
his  letters  to  his  wife,  written  about  the  time  of  the  Com- 
pensation Bill,  Pickering  said:  ''Mr.  Randolph  is  the 
most  uncommon  man  I  ever  knew.  He  has  learning, 
sagacity,  and  a  vivid  imagination,  with  an  extraordinary 
memory."     Notwithstanding  his  discursiveness,  he  was 

1  Washington,  Feb.  20,  1826,  Life  of  Quincy,  421. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  6n 

listened  to  with  attention,  Pickering  further  said,  "because 
there  are  some  profound  thoughts,  some  biting  satire, 
and  some  strokes  of  humor  throughout  his  discourses."1 
So  truly  cordial  did  the  intercourse  between  Pickering 
and  Randolph  become  that  Pickering  presented  Randolph 
with  a  proof  impression  of  his  profile  drawn  by  Saint 
Memin,  and  a  copy  of  an  engraving  of  his  portrait  which 
had  just  been  taken  in  New  York  by  Waldo,  and  received 
in  turn  from  Randolph  the  last  copy  that  he  had  of  an 
engraving  which  had  been  taken  of  his  miniature 
painted  by  Wood  in  1809. 2  Far  more  valuable,  doubt- 
less, to  Pickering  than  his  gift  was  the  tribute  paid  to 
him  by  Randolph  in  a  speech  delivered  in  the  House  on 
Jan.  30,  1817: 

"No  man  in  the  United  States,"  Randolph  said,  "has  been 
more  misunderstood,  no  man  more  reviled,  and  that  is  a  bold 
declaration  for  me  to  make,  than  Alexander  Hamilton,  unless, 
perhaps,  my  friend,  the  venerable  member  from  Massachusetts, 
who  generally  sits  in  that  seat  (pointing  to  the  seat  generally 
occupied  by  Colonel  Pickering),  and  whom,  whatever  may  be 
said  of  him,  all  will  allow  to  be  an  honest  man.  The  other  day, 
when  on  the  compensation  question,  he  was  speaking  of  his 
own  situation,  when  his  voice  faltered  and  his  eyes  filled  at  the 
mention  of  his  own  poverty,  I  thought  I  would  have  given  the 
treasures  of  Dives  himself  for  his  feelings  at  that  moment ;  for 
his  poverty,  Mr.  Speaker,  was  not  the  consequence  of  idleness, 
extravagance  or  luxury,  nor  of  the  gambling  spirit  of  specu- 
lation. It  was  honorable  poverty  after  a  life  spent  in  a 
laborious  service,  and  in  the  highest  offices  of  trust  under 
Government,  during  the  war  of  Independence  as  well  as  under 
the  present  constitution.  Sir,  I  have  not  much,  although  it 
would  be  grave  affectation  in  me  to  plead  poverty;  whatever 
I  have,  such  as  it  is,  I  would  freely  give  to  the  venerable  gentle- 
man, if  he  will  accept  it,  to  have  it  said  over  my  grave,  as  it 
may  be  said  with  truth  over  his,  'Here  lies  the  man  who  was 

1  Sketch  of  Randolph  by  Mrs.  Donaldson,  Mrs.  Norman  James  MSS. 
'Ibid. 


612         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

favored  with  the  confidence  of  Washington  and  the  enmity  of 
his  successor."1  (a) 

It  is  not  easy  to  speak  of  Quincy  in  connection  with 
Randolph  without  also  speaking  of  Harmanus  Bleecker, 
who  served  in  the  House  from  1811  to  1813,  and  was 
appointed  by  Van  Buren  in  1839  Charge  d' Affaires  at  the 
Hague,  where,  when  he  was  first  presented  at  Court,  his 
Dutch,  derived  from  the  classic  models  of  Dutch  Litera- 
ture, won  this  remarkable  compliment  from  the  King  of 
Holland:  "Sir,  you  speak  better  Dutch  than  we  do  in 
Holland."2  After  Bleecker  and  Quincy  were  thrown 
together  in  the  House,  they  became  intimate  friends,  and 
to  such  a  degree  was  the  good  opinion,  in  which  Bleecker 
was  held  by  Quincy,  shared  by  Randolph  that,  on  one 
occasion,  the  latter  wrote  to  Quincy:  "  Bleecker  is,  indeed, 
all  that  you  say  of  him  and  more."2'  Many  letters  passed 
between  Randolph  and  Bleecker,  a  considerable  number 
of  which  we  have  reason  to  believe  are  still  in  existence, 
but,  after  the  most  diligent  inquiry,  we  have  been  unable 
to  obtain  access  to  them.  A  portrait  of  Randolph,  pre- 
sented by  Bleecker  to  the  State  of  Virginia,  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive  of  all  the  portraits  that  were  ever  taken 
of  him. 

And,  before  leaving  the  State  of  New  York,  we  should 
also  mention  the  fact  that  for  few  men  in  public  life  did 
Randolph  cherish  a  profounder  respect,  or  a  more  cordial 
regard,  than  he  did  for  Rufus  King.  He  spent  the  evening 
with  King  at  Jamaica,  on  Long  Island,  after  the  famous 
race  between  Eclipse  and  Henry,  and  his  favorable  opinion 
of  him  was  so  much  strengthened  by  this  incident  that, 
in  referring  to  the  debates  on  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
in  which  King  had  won  such  conspicuous  distinction,  he 

1  Sketch  of  Randolph. 

2  Life  of  Quincy,  306;  Lanman's  Diet,  of  Congress,  42 

3  Richm.,  Dec.  II,  1813,  Life  of  Quincy,  341. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  613 

said:  "Ah,  sir!  only  for  that  unfortunate  vote  on  the 
Missouri  Question,  he  would  be  our  man  for  the  Presi- 
dency. He  is,  Sir,  a  genuine  English  gentleman  of  the 
old  school,  just  the  right  man  for  these  degenerate  times; 
but,  alas!  it  cannot  be."1  In  Washington,  King  and 
Randolph  were  often  the  recipients  of  social  civilities  at 
each  other's  hands;  and,  at  Randolph's  request,  King 
seems  to  have  had  his  portrait  painted  by  Wood  for  Ran- 
dolph. The  letter,  written  by  Randolph  to  King  on  this 
subject,  is  a  good  example  of  the  profound  deference  with 
which  King,  who  was  a  much  older  man  than  Randolph, 
was  always  treated  by  him,  both  because  of  the  difference 
in  their  ages  and  because  of  the  admiration  which  Ran- 
dolph entertained  for  his  character  and  abilities : 

"  If  my  memory  does  not  deceive  me,"  Randolph  said,  "you 
made  me  a  sort  of  promise  last  winter  to  give  Mr.  Wood  a 
sitting  for  me.  Will  you  pardon  the  reminding  you  of  this 
engagement  by  one  who  is  too  sensible  of  the  kindness  he  re- 
ceived from  you  not  to  wish  for  a  memorial  of  him  by  whom  it 
was  shown.  Your  portrait  will  make  a  most  suitable  compan- 
ion for  that  of  the  Chief  Justice,  who  was  good  enough  to  sit 
for  me ;  and  I  mention  this  to  show  you  that  you  will  not  be  in 
company  that  should  disgrace  you. 

' '  On  public  affairs  I  dare  not  touch  lest  I  should  subject 
myself  to  the  imputation  cast  on  the  coxcomb  who  presumed  to 
address  Hannibal  on  the  art  of  war. 

"Wishing  you  an  agreeable  session  of  Congress,  I  am,  with 
the  most  profound  respect,  dear  sir,  your  obliged  and  obedient 
servant,  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke."2 

In  another  letter,  Randolph  asked  King  to  order  a  lot 
of  apple,  peach,  pear,  plum,  cherry,  nectarine  and  apricot 
trees  for  him  from  two  nurserymen  in  King's  neighbor- 
hood, named  Prince;  and  also  some  rare  evergreens.    This 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  43. 

4  Roanoke,  Dec.  8,  181 7,  Life  of  Rufus  King,  by  King,  v.  1,  83. 


614         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

is  all  commonplace  enough,  but  when  was  such  a  simple 
request  ever  more  gracefully  introduced : 

"My  letters,"  he  said, '"although  they  have  been  neither 
prolix  nor  numerous,  may  perhaps  remind  you  of  the  parody 
humorously  ascribed  to  Lord  Mount  Morris,  in  the  once 
famous  probationary  Ode  of  the  Rolliad.  Our  intercourse  has 
been,  indeed,  on  terms  of  'Hibernian  reciprocity.'  A  favor  is 
asked,  and  not  only  graciously  accorded,  but  enhanced  by  the 
very  valuable  information,  which  it  is  kindly  as  well  as  oblig- 
ingly made  the  occasion  of  communicating  to  one  no  longer  in 
the  world,  or  connected  with  affairs,  or  with  public  men,  (even 
by  relations  of  hostility).  But  you,  my  dear  Sir,  have  too  long 
and  deep  experience  of  man  and  his  nature  not  to  know  that 
this  is  the  very  way  in  which  a  'pauvre  honteux'  may  be  con- 
verted into  a  sturdy  beggar.  To  release  you  however  from 
my  importunity,  let  me  cut  short  my  tale."1 

The  fruit  trees  produced  some  palatable  fruit  for  us  too 
in  the  form  of  another  letter  from  Randolph  to  King,  in 
which  they  are  mentioned : 

"On  my  return  home,  a  few  days  ago  from  the  falls  of  the 
Roanoke,"  Randolph  said,  "I  was  most  agreeably  saluted  by 
your  letter  of  the  20th  of  October,  which  arrived  a  few  minutes 
before  me.  The  desire  to  thank  you  for  it,  to  express  some- 
what of  my  sense  of  your  kindness  (I  can  find  no  other  word), 
and  to  keep  myself  alive  in  the  memory  of  one,  who  has  dis- 
tinguished me  by  attentions  that  I  can  never  forget,  dictate 
this  reply;  for  I  can  readily  conceive,  having  in  such  matters 
'some  shallow  spirit  of  judgment,'  that,  immersed  as  you  are  in 
affairs,  you  could  most  readily  dispense  with  letters  of  compli- 
ment, written  sometimes  out  of  mere  idleness,  but  oftener  from 
sheer  vanity;  as  silly  people  pester  great  folks  with  cards, 
taking  care  to  make  a  prompt  display  of  such  as  they  may 
receive  from  the  aforesaid  great  folks,  and  with  equal  care 
keeping  out  of  sight  the  names  of  humbler  visitors.  But, 
indeed,  I  do  myself  injustice  to  term  mine  letters  of  compli- 

1  Roanoke,  Sep.  26,  1818,  Life,  etc.,  of  Rufus  King,  by  King,  v.  1, 164-165. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  615 

ment.  They  are  something  better  in  design,  altho'  they  may 
be  worse  in  execution. 

"I  have  ofttimes  thought  it  a  weakness  in  Government  to 
restrain  their  envoys  &c.  within  such  narrow  limits  as  their 
instructions  commonly  afford.  Sure  I  am  that,  in  private  life, 
this  mode  of  management  will  not  do.  If  they  would  be  more 
particular  in  selecting  the  agent,  and  less  so  in  drawing  the 
instructions,  I  am  inclined  to  think  matters  would  go  on  better. 
This  jealousy  must  arise  from  a  fear  that  the  foreign  court  will 
gain  over  the  Minister,  or  from  that  ridiculous  passion  'for  too 
much  regulation',  against  which  a  certain  acquaintance  of  ours 
declaims  in  his  writings,  whilst  his  practice  affords  only  ex- 
amples to  the  contrary.  It  is  the  misfortune  of  this  'illustrious 
man'  that  his  public  conduct  should  invariably  run  counter  to 
his  avowed  principles.  This  itch  for  regulating  everything, 
this  passion  for  details  is  one  of  those  weaknesses,  from  which 
great  minds  are  not  always  exempt,  in  which  little  ones  can 
always  imitate  them.  The  great  Frederic  was  not  entirely  free 
from  this  infirmity;  and  I  have  been  sometimes  led  to  think 
that  [when]  Paul  of  Russia  was  regulating  knee-buckles  and 
shoe-ties,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  every  detail  of  the  streets  and 
public  buildings  at  Washington,  from  the  ornaments  of  the 
Senate  Chamber  to  the  cells  in  the  county  jail,  each  flattered 
himself  that  he  was  walking  in  the  footsteps  of  Frederic, 
because  that  wise  man  chose  occasionally  to  play  the  fool.  .  .  . 

"After  this  tirade  on  the  subject  of  instructions,  give  me 
leave  to  say  that  I  should  not  have  presumed  to  fetter  Mr. 
King  with  any;  neither  did  I  intend  it,  for  I  thought  the 
Princes,  whose  rival  advertisements  have  stared  me  in  the  face 
this  twelve  month,  were  your  only  nursery-men,  &c.  ...  It 
gives  me  great  satisfaction  to  hear  that  Mrs.  King's  health  will 
enable  her  to  accompany  you  to  Washington ;  where,  after  all, 
I  suspect,  is  the  best  winter  society  on  this  continent.  I  wish 
you  both  a  pleasant  season  and  should  be  pleased  to  enjoy 
the  pleasure  of  joining  some  of  your  parties  this  winter;  but  I 
have  been  gadding  abroad  all  Autumn  and  must  look,  or 
pretend  to  look,  a  little  at  affairs  at  home. 

"On  my  excursion  to  the  falls  of  Roanoke,  I  fell  in  with 
Macon,  whom  you  will  shortly  see.     His  conversation  put  me 


616         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

in  mind  of  public  measures  which  had  long  since  gone  out  of  my 
mind,  but  I  did  not  pick  up  enough  from  him  to  enable  me  to 
add  a  line  upon  their  subject ;  under  such  circumstances,  I  am 
not  without  hope  of  obtaining  a  draught  from  the  fountain- 
head. 

"Your  faithful,  humble  servant,  John  Randolph  of 
Roanoke."1 

Of  Randolph's  relations  to  his  kinsman,  Chief  Justice 
Marshall,  with  whose  portrait  he  wished  the  portrait  of 
King  to  be  mated,  we  have  already  said  nearly  all  that 
need  be  said.  The  fall  of  the  mighty  welding  hammer, 
that  the  Chief  Justice  brought  down  from  time  to  time  so 
sagaciously  and  fearlessly  upon  the  loose  joints  of  the 
National  Government,  and  his  provincial  vernacular 
occasionally  jarred  for  a  moment  upon  Randolph's  nerves, 
but,  throughout  his  life,  on  the  whole,  even  his  most  way- 
ward and  intolerant  impulses  were  held  completely  captive 
by  the  powerful  mind,  the  kind  heart,  and  the  native 
simplicity  of  Marshall ;  and  it  may  well  be  regretted  that, 
Marshall  left  behind  him,  we  believe,  no  oral  or  written 
word  lastingly  to  authenticate  the  cordial  regard  for  Ran- 
dolph which  his  conduct  never  failed  to  exhibit  whenever 
there  was  any  reason  for  its  manifestation.  In  one  of 
Randolph's  letters  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  the  names  of 
John  Marshall  and  Alexander  Hamilton  are  coupled  in 
such  a  way  as  to  afford  another  proof  of  the  fact  that 
Randolph  gave  to  ability  its  just  due,  no  matter  how 
partisan  the  medium  through  which  he  had  to  examine  it. 

"I  cannot  believe  it  possible,"  he  said,  "that  the  Ch.  J.  can 
vote  for  the  present  incumbent.  To  say  nothing  of  his 
denunciation  of  all  the  most  respectable  federalists,  the 
implacable  hatred  and  persecution  of  this  man  and  his  father 
of  the  memory  of  Alexander  Hamilton  (the  best  and  ablest  man 
of  his  party,  who  basely  abandoned  him  for  old  Adams'  loaves 

1  Roanoke,  Nov.  5,  1818,  Id.,  v.  6,  167,  168. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  617 

and  fishes) ,  would,  I  suppose  be  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  the 
C.  J.'s  support  of  the  younger  A.  When  I  say  the  best  and 
ablest  of  his  party,  I  must  except  the  Ch.  J.  himself,  who  sur- 
passed H.  in  moral  worth,  and,  although  not  his  equal  as  a 
statesman,  in  point  of  capacity  is  second  to  none.  Hamilton 
has  stood  very  high  in  my  estimation  ever  since  the  contest 
between  Burr  and  Jefferson ;  and  I  do  not  envy  a  certain  Ex-P. 
or  your  predecessor,  the  glory  of  watching  his  stolen  visits  to  a 
courtezan,  and  disturbing  the  peace  of  his  family  by  their 
information.  I  have  a  fellow-feeling  with  H.  He  was  the 
victim  of  rancorous  enemies,  who  always  prevail  over  luke- 
warm friends.  He  died  because  he  preferred  death  to  the 
slightest  shade  of  imputation  or  disgrace.  He  was  not  suited 
to  the  country,  or  the  times;  and,  if  he  lived  now,  might  be 
admired  by  a  few,  but  would  be  thrust  aside  to  make  room 
for  any  fat- headed  demagogue,  or  dexterous  intriguer.  His 
conduct,  too,  on  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  proved  how 
superior  he  was  to  the  Otises  and  Quincys,  and  the  whole  run  of 
Yankee  federalists. "  ■ 

In  Delaware,  Randolph  had  a  warm  friend  in  Caesar  A. 
Rodney,  who  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  1803  to 
1805,  and  was  appointed  by  Jefferson  to  the  office  of 
Attorney  General.  "That  good  fellow  Rodney,"  is  the 
manner  in  which  he  describes  him  in  one  of  his  letters, 
after  they  had  served  together  as  managers  in  the  Chase 
impeachment  case. 

In  Maryland,  he  had  several  intimates  besides  Joseph 
H.  Nicholson.  One  of  his  friends  in  that  State  was  Daniel 
Murray,  of  whom  he  said  on  one  occasion,  when  chiding 
Francis  Scott  Key  for  not  sending  him  "a  dish  of  chit- 
chat:"   "There's  that  fine  fellow  D.  M y,  whom  you 

have  not  once  named.  "2 

Another  Maryland  friend  was  Charles  Sterrett  Ridgeley, 
who  owned  a  country  place,  named  Oaklands,  near  Elk- 
ridge  Landing,  in  Howard  County,  Maryland,  to  which 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  296 

2  Id.,  no. 


618  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Randolph  was  in  the  habit  of  frequently  resorting  for  the 
purpose  of  escaping  from  the  heavy  tax  imposed  upon  his 
delicate  frame  by  his  arduous  duties  at  Washington,  and 
of  enjoying  the  society  of  the  group  composed  of  Baltimore 
and  other  friends,  which  Ridgeley  had  drawn  around  him : 
"That  gallant-spirited  man,  Sterrett  Ridgeley,"  were  the 
terms  in  which  Randolph  spoke  of  this  friend  in  a  letter  to 
Nicholson,  written  just  after  the  threatened  duel  between 
Randolph  and  Eppes  had  sputtered  out,  with  the  usual 
effort  on  each  side  to  refer  the  first  suggestion  of  the 
reconciliation  to  the  other. '  In  one  letter  to  Dr.  Dudley, 
Randolph  mentions  that  Ridgeley  had  arrived  the  night 
before  at  Georgetown,  to  Randolph's  "great  joy."2  In 
another,  he  tells  Dr.  Dudley  that  he  had  recently  left 
"the  hospitable  mansion"  of  his  friend,  Charles  Sterrett 
Ridgeley. 3  In  Randolph's  letters  to  Francis  Scott  Key 
there  are  numerous  references  to  Ridgeley.  In  one, 
written  during  the  War  of  1812,  Randolph  says: 

"When  you  see  Ridgeley,  commend  me  to  him  and  his 
amiable  wife.  I  am  really  glad  to  hear  that  he  is  quietly  at 
home  instead  of  scampering  along  the  Bay  shore  or  inditing 
dispatches.  Our  upper  country  has  slid  down  upon  the  lower. 
Nearly  half  our  people  are  below  the  falls;  both  my  brothers 
are  gone."4 

Subsequently,  when  Ridgeley  was  a  candidate  for  a  seat 
in  the  Maryland  Legislature,  Randolph  doubted  his  fitness 
for  it ;  on  alleged  grounds,  however,  that  were  as  creditable 
to  him  as  they  were  discreditable  to  the  public  life  of  which 
he  was  a  part.  He  was  sorry,  Randolph  told  Key,  to  see 
their  "noble-spirited  friend,  Sterrett  Ridgeley"  engaged 
in  politics. 

1  Mar.  3,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Georgetown,  Nov.  27,  1812,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.t  128. 

3  June  1,  1813,  Id.,  132. 

4  Roanoke,  Jul.  17,  1813;  Garland,  v.  2,  17. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  619 

"He  is  truly  unfit  for  public  life.  Do  you  ask  why?  You 
have  partly  answered  the  question.  He  is  too  honest,  too 
unsuspicious,  too  deficient  in  cunning.  I  would  as  soon  recom- 
mend such  a  man  to  a  hazard  table  and  a  gang  of  sharpers  as 
to  a  seat  in  any  deliberative  assembly  in  America."1 

All  this  becomes  decidedly  plainer  when,  a  little  later 
on,  Randolph,  contrasting  mentally  the  universal  suffrage 
of  Maryland  with  the  freehold  suffrage  of  Virginia,  and, 
going  back  to  his  Milton  for  a  phrase,  which  is  even  more 
significant  in  our  time  than  it  was  in  Milton's  or  Ran- 
dolph's, says:  "Electioneering  is  upon  no  very  pleasant 
footing  anywhere,  but  with  you,  when  the  'base  proletarian 
rout  '  are  admitted  to  vote,  it  must  be  peculiarly  irksome 
and  repugnant  to  the  feelings  of  a  gentleman.  "2 

A  devoted  friendship  existed  between  Francis  Scott  Key 
of  Maryland,  and  Randolph.  On  Randolph's  side,  it 
fncluded  Mrs.  Key  and  her  children,  to  whom  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  frequently  sending  affectionate  messages. 
Indeed,  if  any  one  of  Randolph's  friends  was  married,  his 
friendship  for  him  was  almost  invariably  bestowed  upon 
all  the  members  of  his  family  also.  The  interest,  however, 
that  attaches  to  the  correspondence  between  Randolph 
and  Key  is  mainly  religious,  and  a  most  effective  tract 
would  be  a  little  pamphlet  containing  the  spiritual  anxi- 
eties, misgivings  and  doubts  which  Randolph  poured  into 
the  ears  of  Key,  and  the  soothing  and  consoling  assurances 
with  which  that  talented,  pure-minded  and  upright  man, 
to  whom  the  invisible  universe  was  quite  as  real  as  the 
visible,  sought  to  bring  peace  to  the  agitated  mind  of  his 
friend.  Better  preaching  it  would  be  hard  to  find  any- 
where than  is  to  be  found  in  one  or  two  of  Key's  letters 
to  Randolph;  preaching  that  is  all  the  more  effective  be- 
cause of  its  lack  of  professional  dogmatism  and  of  its 
likeness  merely  to  the  quiet  communings  of  the  human 

1  Roanoke,  Sep.  12,  1813,  Id.,  v.  2,  20. 

'Ibid. 


620  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

soul  with  itself.  If  anything  could  have  been  sufficient 
to  make  religion  a  thing  of  practical  helpfulness,  solace 
and  joy  to  Randolph,  instead  of  an  affrighting  nightmare, 
it  might  well  have  been  the  influence  of  Key.  As  early 
as  Feb.  8,  1811,  he  wrote  to  Nicholson  that  he  knew  no 
man  "more  intrinsically  estimable  than  Frank  Key."1 
Ten  years  later,  after  he  had  been  almost  as  intimate 
with  Key  as  a  brother,  he  paid  this  striking  tribute  to  him 
in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough ;  a  tribute  all  the  more 
striking  because  the  sunshine  with  which  it  irradiated 
Key  is  painfully,  though  poetically,  contrasted  with  the 
shadows  which  encompassed  himself: 

"Yesterday,"  he  said,  "  I  was  to  have  dined  with  Frank  Key, 
but  was  not  well  enough  to  go.  He  called  here  the  day  before, 
and  we  had  much  talk  together.  He  perseveres  in  pressing 
on  towards  the  goal,  and  his  whole  life  is  spent  in  endeavoring 
to  do  good  for  his  unhappy  fellow-men.  The  result  is  that  he 
enjoys  a  tranquillity  of  mind,  a  sunshine  of  the  soul,  that  all 
the  Alexanders  of  the  earth  can  neither  confer  nor  take  away. 
This  is  a  state  to  which  I  can  never  attain.  I  have  made  up 
my  mind  to  suffer,  like  a  man  condemned  to  the  wheel  or  the 
stake.  Strange  as  you  may  think  it,  I  could  submit  without  a 
murmur  to  pass  the  rest  of  my  life  'on  some  high,  lonely  tower, 
where  I  might  out-watch  the  bear  with  thrice  great  Hermes,' 
and  exchange  the  enjoyments  of  society  for  an  exemption 
from  the  plagues  of  life.  These  press  me  down  to  the  very 
earth,  and,  to  rid  myself  of  them,  I  would  gladly  purchase 
an  annuity,  and  crawl  into  some  hole  where  I  might  commune 
with  myself,  and  be  still."2 

Of  Edward  Lloyd,  the  brother-in-law  of  Joseph  H. 
Nicholson  and  Francis  Scott  Key,  Randolph  wrote 
laconically  to  Nicholson :    "I  love  the  man.  " 3 

Afterwards,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Randolph,   Key 

1  Babel,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Washington,  circa,  1821. 

3Richm.,  May  31,  1807,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  621 

wrote  that  Lloyd  had  told  Mrs.  Key  that  Randolph  never 
wrote  to  him.1  And  this  was  Randolph's  reply,  which, 
like  many  other  letters,  contained  more  between  its  lines 
than  in  them: 

"Our  quondam  friend  Lloyd,  for  'quondam  friends  are  no 
rarity  with  me' — I  made  this  answer  at  the  ordinary  at  our 
court  to  a  gentleman  who  had  returned  from  Rappahannock 
and  told  me  that  he  had  seen  some  of  our  'quondam  friends.' 
It  was  casually  uttered,  but  I  soon  saw  how  deeply  it  was  felt 
by  a  person  at  table  whom  I  had  not  before  observed.  To 
return  to  Lloyd,  he  cannot  with  any  show  of  justice  complain 
of  'my  giving  him  up.'  The  saddle  is  on  the  other  horse;  he  is 
a  spoiled  child  of  fortune,  and  testy  old  bachelors  make  a  poor 
hand  of  humoring  spoiled  children.  Lloyd  required  to  be 
nattered,  and  I  would  not  perform  the  service.  I  would  hold 
no  man's  regard  by  a  base  tenure."2  (a) 

In  one  of  his  letters  to  Nicholson,  Randolph  recommends 
to  his  favor  a  Mr.  Sargeant,  of  Petersburg,  Va.  He  tells 
Nicholson  that  he  is  an  old  friend  of  his,  that  he  is  one  of 
the  most  agreeable  and  amiable  men  that  he  has  ever 
known,  and  is  a  "travelled  gentleman;"  indeed,  what  we 
would  now  term  a  "globe  trotter.  "3 

Closely  associated  with  James  M.  Garnett  in  the  mind 
and  life  of  Randolph,  was  the  celebrated  John  Taylor  of 
Caroline,  whose  residence — Hazelwood — was  not  very 
far  from  Elmwood — Garnett 's  residence — and  was  close 
to  one  of  the  land  routes  by  which  Randolph  reached 
Washington  from  Roanoke.  For  the  character  of  Taylor, 
as  a  statesman,  he  entertained  a  high  degree  of  respect; 
notwithstanding  the  crabbed  and  artificial  diction  which 
make  his  productions  anything  but  easy  reading.  Espe- 
cially was  Randolph  attracted  to  Taylor  by  the  fact  that 
he  was  one  of  the  nicest  and  sternest  sticklers  for  the  Vir- 

1  Aug.  30,  1813,  Garland,  v.  2,  19. 

2  Id.,  v.  2,  20. 

3  Petersburg,  Apr.  6,  1805,  Nicholson  MSS.  Libr.  Cong. 


622         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

ginia  conception  of  State  Sovereignty.  He  was  the  author, 
besides,  under  the  nom-de-plume  of  "Arator, "  of  a  series 
of  agricultural  essays,  which  Randolph,  as  he  wrote 
Quincy,  regarded  as  sensible,  though  whimsical.  Nor 
was  Taylor  a  mere  theoretical  farmer;  as  farmers  who 
desert  the  plow  for  the  pen  are  so  likely  to  be ;  for,  in  one 
of  his  letters  to  Garnett,  Randolph,  while  quite  complacent 
about  the  condition  of  Roanoke,  frankly  confesses  that  it 
is  in  no  such  state  of  improvement  as  Hazel  wood.  With 
all  his  respect  for  Taylor,  the  latter 's  treatise  on  banking 
was  too  much  for  his  patience : 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  that  Arator  is  not  idle,"  he  wrote  to 
Garnett.  "For  his  book  on  banking  I  would  not  give  a  far- 
thing. My  creed  on  thesubject  is  so  firmly  fixed  that  I  would  as 
soon  read  the  Koran  with  a  view  to  conversion.  For  heaven's 
sake,  get  some  worthy  person  (if  you  decline  the  task  yourself) 
to  do  the  second  edition  into  English.  I  have  not  the  book 
about  me,  nor  within  reach,  but  it  is  a  monument  of  the  force 
and  weakness  of  the  human  mind;  forcible,  concise,  perspicu- 
ous, feeble,  tedious,  obscure,  unintelligible.  I  remember  one 
expression:  'inferior  superiorities'  applied  I  think  to  Indian 


It  was  Taylor  who  wrote  on  one  occasion  to  Creed 
Taylor :  ' '  Bank  stock  cannot  be  incarcerated  within  geo- 
graphical bounds ;  it  flies,  like  the  vulture,  towards  the 
place  where  its  prey  is  to  be  found."2 

At  Hazel  wood,  after  his  retirement  from  Congress, 
with  Randolph  occasionally  passing  near  his  home,  when 
journeying  to  or  from  Washington,  Taylor  was  not  unlike 
an  old  cavalry  horse  turned  out  to  grass,  when  he  sees  a 
squadron  of  horse  coming  down  the  road  on  the  other  side 
of  the  pasture  fence.  Once,  when  reproached  by  Taylor 
for  failing  to  stop  at  Hazelwood,  Randolph  wrote  to  him 

1  Richm.,  Feb.  14,  18 14,  Garnett  MSS. 

2  Nov.  25,  1803;  Creed  Taylor  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  623 

that  he  "had  been  too  much  pleased  with  his  reception 
at  his  house  ever  to  pass  it  willingly.  "■'*    (a) 

Three  intimate  friends  of  Randolph  in  the  later  stages 
of  his  Congressional  career  were  Thomas  H.  Benton,  of 
Missouri,  James  Hamilton,  of  South  Carolina,  and  Mark 
Alexander,  of  Mecklenburg  County,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  House  from  1819  to  1833.  Of  the  forms  that  the 
friendship  between  Randolph  and  Benton  assumed,  we 
have  already  said  enough.  After  the  Randolph-Clay  duel, 
Randolph,  as  a  token  of  his  appreciation  of  the  good  feeling 
which  Benton  had  exhibited  in  connection  with  it,  gave 
him  a  gold  seal,  which  he  had  had  made  for  him  in  London, 
duly  accompanied  by  a  proper  crest  and  family  pedigree. 
Benton  is  said  to  have  laughed  the  crest  and  pedigree 
aside,  but  the  seal  he  wore  until  the  day  of  his  death. 2 

The  devise,  which  Randolph  made  to  him  in  his  codicil 
executed  in  1826  Benton  promptly  and  positively  refused 
to  accept  on  the  ground  that  he  did  not  feel  that  he  was 
entitled  to  such  a  benefaction  at  the  expense  of  Randolph's 
heirs.  To  few  persons  is  the  reputation  of  Randolph  more 
deeply  indebted  than  to  this  friend,  who  knew  him  well, 
and  almost  invariably  presents  him  to  the  reader  in  a 
highly  amiable  light. 

The  friendship  between  Randolph  and  Hamilton  really 
dated  back  to  one  which  existed  between  their  mothers 
as  early  as  the  American  Revolution.3  "He  is  a  noble 
fellow,' '  Randolph  wrote  of  Hamilton  to  Andrew  Jackson, 
but  this  was  about  a  year  before  Jackson  issued  his  Procla- 
mation against  Hamilton  and  the  other  South  Carolina 
milliners. 4 

During  the  second  winter  that  Mark  Alexander,  whom 
Randolph  was  in  the  habit  of  calling  familiarly  Mark 

1  Georgetown,  April  15,  18 10,  Mass.  Hist.  Soc. 

2  Thos.  H.  Benton,  by  Jos.  M.  Rogers,  65. 
3Bouldin,  188. 

4  Charlotte  C.  H.,  Nov.  8,  1831,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  79,  Libr.  Cong. 


624  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Antony,  spent  at  Washington,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
mess  which  consisted  of  Randolph,  Macon,  Benton, 
Edwards,  Cobb,  Tatnall  and  himself.  Edwards,  Cobb 
and  Tatnall  were  all  three  warm  friends  of  Randolph,  too. 
Alexander's  room  was  directly  opposite  to  Randolph's  and 
a  highly  confidential  and  intimate  association  sprang  up 
between  them.  Alexander  tells  us  that  he  often  acted  as 
Randolph's  amanuensis,  and  frequently  "  resorted  to  his 
room,  day  and  night,  to  hear  his  conversational  powers, 
replete  with  wisdom  and  instruction."  "I  am  proud  to 
say,"  Alexander  adds  in  this  interesting  letter,  "I  had 
his  confidence  to  the  day  of  his  death."  In  the  same 
letter,  Alexander  says  of  Benton:  "Benton  who  roomed 
near  him  (Randolph)  was  always  reserved,  with  no  inti- 
mate association  or  friendship,  but  always  master  ot  the 
subject  he  discussed,  and  whose  lamp  never  went  out  at 
night  until  one  or  two  o'clock."1 

Quite  a  different  kind  of  a  friend  was  Stephen  H. 
Decatur.  Yet  a  tie  of  genuine  friendship  seems  to  have 
existed  between  him  and  Randolph.  Indeed,  it  was 
doubtless  partly  because  of  the  shock  inflicted  on  him  by 
the  death  of  Decatur  in  his  duel  with  Commodore  Barron 
that  Randolph's  mind  gave  way  in  the  year  1820.  His 
conduct  at  Decatur's  funeral  is  thus  depicted  by  John 
Quincy  Adams  in  his  Memoirs:  l '  John  Randolph  was  there , 
first  walking,  then  backing  his  horse,  then  calling  for  his 
phaeton,  and  lastly  crowding  up  to  the  vault,  as  the  coffin 
was  removed  into  it  from  the  hearse — tricksy  humors  to 
make  .himself  conspicuous."2  A  motion  made  by  Ran- 
dolph in  the  House  that  it  should  adjourn,  so  that  its 
members  could  attend  Decatur's  funeral — a  motion  which 
also  provided  that  the  members  of  the  House  should  wear 
crape  in  honor  of  Decatur's  memory — was  rejected  by  the 
House;  and  was  again  rejected  when  repeated  on  the 

1  July  2,  1876,  Letter  to  Hugh  B.  Grigsby,  Herbert  F.  Hutcheson  MSS. 

2  Mar.  24,  1820,  v.  5,  36. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  625 

succeeding  day;  and  the  same  fate  befell  even  a  bare 
motion  by  Randolph  looking  to  adjournment  simply.1 
The  House  was  too  much  horrified  by  the  details  of  the 
tragic  duel  to  give  its  approval  to  any  motions  of  the  sort. 
In  the  will,  which  he  executed  in  1832,  Randolph  made 
the  following  bequests  to  his  friend  John  Wickham : 

"To  John  Wickham,  Esq.,  my  best  of  friends,  without  mak- 
ing any  professions  of  friendship  for  me,  and  the  best  and 
wisest  man  I  ever  knew,  except  Mr.  Macon,  I  bequeath  my 
mare  Flora  and  my  stallion  Gascoigne,  together  with  the  two 
old-fashioned  double-handled  silver  cups  and  two  tankards 
unengraved — the  cups  are  here  and  the  tankards  or  cans  in 
Richmond — and  I  desire  that  he  will  have  his  arms  engraved 
upon  them  and  at  the  bottom  these  words:  'From  J.  R.  of 
Roanoke  to  John  Wickham,  Esquire,  as  a  token  of  the  respect 
and  gratitude  which  he  never  ceased  to  feel  for  unparalleled 
kindness,  courtesy  and  services.  '"2 

This  was  the  effusion  of  a  mind  not  too  much  impaired 
to  remember  the  indulgence  that  Wickham  had  both 
generously  and  wisely  accorded  to  Randolph  in  connection 
with  the  British  debt,  which  had  lowered  over  his  early 
life,  and  of  a  heart  that  was  quite  as  slow  to  ignore  a  benefit 
as  it  was  quick  to  resent  a  slight  or  an  indignity. 

The  home  of  John  Wickham  was  at  Hickory  Hill,  near 
Richmond,  and  here  Randolph  was  often  the  guest  of  a 
host  whose  social  charm  was  not  less  conspicuous  than  his 
rare  abilities  and  accomplishments.  It  was  of  Wickham 
that  William  Wirt  wrote  these  words : 

"This  gentleman,  in  my  opinion,  unites  in  himself  a  greater 
diversity  of  talents  and  acquirements  than  any  other  at  the 
bar  of  Virginia.  He  has  the  reputation,  and  deserves  it,  of 
possessing  much  legal  science ;  he  has  an  exquisite  and  a  highly 
cultivated  taste  for  polite  literature;  a  genius  quick  and  fertile; 

1  Mav.  24,  1820,  v.  5,  36. 
2Bouldin,  212. 
vol.  11—40 


626         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

a  style  pure  and  classic;  a  stream  of  perspicuous  and  beautiful 
elocution;  an  ingenuity  which  no  difficulties  can  entangle  and 
embarrass,  and  a  wit  whose  vivid  and  brilliant  coruscations 
can  gild  and  decorate  the  darkest  subject.  .His  statements,  his 
narrations,  his  arguments  are  all  as  transparent  as  the  light  of 
day.  He  reasons  logically,  and  declaims  very  handsomely ;  his 
popularity  is  still  in  its  flood,  and  he  is  justly  considered  as  an 
honor  and  an  ornament  to  his  profession."1 

As  usual,  Wirt  paints  with  too  flaring  a  brush,  but,  in 
this  instance,  he  little  exceeded  the  sober  truth.  One 
specimen  of  Wickham's  wit  was  too  good  not  to  stick  in 
Randolph's  memory,  and  to  be  reported  by  him  to  Andrew 
Jackson.  Speaking  of  an  individual,  who  had  undertaken 
to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  Post-office  at  Richmond, 
Wickham  said  that  nobody  could  blame  him  for  the 
notorious  irregularities  of  his  office,  because  he  was  never 
there. 2 

To  his  friend,  Francis  W.  Gilmer,  who  was  much  his 
junior,  Randolph's  manner  was  quite  different  from  what 
it  was  to  his  older  friends.  In  other  words,  it  was  the  sort 
of  manner  that  is  inspired,  to  use  Randolph's  own  phrase 
by  ' '  the  freshness  and  unhackneyed  youth ' '  when  impelled 
by  the  ingenious  enthusiasm  of  its  nature  to  pay  its 
homage  to  conspicuous  distinction  or  worth. 

In  addition  to  the  sketch,  which  he  wrote  of  Randolph 
as  an  orator,  Gilmer  also  harbored  the  idea  of  some  day 
writing  a  biography  of  him,  a  thing  that  he  was  capitally 
qualified,  with  his  rare  scholarly  attainments,  sincerity, 
and  balance  of  character,  to  do.  The  fact  is  mentioned 
in  a  letter  which  was  written  by  Randolph  to  Dr.  Brock- 
enbrough  after  Gilmer's  death : 

" Poor  Gilmer,"  he  said,  "he  is  another  of  the  countless  vic- 
tims of  calomel !     I  had  indulged  a  hope  that  he  would  at  least 

1  Little's  "Hist,  of  Richmond,"  So.  Lit.  Mess.,  v.  18,  p.  101. 

2  Roanoke,  Mar.  6,  1832,  Jackson  Papers,  v.  80,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  627 

live  to  finish  his  life  of  Fabricius.  He  told  me  some  years  ago 
that,  if  he  survived  me,  he  meant  to  write  a  biography  of  me; 
but  what  he  would  have  found  to  say  that  is  not  in  the  news- 
papers I  cannot  conjecture."1 

In  an  earlier  letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  when  it  was 
becoming  manifest  that  Gilmer  was  soon  to  be  numbered 
among  those  that  doubly  die,  in  that  they  die  so  young, 
Randolph  said: 

"Among  those  who  have  shown  me  favor,  I  set  high  value 
upon  the  attachment  of  Frank  Gilmer,  and  I,  too,  had  a  very 
strong  desire,  for  his  sake,  that  he  would  take  the  professorship. 
I  was  concerned  to  learn  by  a  late  letter  from  Mr.  Barksdale 
that  he  looked  very  ill,  and  was  more  desponding  than  when  B. 
saw  him  in  March.  When  you  write  to  him,  name  me  among 
those  who  think  often  and  always  kindly  of  him."2 

Tenderer  still  was  the  language  which  Randolph  sub- 
sequently addressed  to  Gilmer  himself : 

"My  dear  friend,  for  such  indeed  you  are,  and  such  I  am 
persuaded  you  believe  yourself  to  be,  although  I  never  told  you 
so  before.  Your  letter  written  by  another  hand  fills  me  with 
the  deepest  concern.  I  know  it  must  be  bad  with  you  when 
you  can't  write.  I  wish  I  could  be  with  you  at  your  bedside. 
Weak  as  I  am,  I  might  do  something  to  alleviate  the  tedium 
of  your  confinement ;  but,  alas !  even  if  my  public  duties  did  not 
present  an  insurmountable  obstacle,  the  state  of  my  health,  of 
the  weather,  and  the  road  would  place  an  impassable  gulf 
between  us.  But  we  shall  yet  meet  I  trust  once  more,  and 
be  as  happy  as  our  natures  will  allow  us  to  be."3 

Some  of  Gilmer's  observations  were  entered  in  the  Diary 
by  Randolph.  Among  them  is  this  passage  in  relation  to 
the  Scotch  Highlands  from  a  letter  written  by  him  to 
Elizabeth  T.  Coalter:    "God  forgive  him  that  tempted 

1  Jan.  14,  1826,  Garland,  v.  2,  264. 

2  Jul.  8,  1825,  Id.,  v.  2,  238. 

s  Washington,  Feb.  10,  1826,  Bryan  MSS. 


628         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

me  to  go  a-laking  it — where  bald,  bleak  mountains  distil 
perpetual  ink  into  the  little  holes  below  that  they  call 
lakes." 

Love  of  literature  was  among  the  principal  ties  that 
bound  Randolph  and  Gilmer  to  each  other.  In  one  of 
his  letters  to  Gilmer,  Randolph  tells  him  that  he  had 
found  the  shades  of  Roanoke  so  peaceful  and  so  cool  that 
it  had  been  with  difficulty  that  he  could  tear  himself  away 
from  them  at  the  expiration  of  near  a  month,  but  that 
nevertheless  the  monotony  of  the  life  at  Roanoke  and 
the  utter  oblivion  into  which  he  had  fallen  among  the  few 
that  had  once  called  themselves  his  friends,  had  induced 
a  wish  on  his  part  to  come  down  to  the  nether  regions,  and 
see  what  was  passing  in  Pandemonium  [i.  e.  Petersburg.] 
No  sooner,  however,  he  went  on  to  say,  was  his  head  out 
of  the  shell  than  he  had  been  assailed  and  stunned  with 
the  clamor  of  the  "  children  of  mammon  wiser  in  their 
generation  than  the  children  of  light."  Then,  after 
mentioning  the  business  matter  hinted  at  in  this  academic 
fashion,  he  tells  Gilmer  that  he  could  not  stand  indifferent 
to  the  good  opinion  or  kind  feelings  of  any  person  whose 
principles  he  respected;  especially  if  to  that  character 
was  united  a  congenial  love  of  literature. *  In  the  same 
letter,  he  told  Gilmer  that  he  held  their  nocturnal  tete-a- 
tetes  in  cherished  recollection. 

Randolph's  letters  to  Gilmer  are  among  his  best.  In 
one,  he  tells  him  that,  when  he  strikes  his  tent  and  com- 
mences Arab,  he  must  head  his  course  towards  the  camp 
of  a  brother  Ishmaelite : 

"If  perchance,"  he  said,  "I  be  from  home,  you  will  most 
probably  hear  of  it  in  Amelia,  or  Prince  Edward,  and  the  worst 
that  can  befall  you  is  a  solitary  cup  of  coffee,  which  old  Essex 
will  'be  proud'  to  furnish,  and  a  clean  bed,  whilst  your  cavalry 
shall  be  supped  like  princes  or  rather  like  Houynmnmmns. " 2 

1  Petersburg,  July  i,  1820,  Bryan  MSS. 

a  Roanoke,  July  22,  1821,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  629 

In  still  another  letter,  Randolph,  with  the  perfect 
frankness  which  belonged  to  his  character,  told  Gilmer 
that  he  had  such  a  sincere  desire  that  he  should  never  at 
least  retrograde  in  anything,  that  he  must  beg  him  to 
return  to  his  former  well-defined  compact  and  neat  char- 
acters in  exchange  for  the  loose  and  straggling  hand  and 
wide  intervals  of  the  letter  then  before  Randolph.1 
Another  letter  to  Gilmer  contains  this  dreary  description 
of  Washington  society : 

"When  you  go  'a-hunting'  for  lively  and  pleasant  society, 
let  me  recommend  New  or  Old  Holland  to  you  in  preference  to 
this  'metropolis'  of  darkness.  The  fields  here  are  parched  to 
desolation  and  the  life  we  lead  rather  resembles  that  of  a 
garrison  in  Siberia  than  the  capital  of  a  great  country.  Our 
dinners  will  bear  no  comparison  with  those  of  Richmond ;  such 
at  least  as  I  remember  them.  You  go  at  half-past  five,  and 
are  ushered  into  a  dark  room  where  you  can  make  out  nobody. 
A  servant  enters  and  lights  up  the  theatre.  About  half-past 
six,  you  sit  down  to  table,  from  which  you  are  invited  to  rise 
in  about  an  hour.  To  sit  in  the  dining  room  five  minutes  after 
you  have  swallowed  a  cup  of  cold,  weak,  muddy  coffee  would  be 
unpardonable  illbreeding.  The  whole  company  instantly 
hurry  off,  and,  if  you  come  in  a  hired  coach,  you  pay  for  that 
entertainment  the  price  of  a  subscription  ball.  Of  dinner 
conversation  there  is  absolutely  none.  Before  the  benumbing 
influence  of  the  time,  the  society  in  Richmond  was  in  every 
respect  preferable  to  what  we  have  here,  and  I  believe  it  is  so 
yet."2 

However,  it  is  only  fair  to  Randolph  to  say  that,  in 
concluding  this  querulous  letter,  he  terms  it  a  "triste- 
ennuyeuse  epistle. " 

Every  now  and  then,  in  his  letters  to  Gilmer,  Randolph 
puts  off  into  the  sea  of  politics : 

1  Washington,  Feb.  21,  1824,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Washington,  Jan.  12,  1821,  Bryan  MSS. 


630         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"Mr.  Jefferson  may  praise,  and  Col.  J.  T.  may  write,"  he 
said  on  one  occasion,  "and  a  solitary  newspaper  may  puff,  but 
from  the  moment  it  came  in  fashion  to  drink  'Adams,  Jefferson, 
and  Madison'  at  Republican  meetings,  it  was  evident  that 
Dunce  the  second  would  not  like  Dunce  the  first. 

"Mr.  J.  himself  did  much  to  impair  the  principles  upon  which 
he  was  brought  into  power,  but  his  successor  gave  them  the 
coup  de  grace.  The  recommendation  of  the  Bank  of  the  U.  S. 
alone  was  a  renunciation  of  the  heresies  of  his  'report',  and  a 
reconciliation  with  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  of  Expediency 
and  Existing  Circumstances.  The  present  incumbent  came  in 
upon  no  principles,  and,  as  he  brought  none  with  him,  so  he 
will  carry  none  away  with  him.  The  state  is  a  tabula  rasa.  I 
have  satisfied  myself  on  one  point — that,  whoever  may  be 
capable  of  ministering  to  the  mind  diseased  of  our  body  politic, 
I  am  not  that  man.  Your  remarks  on  the  state  of  society, 
which  has  grown  out  of  our  system  of  legislation,  are  perfectly 
just.  You  are  too  good  a  surgeon  to  cut  only  skin  deep  for 
these  carbuncles  and  cancers.  It  is  well  for  you  that  you  are 
not  within  ear-shot,  or  I  should  give  you  a  homily  that  would 
put  to  shame  the  last  of  the  worthy  Archbishop  of  Grenada, 
but  this  writing  is  a  poor  substitute  for  soul-communion."1 

In  another  letter,  Randolph  takes  one  of  his  flings  at 
Henry  Clay:  "Among  innumerable  instances  of  false 
everything,  he  spoke  of  duties  which  England  had  lain. 
This  beats  'crimes  malum  in  se  and  crimes  malum  prohib- 
itum, '  and  rivals  'have  they  not  fled  (correcting  himself), 
have  they  not  flew  to  arms '?" 2  (a)  Here  and  there  in 
the  letters  to  Gilmer  are  allusions  to  the  foreign  professors 
whom  Jefferson  brought  over  to  his  newly  established 
University  of  Virginia  with  the  aid  of  Gilmer. 

"But  let  me  congratulate  you  on  the  safe  arrival  of  your 
friend  Key  and  his  worthy  compeers,"  he  said  in  one  of  them, 
"and  condole  with  the  other  eye  (as  is  the  fashion  on  the 

1  Roanoke,  Jul.  22,  1821,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Washington,  Mar.  9,  1824,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  631 

demise  of  a  crown)  at  the  not  forthcoming  of  Johan  Fabricius, 
'Methinks  he  cometh  late  and  tarryeth  long.'  One  thing, 
however,  is  certain:  that  the  Jewel  is  [as]  safe  in  its  casket  as 
Cantabs.  I  take  a  warm  and  lively  interest  in  all  that  regards 
your  academical  friends,  and  I  wish  with  all  my  heart  that  they 
were  to  pass  the  spring  in  the  lower  country,  where  the  swamps 
(not  yet  breathing  pestilence)  display  their  beautiful  flora  and 
the  mocking  birds  sing,  instead  of  being  plunged  into  the  red 
mud  of  those  tame  and  disfigured  hills  that  we  dignify  with  the 
name  of  mountains."1 

"Yours  whate'er  betide  to  the  end  of  the  chapter  of 
life, "  appear  to  have  been  the  last  words  that  Randolph 
ever  wrote  to  Gilmer;  whose  casement,  to  use  the  image 
of  Tennyson,  was  slowly  growing  a  glimmering  square 
when  he  received  them.  Gilmer  died  on  Feb.  25,  1826, 
in  his  36th  year,  and  of  no  young  Virginian  in  civil  life, 
dying  so  early,  have  his  contemporaries  ever  been  able  to 
say  more  truthfully  in  the  words  of  Beaumont  and  Fletch- 
er's Lover's  Progress, 

"As  many  hopes  hang  on  his  noble  head  as  blossoms  on  a 
bough  in  May,  and  sweet  ones." 

But  Gilmer  had  been  so  long  the  victim  of  physical 
suffering  that  death  must  have  signified  to  him  not  so 
much  blasted  ambition  as  surcease  of  suffering.  "Pray, 
stranger, "  reads  the  epitaph  over  his  grave  at  Pen  Park, 
in  Albemarle  County,  Virginia,  written  by  himself,  "allow 
one  who  never  had  peace  while  he  lived,  the  sad  immunities 
of  the  Grave,  Silence  and  Repose. " 

Two  friends  to  whom  Randolph  was  drawn  by  their 
common  passion  for  horse-flesh  were  Nathan  Lough- 
borough, of  Grassland,  near  Washington,  and  Wm.  R. 
Johnson,  of  Oakland,  near  Petersburg.  At  one  time, 
Loughborough  conceived  the  idea  of  publishing  a  sort  of 
compilation  made  up  of  Randolph's  table  talk  and  excerpts 

1  Washington,  undated. 


632         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

from  his  speeches;  but,  beyond  a  few  rough,  but  very 
valuable  memoranda,  the  purpose  was  never  carried  into 
execution ;  a  fact  deeply  to  be  regretted,  as  Loughborough 
seems  to  have  been  well  qualified  for  the  task.  It  was 
certainly  not  from  want  of  Boswellian  enthusiasm  that  it 
was  never  completed,  for,  in  the  Randolph  will  litigation, 
Loughborough  was  unwilling  to  admit  that  there  was  any 
flaw  at  any  time,  mental  or  otherwise,  in  the  perfect  crystal 
which  he  evidently  conceived  Randolph  to  be.  The  fact 
is  all  the  more  surprising  because  the  letters  written  by 
Randolph  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  to  Loughborough, 
in  which  he  betrayed  his  notion  that  ass'  milk  was  for 
him  the  very  elixir  of  life,  plainly  indicate  a  disordered 
intellect.  Some  of  the  letters  from  Randolph  to  Lough- 
borough are  little  better  than  wormwood.  Writing  to 
the  latter  from  London  about  the  attacks  being  made  on 
him  in  connection  with  the  Russian  Mission,  he  said: 

"The  barking  of  the  curs  in  Congress  meets  with  my 
supreme  indifference.  How  some  of  those  yelpers  would  turn 
tail  and  sneak  off  if  I  were  to  walk  into  the  Hall,  whether 
muffled  in  flannels  or  furs.  They  can  do  me  no  harm.  It 
is  the  monstrous  tissue  of  falsehoods,  having  not  the  slightest 
foundation  in  fact,  disseminated  by  the  Press  in  quarters  of 
the  Country,  where  they  remain  uncontradicted,  that  is  cap- 
able of  doing  me  injury.  To  borrow  the  words  of  a  far  greater 
man,  'if  these  things  be  true,  then  am  I  unfit  for  my  country,  if 
false  (and  of  general  belief),  then  is  that  country  unfit  for 


Worse  still  was  this  later  exacerbation : 

"I  pray  you  spare  me  the  subject  of  politics — State  and 
Federal.  I  am  supersaturated  with  disgust,  and  care  not  a 
straw  what  they  do  in  Washington  or  Richmond.  If  you  and 
Tom  Wicker  and  Hamilton,  and  one  or  two  other  'damn  good 
friends'  would  keep  your  cursed  politics  to  yourselves,  and  let 

1  Feb.  22,  1 83 1,  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  633 

me  alone  about  them,  you  would  confer  a  singular  favor  on  one 
whose  last  moments  shall  not  be  embittered  or  disturbed,  if  he 
can  help  it,  with  the  whores  and  rogues  who  govern  this  undone 
country.  I  do  earnestly  entreat  you  to  say  nothing  to  me 
about  negroes,  bond  or  free,  or  banks,  or  Presidential  elections, 
or  candidates,  &c.  I  give  up  the  ship,  but  I  am  insured.  The 
principal  of  my  estate,  at  a  forced  sale,  is  enough  for  my 

wants,  and  she  may  go  ashore  and  be  d d.     My  only  regret 

is  that  I  have  wasted  so  much  of  my  time,  health,  and  money 
upon  her.  If  it  were  to  do  over  again,  I  would  follow  Girard's 
noble  example  and  leave  the  'ship  of  fools'  to  be  navigated  by 
fools  and  knaves,  while  I  confined  myself  to  what  I  could  con- 
trol and  regulate."1 

Nor  is  there  much  choice  between  this  and  the  dis- 
tempered picture  of  Virginia  which  he  painted  in  a  letter 
to  Loughborough  in  the  year  1828 : 

"  I  need  not  tell  you  that,  from  the  time  I  entered  Virginia,  I 
found  the  vilest  roads,  if  roads  they  may  be  called,  and  every- 
thing mean,  dirty,  and  disgraceful,  and  out  at  elbows.  The 
negroes  alone  are  cheerful,  docile,  and  obliging,  and  I  verily 
think  the  most  respectable,  as  they  certainly  are  the  most 
happy,  population  that  you  find  upon  the  road.  Fredericks- 
burg, which  I  had  known  in  the  days  of  Miss  Eda  Carter,  Fitz- 
hugh,  of  Chatham,  Mann  Page,  of  Mansfield,  I  could  hardly 
recognize;  one  bad,  dirty,  black  inn,  worse  than  a  Spanish 
venta;  every  mark  of  squalor,  poverty,  and  laziness.  Whiskey 
and  tobacco  the  chief  articles  of  subsistence.  In  short, 
although  obliged  to  stand  up  stoutly  for  my  country,  when  out 
of  it,  everything  I  have  seen  but  the  cheerful  society  of  slaves 
fills  me  with  disgust  and  mortification  and  chagrin.  They  alone 
are  better  off,  the  whites  being  too  lazy  to  make  them  work ;  and 
their  labor  [being]  of  no  value,  they  laugh  and  grow  fat."  2{a) 

At  Oakland,  the  home  of  W.  R.  Johnson,  Randolph 
was  quite  frequently  a  guest,  and,  with  the  passion  that 

1  Roanoke,  Feb.  16,  1832,  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

2  Cartersville,  James  River,  Apr.  30,  1828,  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 


634         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

both  had  for  horses,  there  was  much  to  cement  the  friend- 
ship which  existed  between  them.  No  letter  from  John- 
son to  Randolph,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  is  in  existence, 
and  the  references  to  him  in  Randolph's  general  corres- 
pondence are  by  no  means  abundant.  Curiously  enough, 
it  is  to  a  dinner  to  which  he  was  invited  by  "the  celebrated 
Mr.  Gulley  of  pugilistic  fame, "  when  he  was  in  England 
in  1830,  that  we  must  go  to  ascertain  the  impression  made 
upon  his  mind  by  Johnson's  presence.  Describing  Gulley 
in  a  letter  written  to  Macon  from  London,  he  says: 

"He  lives,  or  did  live,  at  the  Hare  Park,  about  5  miles  from 
Newmarket,  and  has  been  for  many  years  a  better  of  the  first 
magnitude.  He  has  a  beautiful,  rustic  wife,  for  whose  sake  he 
has  sold  Hare  Park  that  she  (who  cannot  be  forced  into  the 
society  of  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  associates  of  her 
husband,  because  she  is  an  innkeeper's  daughter)  may  be  with 
her  relatives  in  Yorkshire.  Gulley  is  an  uncommonly  hand- 
some, well-made  and  well-bred  man.  He  lives  like  a  Duke. 
We  had  6  varieties  of  wine,  all  exquisite  of  their  sort;  two 
dishes  of  fish,  and  such  venison  as  I  never  beheld  elsewhere. 
He  has  all  the  quietness  of  manner  that  distinguishes  our  friend 
Wm.  R.Johnson."1 

During  the  last  12  months  of  his  life,  however,  Ran- 
dolph had  a  sporting  grudge  of  some  sort  against  Johnson, 
for  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Loughborough  he  declined  an 
offer  from  a  Dr.  Duvall  to  train  his  horses  which  had  been 
communicated  to  him  by  Loughborough,  and  gave  vent 
to  his  impatience  in  these  hasty  words : 

"To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  have  no  wish  to  have  any  trans- 
actions, especially  upon  the  subject  of  horses,  north  of  the 
Potomac;  and  more  especially  in  Maryland.  I  would  never 
have  my  boys  exposed  to  the  infection  of  your  black  cholera 
for  all  the  stakes  that  have  been  won  for  the  last  ten  years,  or 
that  will  be  won  for  10  years  to  come;  but,  if  Dr.  D.  will  train 

1  London,  Dec.  8,  1830,  So.  Lit.  Mess.,  Nov.  1856,  382-385. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  635 

with  his  own  grooms  and  helpers,  he  shall  have  two  or  three  of 
my  most  promising  nags;  for  I,  too,  am  desirous  of  seeing  W.  R. 
J.  roundly  beaten  and  his and  ally  in  Baltimore  and  Phila- 
delphia mortified  and  mulcted  in  a  sum  that  the  richest  of  the 
two  may  feel."1 

One  of  the  closest  friends  that  Randolph  had  in  Rich- 
mond was  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh.  After  the  frightful 
holocaust  at  the  Richmond  Theatre  in  the  latter  part  of 
181 1,  which  brought  consternation  and  agonizing  grief  to 
almost  every  prominent  family  in  Richmond,  Randolph 
wrote  to  James  M.  Garnett : 

"On  my  return  last  evening  from  Sterrett  Ridgely's,  I  was 
encountered  at  Ross'  with  the  news  of  the  late  desolation  at 
Richmond.  Judge  with  what  a  dreadful  and  shuddering  curi- 
osity I  forced  my  eyes  over  the  catalogue  of  victims,  among 
whom  I  trembled  lest  I  should  find  Leigh  or  Brockenbrough. 
Thank  Heaven!  They  are  safe!  But  Juliana  Harvie,  her 
brother,  Edwin,  who  nobly  sacrificed  his  life  in  an  ineffectual 
attempt  to  save  his  sister,  and  their  charming  niece,  Mary 
Whitlocke,  the  darling  of  Mrs.  Brockenbrough's  heart — 
especially  since  the  loss  of  her  son — have  perished.  Leigh 
writes  that  he  fears  for  Mrs.  B.'s  intellects."2 

A  fellow-planter  to  whom  Randolph  was  truly  attached, 
was  Edmund  Irby,  of  Nottoway  County,  Va.  Irby  had 
an  interest  in  a  plantation  on  the  Banister  River,  in 
Halifax  County,  and,  on  his  journeys  to  or  from  this  plan- 
tation, he  occasionally  stopped  over  at  Roanoke.  Ran- 
dolph was  equally  familiar  with  Irby's  home  in  Nottoway 
County,  and,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Garnett,  he  spoke  of 
it  as  being  as  healthy  as  any  in  the  middle  country.  The 
Nottoway,  he  said,  had  been  straightened  and  widened, 
and  its  lowgrounds  perfectly  drained  for  many  miles ;  and 
Irby  had  erected  a  dyke  along  it  to  protect  his  lowlands 

1  Roanoke,  Nov.  3,  1832,  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

2  Georgetown,  Jan.  1,  1812,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 


636         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

against  floods.1     In  another  letter  to  Garnett,  he  gave 
him  this  description  of  Irby : 

M I  am  glad  that  you  like  my  friend  Irby.  He  is  one  of  the 
best  of  good  fellows,  and  a  fine  specimen  'rare  now-a-days'  of 
the  old  Virginia  planter;  industrious,  plain,  hospitable,  fond  of 
sport,  but  not  sacrificing  business  to  it.  He  is  the  best  culti- 
vator and  improver  of  land  that  I  know,  and  a  more  honest, 
unaffected  creature  never  breathed.  I  could  tell  you  some 
striking  instances  of  his  rare  worth."2 

A  minor  but  significant  proof  of  the  esteem  and  affec- 
tion, in  which  Irby  was  held  by  Randolph,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that,  after  Irby's  death,  Randolph  entered  in 
the  Diary  the  dates  on  which  he  was  born  and  died,  and 
also  the  birth  dates  of  his  widow  and  six  children. 

By  his  codicil,  executed  in  1826,  he  also  bequeathed  to 
Irby  the  next  choice  after  that  of  his  friend,  William  J. 
Barksdale,  of  any  of  his  mares  and  fillies  and  his  double- 
barrel  gun. 3 

During  the  latter  part  of  Randolph's  life,  a  very  cordial 
intimacy  existed  between  him  and  William  J.  Barksdale, 
who  resided  at  Clay  Hill,  in  Amelia  County,  Va.,  and 
whose  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Randolph's  friend,  Mrs. 
Tabb,  as  was  the  wife  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Bathurst  Ran- 
dolph. A  regular  correspondence  was  kept  up  between 
them,  and  Randolph  was  often  a  guest  at  Clay  Hill.  The 
opinion  that  he  had  of  this  friend  may  be  inferred  from 
what  he  said  of  him  in  a  letter  to  Gilmer : "  I  spent  nearly 
a  week  with  Barksdale,  whose  house  I  find  incomparably 
preferable  to  my  own.  He  is  indeed  a  finished  gentleman, 
and  one  of  the  worthiest  men  in  the  world  into  the  bar- 
gain. "4 

1  Roanoke,  Sept.  26,  1820,  Theo.  Garnett  MSS. 

2  Roanoke,  Sept.  10,  1832,  Theo.  Garnett  MSS. 

3  Bouldin,  207. 

4  Roanoke,  Mar.  31,  1825,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  637 

John  Marshall,  who  resided  at  Charlotte  Court  House, 
was  also  a  warm  friend  of  Randolph.  It  was  under  his 
roof,  as  we  have  seen,  that  Randolph  found  an  asylum,  in 
1 832 ,  when  his  mind  forsook  him.  Marshall  was  a  lawyer 
of  high  standing,  and  transmitted  his  practice  and  abilities 
to  his  son,  the  late  Judge  Hunter  H.  Marshall,  of  Char- 
lotte County. 

Randolph's  other  friends,  who  resided  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Bizarre  or  Roanoke,  or  along  the  highways,  over 
which  he  rode  through  Southside  Virginia,  on  his  way  to 
Washington,  have  already  been  sufficiently  mentioned  by 
us  in  a  preceding  chapter,  in  connection  with  his  general 
social  activities;  but  an  additional  word  with  regard  to 
one  or  two  of  them  may  be  pardoned,    (a) 

Randolph  was  so  often  absent  at  Washington  that  the 
care  of  Bizarre,  while  he  resided  there  or  was  responsible 
for  its  management,  was  confided  to  Thomas  A.  Morton, 
as  were  likewise  certain  lots  which  he  owned  in  Farmville. 
The  relation  between  them  was  one  of  real  friendship,  and 
the  following  letter  from  Randolph  to  Morton  merits 
perusal : 

"  My  dear  Friend:  This  is  no  common-place  address,  for 
without  profession  or  pretension  such  you  have  quietly  and 
modestly  proved  yourself  to  be,  while,  like  Darius,  I  have  been 

'"Deserted  in  my  utmost  need, 
By  those  my  former  bounty  fed.' 

1 '  All  this  is  only  acting  according  to  your  character,  and  you 
can  hardly  help  it  now,  second  nature  being  superadded  to 
the  first.  In  the  whole  course  of  my  unprofitable  life,  I  never 
received  a  letter  from  a  man  that  affected  me  so  deeply  as  yours 
of  the  3rd. 

"  If  I  can,  I  will  be  with  you  on  the  14th  (the  day  before  the 
sale).  I  will  bring  with  me  the  original  blotter  of  the  sale, 
which  Creed  Taylor  can  verify,  if  he  be  not  civiliier  mortuus,  as 
I  greatly  fear  he  is.  There  is  nobody  else  left,  unless  it  be  our 
old  friend  Bedford.  [Redford?]  .  .  . 


638         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"  But  my  dear  friend,  what  are,  or  what  ought  to  be,  the  cares 
of  a  man  about  property  that  believes  himself  to  be  dying,  and 
almost,  but  not  'altogether'  hopes  it?  I  am  now  as  much 
worse  than  when  you  saw  me  on  my  way  to  Buckingham, 
November  court,  as  then  I  was  worse  than  when  I  left  London. 

"I  wish  to  sell  the  lots  next  the  warehouse  at  cost,  and  interest 
if  to  be  had,  or  exchange  them  for  others,  adjoining  the  lots 
I  got  from  your  father  and  of  Wathell,  or  those  on  the  branch; 
or  I  could  sell  all,  or  improve  for  the  benefit  of  thankless  heirs. 

'"He  turns  with  anxious  care  and  crippled  hands 
His  bonds  of  debt  and  mortgages  of  land.' 

"A  long  credit  to  me  is  the  same  as  a  short  one;  I  shan't 
outlive  a  bank  discount. 

"  Caught  like  Bonaparte  by  an  Arctic  winter,  setting  in  on 
November  (Prince  Edward)  court,  but  not  like  him  in  latitude 
50-55,  I  am  in  370  30  north,  a  little  south  of  Algiers.  I  am 
tied  here  until  the  March  and  April  winds  and  MAY  frosts  are 
over,  if  I  live  so  long."1 

Several  letters  from  Randolph  to  Edward  Booker,  of 
Prince  Edward  County,  who  was  another  warm  friend  of 
his,  have  survived;  but  their  interest  was  transitory. 

Not  so,  however,  is  the  last  of  the  tributes  of  gratitude 
and  affection  that  we  shall  quote  Randolph  as  paying  to 
Mrs.  Tabb.  Included  in  it,  the  reader  will  note,  is  the 
widow  of  Dr.  Bathurst  Randolph: 

"I  met  Mrs.  T.  and  poor  Mrs.  R.  beyond  Hanover  Court 
House, ' '  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley.  ' '  These  are  some  of  the  very 
few  people  in  this  world,  by  whom  I  have  been  treated  with 
kindness  under  every  circumstance  of  my  unprosperous  life, 
and,  when  I  forget  them,  may  my  God  forget  me."2 

Nor  can  we  omit  another  word  in  regard  to  Dr.  Thomas 
Robinson,  who  was  very  intimate  with  Randolph  when  the 
latter  resided  at  Bizarre,  and  who,  after  his  removal  to 

1  Bouldin,  228. 

2  Washington,  Dec.  18,  182 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  228. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  639 

Petersburg,  was  consulted  professionally  by  Randolph's 
sister  when  her  feet  were  about  to  slip  into  the  grave. 
Writing  of  the  medical  attentions  which  Tudor  was 
receiving  at  Dr.  Robinson's  hands  during  the  early  sick- 
ness, to  which  we  have  previously  referred,  Randolph 
said  in  a  letter  to  Nicholson : 

"  If  it  (Tudor's  life)  is  saved,  he  will  owe  it  to  the  unwearied 
exertions  of  Dr.  Robinson,  who  has  scarcely  quitted  his  bedside. 
Endeavor  to  recollect  this  worthy  man.  He  is  an  Irish  exile, 
a  man  of  science,  a  polite  scholar,  and  a  gentleman.  I  intro- 
duced him  to  our  club  (and  I  think  you  were  present)  at 
Dashiell's  the  winter  before  last.  He  has  since  been  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  spent  the  last  summer  at  the  Lazaretto,  in  the 
midst  of  fever  and  pestilence,  and,  although  his  practice  has  not 
been  long,  it  has  been  very  extensive."1 

Dr.  Robinson  married  one  of  Randolph's  Murray 
cousins,  and  there  is  a  playful  message  to  her  in  a  letter 
from  him  to  her  husband : 

"I  had  heard  from  Mrs.  R.  of  Bizarre,"  he  wrote,  "of  your 
severe  attack,  and  be  assured  that  it  gave  me  very  great  con- 
cern. Take  care  of  yourself,  and  turn  miser  for  a  few  years  (I 
am  not  at  all  afraid  of  the  habit  becoming  fixed) ,  and  then  you 
may  abandon  the  drudgery  of  your  profession.  Tell  Cousin 
Nancy  that  I  wish  I  could  give  her  sharp  turned-up  nose  a  little 
red  on  the  top  of  it,  and  then  I  should  have  some  hope  of  mak- 
ing her  a  skinflint.  But,  come  what  may,  I  indulge  a  hope  of 
seeing  you  both  yet  before  I  die,  and,  of  course,  before  you 
die."2 

No  friends  of  Randolph,  however,  were  closer  to  him 
than  the  four  whom  we  are  yet  to  mention:  Littleton 
Waller  Tazewell;  Dr.  and  Mrs.  John  Brockenbrough,  and 
William  Leigh. 

The  friendship  between  Tazewell  and  Randolph  began 

1  Bizarre,  Mar.  17,  1805,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Roanoke,  July  9,  1813. 


640         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

in  boyhood  and  lasted  throughout  their  lives;  retaining 
until  the  very  last  something  of  its  boyhood  exuberance 
and  freshness.  Hugh  Blair  Grigsby,  who  knew  both  well, 
tells  us  that,  when  Randolph  was  speaking,  Tazewell 
would  listen  with  the  relish  of  a  school-boy,  rubbing  his 
hands  and  laughing  heartily,  as  the  orator  went  along.  * 
And  not  the  least  interesting  passage  in  Grigsby' s  Dis- 
course on  Tazewell  is  that  in  which  he  described  a  great 
plea  made  by  Tazewell  in  an  important  case  argued  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  1822,  which  filled 
Randolph  with  such  sensations  of  admiration  that  he 
incontinently  exclaimed,  as  he  listened,  in  a  voice  audible 
to  those  about  him:  "I  told  you  so — I  told  you  so!  old 
Virginny  never  tires."  Was  this  the  origin  of  the  cele- 
brated phrase  which  caused  some  jealous  outlander  to 
say,  that  if  Virginia  never  tired,  it  was,  perhaps,  because 
she  never  moved  along  fast  enough  to  become  tired  ? 2 

The  most  striking  thing  about  Tazewell,  however,  after 
all,  was  not  so  much  the  impression  of  extraordinary 
abilities  that  he  left  upon  his  contemporaries  by  his  actual 
achievements  at  the  Bar  and  in  public  life,  as  their  feeling 
that  he  possessed  a  reserve  of  force  which  lacked  nothing 
but  the  incitements  of  personal  ambition  and  a  great 
occasion  to  convert  Strength  half  leaning  on  his  own  right 
arm  into  erect  and  irresistible  power.  In  the  opinion  of 
Randolph,  Tazewell  needed  only  an  urgent  motive  for 
self-assertion  to  be  second  to  no  man  in  the  country; 
indeed,  in  a  letter  to  General  Mercer  he  is  said  to  have 
declared  superlatively  that,  if  such  a  conjuncture  in  the 
affairs  of  the  United  States  were  to  arise  as  would  call  into 
full  play  the  faculties  of  Tazewell,  he  would  be  the  first 
man  of  the  19th  century.3    (a) 

When  Tazewell  thought  of  resigning  his  seat  in  the 
United  States  Senate  in  1826,  Randolph  wrote  to  him: 

1  Discourse  on  Tazewell,  82. 
»/<*.,  44.  *  Id.,  87. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  641 

"I  can't  bear  the  thought  of  your  resignation.  It  will 
leave  me  in  a  hopeless  and  forlorn  state  of  political  widowhood. 
When  you  were  in  the  Lower  House  25  years  ago,  you  served 
but  one  short  session;  a  most  important  one  indeed — Dec. 
1800  to  March  3,  1801 — now  you  have  served  but  two;  indeed 
but  one,  after  an  interval  of  a  quarter  of  a  century.  And 
shall  this  be  all  the  contribution  of  a  mind  like  yours  to  the 
necessities  of  our  poor  old  mother,  Virginia?"1 

On  another  occasion,  writing  to  Tazewell,  during  the 
absence  of  the  latter  from  the  Senate,  he  told  him  that  he 
was  supporting  a  motion  of  his,  and  then  added :  "I  wish 
you  would  (could)  leave  me  your  abilities  and  information 
too  when  you  are  obliged  to  be  absent. " 2  Randolph  also 
had  the  highest  opinion  of  the  scholarship  of  Tazewell. 
Stirred  by  the  death  of  Gilmer,  and  the  belief  that  Taze- 
well too  had  succumbed  to  a  severe  attack  of  illness,  he 
wrote  on  one  occasion  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough : 

"This  cold,  black  plague  has  destroyed  the  only  two  men 
that  Virginia  has  bred  since  the  Revolution  who  had  real 
claims  to  learning;  the  rest  are  all  shallow  pretenders;  they 
were  scholars,  I  repeat,  and  ripe  and  good  ones,  and  the  soil 
was  better  than  the  culture.  Here  the  material  surpassed  the 
workmanship,  tasteful  and  costly  as  it  was."3 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  the  letters  from  Randolph 
to  Tazewell  is  a  brief  one  in  which  he  asked  him  to  institute 
legal  proceedings  against  St.  George  Tucker,  for  the 
reasons  that  we  have  already  explained,  and  holding  out 
to  him  a  retainer  of  $100.00  and  a  sum  of  not  less  than 
$500.00  as  a  trial  fee. 

How  deeply  Randolph  must  have  loved  Tazewell  we 
can  begin  to  divine,  when  we  find  him  coupling  his  name 
with  that  of  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  who  was,  perhaps,  after 

1  Washington,  Feb.  14,  1826,  L.  W.  Tazewell,  Jr.,  MSS. 

2  Washington,  Feb.  21,  1826,  Id. 
^Washington,  March  4,  1826,  Garland,  v.  2,  268. 

VOL.  11 — 41 


642         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

all,  dearer  to  him,  if  intimacy  is  susceptible  of  such  delicate 
shading,  than  any  other  friend  that  he  ever  had.  Speaking 
of  some  Scotch  airs  which  he  had  heard  sung  at  a  party  in 
Washington  by  a  Mrs.  F.,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley  as 
follows : 

"Among  others,  she  sang  There's  nae  Luck  aboot  the  House' 
very  well,  and  Auld  Lang  Syne.     When  she  came  to  the  lines, 

11  'We  twa  ha'e  paidlet  in  the  burn, 
Frae  morning  sun  till  dine,' 

I  cast  my  mind's  eye  around  for  such  a  'trusty  feese,'  and 
could  light  only  on  T.,  (who,  God  be  praised!  is  here),  and  you 
may  judge  how  we  meet.  During  the  time  that  Dr.  B.  was  at 
Walker  M.'s  school  (from  the  spring  of  1784,  to  the  end  of  1785, 
I  was  in  Bermuda;  and  (although  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
both  my  brothers)  our  acquaintance  did  not  begin  until  nearly 
twenty  years  afterwards.  Do  you  know  that  I  am  childish 
enough  to  regret  this  very  sensibly?  for,  although  I  cannot  de- 
tract from  the  esteem  or  regard  in  which  I  hold  him,  nor  lessen 
the  value  I  set  upon  his  friendship,  yet,  had  I  known  him 
then,  I  think  I  should  enjoy  Auld  Lang  Syne  more,  when  I  hear 
it  sung,  or  hum  it  to  myself,  as  I  often  do."1 

On  one  occasion,  Randolph  spoke  of  Dr.  Brockenbrough 
as  his  most  intimate  friend;  and  the  following  is  the 
account  given  by  Dr.  Brockenbrough  of  the  origin  of  the 
friendship.  It  began  when  Randolph  and  he  were  both 
members  of  the  Burr  Grand  Jury. 

"I  did  not  seek  his  acquaintance,  because  it  had  been 
impressed  on  my  mind  that  he  was  a  man  of  a  wayward  and 
irritable  temper,  but,  as  he  knew  that  I  had  been  a  school- 
fellow of  his  brothers  Richard  and  Theodorick,  while  he  was  in 
Bermuda  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  he  very  courteously 
made  advances  to  me  to  converse  about  his  brothers,  to  whom 
he  had  been  much  devoted,  and  ever  afterwards  I  found  him  a 

1  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  241. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  643 

steady  and  confiding  friend.  He  frequently  passed  much  of 
his  time  at  my  house,  and  was  the  most  agreeable  and  interest- 
ing inmate  you  can  imagine.  No  little  personal  attention 
was  ever  lost  on  him,  and  he  rendered  himself  peculiarly  a 
favorite  with  my  wife  by  his  conversation  on  belles-lettres,  in 
which  he  was  so  well  versed ;  and  he  read  (in  which  he  excelled) 
to  her  very  many  of  the  choice  passages  of  Milton  and 
Shakespeare."1 

It  was  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  that  Randolph  wrote 
after  his  defeat  in  1813 :  "Absorbed  as  I  may  be  supposed 
to  be  with  my  own  misfortunes,  I  live  only  for  my  friends ; 
they  are  few,  but  they  are  precious  beyond  all  human 
estimation." 

Randolph  was  frequently  under  Dr.  Brockenbrough' s 
roof  at  Richmond,  and  once,  to  his  great  delight,  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Brockenbrough  paid  him  a  visit  at  Roanoke. 

Despite  what  Dr.  Brockenbrough  says  about  Randolph 
as  an  agreeable  guest,  and,  despite  his  reluctance  in  the 
Randolph  will  litigation  to  admit  that  Randolph  was  ever 
positively  insane,  his  patience  with  his  friend  must  have 
been  tried  at  times.  In  the  course  of  the  litigation  just 
mentioned,  he  testified  that,  in  1826,  Randolph  passed  a 
night  in  prayer  at  his  house,  keeping  two  candles  burning 
in  his  bedroom  throughout  his  devotions ;  and  that,  before 
day,  Randolph  ordered  the  servant,  whom  he  had  required 
to  sit  up  with  him,  to  take  the  two  candles  and  light  him 
down  to  the  Eagle  Tavern. 2  In  one  of  his  journals,  under 
date  of  April  16,  18 19,  Randolph  also  made  this  curious 
entry:    "Dined  with  Dr.  Bro. — vile  conduct."3 

When  Dr.  Brockenbrough  and  Randolph  were  absent 
from  each  other,  Randolph  wrote  to  him  with  great  fre- 
quency, and  in  terms  to  which  reticence  was  almost  a 

1  Garland,  v.  1,  261. 

2  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

3  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 


644         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

stranger;  but  in  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  book,  we 
have  quoted  with  such  freedom  from  these  letters  as  to 
render  only  a  sparing  reference  to  them  in  this  place 
necessary.  They  not  only  have  a  distinct  value  for  per- 
sonal and  social  reasons,  but  also  because  of  the  pointed 
political  reflections  which  they  sometimes  contain.  To 
no  one  did  Randolph  ever  state  more  clearly  than  to  Dr. 
Brockenbrough  the  causes  to  which  he  referred  the  ever 
increasing  disparity,  in  point  of  population  and  wealth, 
between  the  Northern  and  Southern  sections  of  the  Union : 

"Your  opinions,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough  in  1829, 
"concerning  the  operation  of  this  incubus,  miscalled  Govern- 
ment, I  confess,  surprise  me.  I  have  made  every  allowance  for 
the  dearness  of  slave  labor,  and  the  monstrous  absurdities  of 
our  own  State  legislation.  But  I  cannot  shut  my  eyes  to  the 
fact  that  a  community  that  is  forbidden  to  buy  cannot  sell. 
'The  whole  Southern  country  will  buy  less,  and  make  their  own 
clothing,  without  making  smaller  crops.'  Cui  bono  this  last 
operation,  except  to  wear  out  their  lands  and  slaves  gratui- 
tously ?  It  is  this  very  'buying  less, '  that  lies  at  the  root  of  our 
mischief.  If  we  bought  more,  we  would  sell  more  in  propor- 
tion, and  become  rich  by  the  transaction.  To  pursue  a 
Chinese  policy,  which  we  did  not  want,  this  Government,  by 
cutting  us  off  from  our  best  customer,  England,  inflicts  a  dead 
loss  of  $15,000,000  this  very  year  on  one  Southern  state  alone 
(Southern  Carolina) ;  as  returns  cannot  be  made  in  her  com- 
modities, England,  in  time  of  dearth,  refuses  to  receive  her  rice. 
Formerly  she  would  not  eat  India  rice.  In  like  manner,  she 
will  soon  become  independent  of  us  for  her  supply  of  cotton. 
She  is  also  planting  tobacco;  so  that  the  conflagration  of  the 
factories,  at  which  I  heartily  rejoice,  will  take  from  us  the  mite 
received  for  their  consumption.  Again,  all  the  expenditure  of 
this  machine  of  ours,  is  made  (Norfolk  and  Point  Comfort 
excepted)  north  of  the  Chesapeake.  All  of  the  dividends  of 
the  debt  of  the  bank  are  received  there.  No  country  can 
withstand  such  oppression  and  such  a  drain. 

"As  to  W.  H.,  I  should  not  pay  the  slightest  regard  to  any- 


Randolph  as  a  Man  645 

thing  that  he  can  say.  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  West 
Indies,  and  I  have  been  told  by  some  of  the  principal 
proprietors  that  with  all  their  heavy  charges  for  provisions, 
lumber,  mules,  &c,  from  which  Louisiana  is  exempt,  the  sugar 
crop  is  clear  of  all  expenses ;  these  being  defrayed  by  the  mo- 
lasses and  rum.  Moreover,  you  are  to  consider  that  the  West 
Indies  suffer  under  grievous  commercial  restrictions,  and  that 
Wilberforce  and  Co.  have  very  much  impaired  the  value  of 
their  slaves.  (The  same  thing  is  at  work  here.)  Nevertheless 
I  was  assured  by  the  most  intelligent  and  opulent  of  the  'West 
India  Body'  that  the  mortgages  and  embarrassments  of 
Jamaica  &c.  grew  chiefly  out  of  the  proprietors  residing  in 
England,  and  trusting  to  agents ;  sometimes  to  colonial  osten- 
tation and  extravagance;  but  that  there  was  scarcely  an 
instance  of  a  judicious  and  active  planter  personally  super- 
intending his  affairs,  who  did  not  amass  a  fortune  in  a  very 
few  years. 

"England  was  our  best  customer,  because  we  were  her  best 
customers.  This  is  the  law  of  trade,  and  the  basis  of  wealth; 
instead  of  which  we  have  the  exploded  'mercantile  system,'  as 
it  was  ridiculously  called,  revived  and  fastened,  like  the  Old 
Man  of  the  Sea,  around  our  necks."1 

The  subject  was  one  that  haunted  his  thoughts  so  per- 
sistently that  he  recurred  to  it  five  days  later  in  these 
words : 

"Your  letter  of  Tuesday  (17)  is  just  received.  I  did  not 
'mistake  you  very  much,'  for  I  did  not  attribute  to  you  opin- 
ions favorable  to  the  tariff.  The  causes  of  disparity  between 
the  East  and  South  are  to  be  found,  among  other  things,  in  the 
former  charging  and  being  paid  for  every  militia  man  in  the 
field  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  for  every  bundle  of 
hay  and  peck  of  oats  furnished  for  public  service ;  in  the  buying 
up  the  certificates  of  debt  for  a  song,  and  funding  them  in  the 
banks ;  in  the  bounty  upon  their  navigation,  and  the  monopoly 
of  trade  which  the  European  wars  gave  them.  If  the  militia 
services,  losses,  and  supplies  of  the  Carolinas  had  been  brought 

1  Feb.  14,  1829,  Garland,  v.  2,  319. 


646         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

into  account,  all  New  England  would  not  have  sold  for  as 
much  as  would  have  paid  them.  In  regard  to  the  West  Indies, 
the  great  law  of  culture  prevails — that  the  worst  soils  hardly 
reproduce  the  expense  of  cultivation.  If,  even  in  Georgia, 
where  the  cane  does  not  yield  one-half  the  strength  of  syrup, 
sugar  can  be  made  to  profit,  what  must  be  the  yield  of  the 
rich,  fresh  lands  of  Jamaica,  St.  Kitts,  or  Juvinau?  The  syrup 
of  New  Orleans,  is,  by  the  proof,  8 ;  of  the  West  Indies,  16." ■  (a) 

How  deeply  attached  Randolph  was  to  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Brockenbrough  many  of  his  letters  abundantly  attest. 
On  one  occasion,  he  wrote  from  Dr.  Brockenbrough's 
home  to  Dr.  Dudley  in  this  manner  of  his  hosts : 

f;The  Doctor  and  lady  return  your  compliments.  He  is 
the  best  man  in  the  world,  and  she  a  very  superior  woman. 
Her  understanding  is  masculine  and  well  improved  by  reading ; 
but  her  misfortunes  (how  should  they  fail)  have  cast  a  sombre 
hue  over  her  temper  and  manners."2 

As  Gabriella  Harvie,  Mrs.  Brockenbrough  had  first 
married  Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe;  and  the 
marriage  had  been  an  unhappy  one. 

On  another  occasion,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley:  "I  am 
glad  that  my  good  friend,  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  found  you 
out.  Cherish  the  acquaintance  of  that  man.  'He  is  not 
as  other  men  are.'"3  "There  is  a  mind  of  a  very  high 
order;  well  improved,  and  manners  that  a  queen  might 
envy,"  was  the  judgment  which  Randolph  passed  upon 
Mrs.  Brockenbrough  in  one  of  his  letters  to  his  niece.4 
At  the  end  of  the  same  year,  he  also  wrote  to  his  niece: 

"I  am  sorry  that  you  have  abstained  from  visiting  Mrs.  B., 
because  I  am  persuaded  your  society  would  have  been  a  relief 
to  her,  and  I  am  sure  that  her  company  and  conversation  could 

1  Feb.  19,  1829,  Garland,  v.  2,  320. 

2  Richm.,  Mar.  20,  1814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  157. 

3  Roanoke,  Sept.  3,  181 1,  Id.,  101. 

4  Washington,  Jan.  27,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  647 

not  fail  to  gratify  you.  She  is  a  woman  of  a  very  powerful  and 
cultivated  understanding,  in  whose  society  I  have  found  great 
delight."1 

Some  four  years  later,  in  another  letter  to  his  niece,  he 
spoke  of  the  pair  in  these  touching  words : 

"You  say  that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Brockenbrough  love  me  and 
speak  of  me  continually.  Indeed,  I  believe  they  do,  and  that 
conviction  is  one  of  the  treasures  of  my  heart.  For  more  than 
20  years,  I  have  been  to  them  an  object  of  uniform  kindness 
and  attention,  and  their  friendship  has,  during  that  long  and 
unprosperous  period  of  my  life,  constituted  its  chief  solace. 
They  have  never  been  wanting  to  rejoice  in  my  prosperity 
and  mourn  in  my  adversity.  The  more  and  the  longer  you 
know  them,  the  deeper  will  be  your  admiration  and  esteem. 
To  them  I  look  for  the  greater  share  of  what  little  comfort  may 
be  left  in  the  dregs  of  the  cup  of  life.  Of  one  thing  I  never  can 
be  deprived — the  gratification  of  numbering  them  among  those 
who  have  honored  me  with  a  place  in  their  regard." 2 

The  friendship  continued  as  long  as  Randolph  lasted. 
"Took  leave  of  my  friends  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Brockenbrough. 
Felt  more  like  leaving  home  than  returning  to  it, "  was  an 
entry  made  by  him  in  one  of  his  journals  under  date  of 
Feb.  18,  1830. 3  And,  perhaps,  Dr.  Brockenbrough  was 
the  only  person  in  the  world  to  whom  Randolph,  even  in 
his  shattered  condition  of  body  and  mind,  could  have 
written  these  words,  wrung  from  his  proud  nature  by  the 
pitiable  state  in  which  he  found  himself  in  the  late  summer 
or  early  fall,  of  1832,  when  the  cup  of  existence  had  nothing 
for  him  but  its  blackest  and  bitterest  dregs : 

"After  I  wrote  to  you  on  Sunday  night,  the  next  day  I  had  a 
most  violent  fit  of  hysteria.  I  was  so  moved  by  the  ingratitude 
of  my  servants  and  my  destitute  and  forlorn  condition  that  I 

1  Dec.  29,  1822,  Id. 

2  Washington,  Feb.  2,  1827,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 


°48  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

'lifted  up  my  voice  and  wept' ;  wept  most  bitterly.  Yet  I  am 
now  inclined  to  think  that  I  did  the  poor  creatures  some 
injustice  by  ascribing  to  ingratitude  what  was  the  insensibility 
of  their  condition  in  life.  But  everybody,  you  only  excepted, 
abandons  me  in  my  misery."1 

The  long  friendship  between  Randolph  and  Wm.  Leigh 
began  as  Mrs.  Malaprop  thought  marriage  should  begin — 
with  a  little  aversion;  for,  in  the  Randolph  will  litigation, 
Leigh  testified  that  he  had  been  told  by  Beverley  Tucker 
that,  in  the  first  instance,  Randolph  had  taken  a  dislike 
to  him.2  The  dislike  was  subsequently  converted  into 
feelings  of  the  deepest  esteem  and  the  warmest  affection. 
After  the  year  1822,  Leigh  looked  after  Randolph's 
business  affairs,  when  he  was  not  at  home;  saw  him  two 
or  three  times  a  month,  when  he  was  at  home,  and  con- 
versed with  him,  when  he  met  him,  in  the  most  unreserved 
and  confidential  manner.  We  quote  Leigh's  own  words 
in  the  Randolph  will  litigation.3  In  one  of  his  letters  to 
his  niece,  Randolph  spoke  of  Leigh  as  his  Fidus  Achates, 4 
and,  while  he  was  disposed  to  charge  to  Leigh's  profes- 
sional preoccupations  the  demoralized  condition,  in  which 
he  found  his  plantation,  as  he  thought,  on  his  return  from 
Russia,  his  feelings  about  Leigh  never  underwent  the 
slightest  change.  At  one  time,  he  conducted  a  planta- 
tion on  the  Dan  River,  purchased  by  Leigh,  jointly  with 
him;  contributing  to  its  operation  a  certain  number  of 
negroes,  draft  animals,  and  implements.  This  arrange- 
ment Randolph  evidently  entered  into  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  Leigh,  who  did  not  have  the  hands  with  which  to 
work  the  plantation  himself.  Many  years  later,  he  asked 
Leigh  how  the  account  between  them  stood,  and  was  told 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  349. 

2  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

3  Ibid. 

«  Washington,  Jan.  30,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  649 

by  him  that  there  was  a  balance  in  favor  of  Leigh  of 
$2,80744;  but  that  Randolph  had  been  given  no  credit 
for  the  hire  of  the  negroes.  Randolph  replied  that  it  did 
not  amount  to  more  than  the  balance  against  him.  Leigh 
told  him  that  he  thought  that  it  did,  though  he  could  not 
say  how  much;  whereupon  Randolph  proposed  that  they 
should  execute  mutual  releases ;  which  was  done,  Randolph 
himself  preparing  with  his  own  hand  the  release  by  which 
he  discharged  Leigh.1 

It  is  not  often  that  one  friend  has  occasion  to  write 
more  painful  words  about  another  than  these  which  Leigh 
wrote  to  John  Randolph  Clay  a  few  months  after  Ran- 
dolph's death: 

"For  some  time  after  this  event,  I  could  not  muster  up 
resolution  enough  to  write  or  do  anything.  Hence  my  long 
silence.  We  had  been  so  long  such  close  friends,  and  I  was 
so  strongly  attached  to  him  that  I  could  not  part  with  him 
without  the  deepest  grief.  And  yet  my  judgment  told  me 
that  death  was  to  him  a  relief  from  perpetual  torture  of  both 
body  and  mind.  After  his  return  from  the  Russian  Mission, 
he  was  not  the  same  man.  For  months  after  he  reached  home, 
he  did  not  pass  one  quiet  hour,  and  his  active  mind,  excited  to 
madness,  was  employed  in  seeking  matter  to  complain  of.  He 
quarrelled  with  his  neighbors  and  slaves,  and  abused  his  best 
friends.  I,  who,  as  you  know,  had  given  up  too  much  of  my 
time  to  serve  him,  and  had  devoted  myself  to  him,  so  as  to 
draw  upon  me  the  censure  of  the  world,  escaped  not.  But 
I  knew  his  situation,  and  I  was,  without  the  least  feeling  of 
anger,  overwhelmed  with  sorrow  at  witnessing  the  overthrow  of 
his  powerful  understanding  and  his  sufferings.  Even  after  he 
had  recovered  from  the  violence  of  his  madness,  he  was  not  the 
man  he  had  been  before  his  departure  for  Russia.  His  feelings 
were  perverted,  and  he  seemed  to  have  lost  in  a  great  degree 
his  attachment  for  his  old  friends — the  effect,  doubtless,  of 
derangement.     In  addition  to  this,  he  was  tortured  by  disease 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 


650         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

of  body.  This  being  his  situation,  no  friend  ought  to  have 
desired  for  him  protracted  life.  But  my  feelings  were  at  war 
with  my  judgment,  and  for  sometime  I  could  think  of 
nothing  but  his  death."1 

Such  was  Randolph  in  his  family  and  social  relations. 
When,  in  addition  to  the  facts  which  we  have  set  forth 
above,  the  reader  is  told  that  no  less  than  five  persons — 
Randolph's  brother  Henry,  Joseph  Bryan,  Thomas 
Spalding,  of  Georgia,  Joseph  Clay,  Sir  Grey  Skipwith, 
and  Charles  Sterrett  Ridgely,  are  known  to  have  named 
sons  after  him,  because  of  the  love  that  they  bore  him,  it 
is  difficult  to  find  words  keen  and  indignant  enough  to 
fitly  condemn  the  reckless  brutality  which  led  Henry 
Adams  to  say  that  Randolph  belonged  "to  an  order  of 
animated  beings  still  nearer  than  the  Indians  to  the 
jealous  predacious  instincts  of  dawning  intelligence.  "2 

To  Randolph  religion  brought  only  a  precarious  degree 
of  happiness;  though  it  cannot  be  doubted  that,  except 
during  the  period  of  his  avowed  infidelity  in  early  life,  he 
was  subject  to  truly  religious  emotions,  when  in  a  normal 
state  of  mind  and  heart. 

In  his  childhood,  he  received  the  religious  instruction  of 
a  pious  mother,  and,  in  his  later  years,  he  took  pride  in 
the  fact  that  he  was  born  and  baptized  in  the  Church  of 
England.3  In  the  prayer  book,  which  he  gave  to  his 
nephew,  John  St.  George  Randolph,  on  August  8,  1818, 
he  wrote  these  words : 

"Your  parents  were  born  members  of  the  Church  of  England. 
All  your  forefathers  have  been  of  that  persuasion.  You  can 
have  no  good  cause  to  desert  it.  Keep  this  book ;  and  consider 
it,  as  next  to  the  Bible  (from  which,  indeed,  it  is  for  the  most 
part  extracted)  entitled  to  your  reverence.     If  any  charge  you 

1  Halifax  Co.,  Aug.  10,  1833,  Clay  MSS.  Libr.  Cong. 
3  John  Randolph,  256. 
3  Garland,  v.  2,  103. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  651 

with  formality,  ask  them  if  there  be  more  form  in  reading  prose 
than  in  singing  verse,  given  out  too  by  another.  This  all  sects 
but  the  Quakers  do.  Ask  them  to  read  our  Liturgy,  more 
especially  the  General  Confession,  the  Te  Deum,  and,  above 
all,  the  Litany,  if  they  can,  with  unmelted  hearts  or  uncurdled 
blood.  He  that  refuses  to  go  along  with  a  devout  reader  of 
this  service  may  suspect  himself  of  a  want  of  'vital  religion.' 
If  form  be  again  objected,  and  the  coldness  of  our  service,  tell 
them  the  coldness  is  not  in  the  book  but  in  the  bosoms  of  men. 
Here  is  something  which  out  of  the  Bible  we  shall  seek  else- 
where in  vain,  to  suit  every  rank  and  condition  of  life.  I  am 
rarely  affected  by  extempore  prayer,  often  in  pain  for  the  per- 
son praying,  but,  in  whatever  mood  I  find  [myself],  my  feelings, 
whether  of  penitence  or  thanksgiving,  respond  to  the  suppli- 
cations and  prayers  of  our  Venerable  Church."1 

Influenced  by  the  general  religious  reaction  of  the  time, 
and  such  scoffers  as  Voltaire,  Diderot  and  D'Alembert, 
Randolph,  in  his  earlier  years,  forgot  the  precepts  of  his 
mother  and  became  an  infidel.  This  condition  of  mind, 
however,  curiously  enough  had  been  preceded  by  a  brief 
period,  during  which  he  imagined  that  he  might  become  a 
Mohammedan. 

"Very  early  in  life,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  "I 
imbibed  an  absurd  prejudice  in  favor  of  Mohammedanism 
and  its  votaries.  The  Crescent  had  a  talismanic  effect  on  my 
imagination,  and  I  rejoiced  in  all  its  triumphs  over  the  Cross 
(which  I  despised),  as  I  mourned  over  its  defeats;  and  Maho- 
met II.  himself  did  not  more  exult  than  I  did,  when  the  Cres- 
cent was  planted  on  the  dome  of  St.  Sophia,  and  the  Cathedral 
of  the  Constantines  converted  into  a  Turkish  mosque."2 

This  vagary,  as  fantastic  as  the  conversion  of  Lord 
George  Gordon  to  Judaism,  soon  passed  away. 

Side  by  side  with  it,  should  be  read  the  letter  from 
Randolph  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  in  which  he  narrated 

1  Sou.  Churchman,  Feb.  19,  1880. 

2  Sept.  25,  1818,  Garland,  v.  2,  102. 


652  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  process  by.  which  he  had  been  reconverted  from  his 
parlor  Mohammedanism  and  subsequent  state  of  religious 
skepticism  to  the  faith  in  which  he  had  been  born  and 
nurtured,  as  a  child. 

"I  am  sorry  that  Quashee  should  intrude  upon  you  un- 
reasonably. The  old  man,  I  suppose,  knows  the  pleasure  I 
take  in  your  letters,  and,  therefore,  feels  anxious  to  procure  his 
master  the  gratification.  I  cannot,  however,  express  sorrow — 
for  I  do  not  feel  it — at  the  impression  which  you  tell  me  my 
last  letter  made  upon  you.  May  it  lead  to  the  same  happy 
consequences  that  I  have  experienced — which  I  now  feel — in 
that  sunshine  of  the  heart,  which  the  peace  of  God,  that 
passeth  all  understanding,  alone  can  bestow ! 

"Your  imputing  such  sentiments  to  a  heated  imagination 
does  not  surprise  me,  who  have  been  bred  in  the  school  of  Hob- 
bes  and  Bayle,  and  Shaftesbury  and  Bolingbroke,  and  Hume 
and  Voltaire  and  Gibbon;  who  have  cultivated  the  skeptical 
philosophy  from  my  vain-glorious  boyhood — I  might  almost 
say  childhood — and  who  have  felt  all  that  unutterable  disgust 
which  hypocrisy,  and  cant,  and  fanaticism  never  fail  to  excite 
in  men  of  education  and  refinement,  superadded  to  our  natural 
repugnance  to  Christianity.  I  am  not,  even  now,  insensible  to 
this  impression;  but,  as  the  excesses  of  her  friends  (real  or 
pretended)  can  never  alienate  the  votary  of  liberty  from  a 
free  form  of  government,  and  enlist  him  under  the  banners 
of  despotism,  so  neither  can  the  cant  of  fanaticism,  or  hypo- 
crisy, or  of  both  (for  so  far  from  being  incompatible,  they  are 
generally  found  united  in  the  same  character — may  God  in  his 
mercy  preserve  and  defend  us  from  both)  disgust  the  pious 
with  true  religion. 

"Mine  has  been  no  sudden  change  of  opinion.  I  can  refer  to 
a  record,  showing,  on  my  part,  a  desire  of  more  than  nine  years' 
standing,  to  partake  of  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper; 
although,  for  two  and  twenty  years  preceding,  my  feet  had 
never  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  house  of  prayer.  This 
desire  I  was  restrained  from  indulging  by  the  fear  of  eating  and 
drinking  unrighteously.  And,  although  that  fear  hath  been 
cast  out  by  perfect  love,  I  have  never  yet  gone  to  the  altar; 


Randolph  as  a  Man  653 

neither  have  I  been  present  at  the  performance  of  divine 
service,  unless  indeed  I  may  so  call  my  reading  the  liturgy  of 
our  church  and  some  chapters  of  the  Bible  to  my  poor  negroes 
on  Sundays.  Such  passages  as  I  think  require  it,  and  which  I 
feel  competent  to  explain,  I  comment  upon — enforcing  as  far 
as  possible,  and  dwelling  upon,  those  texts  especially  that  en- 
join the  indispensable  accompaniment  of  a  good  life  as  the 
touchstone  of  the  true  faith.  The  Sermon  from  the  Mount, 
and  the  Evangelists  generally;  the  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the 
Ephesians,  chap,  vi;  the  General  Epistle  of  James,  and  the 
first  Epistle  of  John;  these  are  my  chief  texts. 

"The  consummation  of  my  conversion — I  use  the  word  in  its 
strictest  sense — is  owing  to  a  variety  of  causes,  but  chiefly 
to  the  conviction,  unwillingly  forced  upon  me,  that  the  very 
few  friends,  which  an  unprosperous  life  (the  fruit  of  an  un- 
governable temper)  had  left  me,  were  daily  losing  their  hold 
upon  me,  in  a  firmer  grasp  of  ambition,  avarice,  or  sensuality. 
I  am  not  sure  that,  to  complete  the  anti-climax,  avarice  should 
not  have  been  last ;  for  although,  in  some  of  its  effects,  debauch- 
ery be  more  disgusting  than  avarice,  yet,  as  it  regards  the 
unhappy  victim,  this  last  is  more  to  be  dreaded.  Dissipation, 
as  well  as  power  or  prosperity,  hardens  the  heart;  but  avarice 
deadens  it  to  every  feeling  but  the  thirst  for  riches.  Avarice 
alone  could  have  produced  the  slave-trade;  avarice  alone  can 
drive,  as  it  does  drive,  this  infernal  traffic,  and  the  wretched 
victims  of  it,  like  so  many  post-horses,  whipped  to  death  in  a 
mail-coach.  Ambition  has  its  reward  in  the  pride,  pomp,  and 
circumstance  of  glorious  war;  but  where  are  the  trophies  of 
avarice? — the  handcuff,  the  manacle,  and  the  blood-stained 
cowhide?  What  man  is  worse  received  in  society  for  being  a 
hard  master?  Every  day  brings  to  light  some  H — e  or  H — ns 
in  our  own  boasted  land  of  liberty '  Who  denies  the  hand  of  a 
sister  or  daughter  to  such  monsters?  Nay,  they  have  even 
appeared  in  'the  abused  shape  of  the  vilest  of  women.'  I  say 
nothing  of  India,  or  Amboyna,  or  Cortez,  or  Pizarro. 

"When  I  was  last  in  your  town,  I  was  inexpressibly  shocked 
(and  perhaps  I  am  partly  indebted  to  the  circumstance  for 
accelerating  my  emancipation)  to  hear,  on  the  threshold  of  the 
temple  of  the  least  erect  of  all  the  spirits  that  fell  from  heaven, 


654  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

these  words  spoken  by  a  man  second  to  none  in  this  nation  in 
learning  or  abilities;  one,  too,  whom  I  had,  not  long  before, 
seen  at  the  table  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour:  'I  do  not  want  the 
Holy  Ghost  (I  shudder  while  I  write),  or  any  other  spirit  in 
me.'  If  these  doctrines  are  true  (St.  Paul's),  there  was  no 
need  for  Wesley  and  Whitefield  to  have  separated  from  the 
church.  The  Methodists  are  right,  and  the  church  wrong.  I 
want  to  see  the  old  church,  &c.  &c. :  that  is,  such  as  this  diocese 
was  under  Bishop  Terrick,  when  wine-bibbing  and  buck- 
parsons  were  sent  out  to  preach  'a  dry  clatter  of  morality,'  and 
not  the  word  of  God,  for  16,000  lbs.  of  tobacco.  When  I 
speak  of  morality,  it  is  not  as  condemning  it ;  religion  includes 
it,  but  much  more.  Day  is  now  breaking,  and  I  shall  ex- 
tinguish my  candles,  which  are  better  than  no  light;  or,  if  I  do 
not,  in  the  presence  of  the  powerful  King  of  Day  they  will  be 
noticed  only  by  the  dirt  and  ill  savor  that  betray  all  human 
contrivances;  the  taint  of  humanity.  Morality  is  to  the 
Gospel  not  even  as  a  farthing  rushlight  to  the  blessed  sun."1 

Of  the  perplexities,  the  anxieties,  and  the  misgivings, 
which  accompanied  the  transition  mentioned  in  this 
letter,  we  need  not  speak  in  detail.  The  transition  itself 
was  doubtless  initiated,  in  no  little  measure,  by  the  gen- 
eral religious  reawakening  of  which  Dr.  John  H.  Rice 
spoke  in  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Rev.  Archibald  Alexander : 

"You  remember,"  he  said,  "that  in  Virginia  there  was  a 
class  of  persons  who  never  went  to  church  at  all.  They  thought 
it  beneath  them.  That  class  is  diminishing  in  numbers  pretty 
rapidly,  and,  now  and  then,  persons  of  this  description  are 
entering  into  the  church.  Mrs.  Judith  Randolph,  of  Bizarre, 
lately  made  a  profession  of  religion.  I  have  been  much  in  her 
company  since,  and  I  think  her  among  the  most  truly  pious  in 
our  country.  John  Randolph  attended  the  sacrament  when  his 
sister  joined  with  us,  and  seemed  to  be  much  impressed.  He 
invited  Mr.  Hoge  home  with  him  and  conversed  much  upon 
religion.     Mr.  Hoge  is  fully  persuaded  that  he  is,  as  it  is 

1  Sept.  25,  1818,  Garland,  v.  2,  100. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  655 

expressed  here,  an  exercised  man.  Wm.  B.  Giles  regularly 
attends  our  missionaries  who  preach  in  Amelia.  Mr.  Speece 
preached  in  his  neighborhood  not  long  ago.  He  was  present 
and  remarkably  attentive.  In  the  evening,  he  repeated  to  a 
lady,  who  could  not  go  to  church,  Mr.  Speece's  sermon  almost 
verbatim;  adding,  when  he  was  done,  that  was  the  best  sermon 
he  had  ever  heard  or  read.  Joseph  Eggleston,  formerly  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  entertains  our  missionaries  at  his  house  with 
the  utmost  cordiality.  The  wife  of  John  W.  Eppes  is  said  to 
be  under  very  serious  religious  impressions.  There  were  at 
the  last  Cumberland  sacrament  from  8  to  10  of  the  Randolph 
connections  at  the  table  of  the  Lord."1 

So  John  Randolph  was  but  one  of  the  many  straws 
caught  up  and  floated  off  into  the  bosom  of  the  Church  by 
one  of  those  rising  tides  of  Evangelical  Presbyterianism, 
which  were  so  common  in  this  region.  From  being  a 
merely  exercised  hearer,  he,  after  experiencing  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  doubt,  fear,  and  love  which  attended  the 
full  reconcilement  of  a  human  soul  to  the  purposes  of  God 
in  his  day,  and,  after  receiving  word  after  word  of  expla- 
nation, assurance,  and  hope  from  Key,  William  Meade, 
and  Dr.  Hoge,  at  last  found  that  he  no  longer  shrank  from 
the  altar  which  he  had  written  to  Key  that  he  would  have 
given  all  that  he  was  worth  to  be  able  to  approach,  and  yet 
could  not;2  and  broke  out  into  this  triumphant  paean  of 
confidence  and  joy: 

''Congratulate  me  Frank — wish  me  joy  you  need  not — give 
it  you  cannot — I  am  at  last  reconciled  to  my  God  and  have 
assurance  of  his  pardon  through  faith  in  Christ,  against  which 
the  very  gates  of  Hell  cannot  prevail.  Fear  hath  been  driven 
out  by  perfect  love.  I  now  know  that  you  know  how  I  feel; 
and,  within  a  month,  for  the  first  time,  I  understand  your 
feelings  and  character  and  that  of  every  real  Christian.  Love 
to  Mrs.  Key  and  your  brood.     I  am  not  now  afraid  of  being 

1  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  Jno.  H.  Rice,  by  Maxwell,  55. 

2  Garland,  v.  2,  66. 


656         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

'righteous  overmuch'  or  of  'methodistical  notions.'  Thine  in 
truth,  J.  R.  of  R.  Let  Meade  know  the  glad  tidings,  and  let 
him,  if  he  has  kept  it,  read  and  preserve  my  letter  to  him  from 
Richmond  years  ago."1 

Looking  back  a  few  weeks  later  over  the  long  pathway, 
strewn  with  pitfalls,  and  enveloped  in  obscurity,  which  he 
had  trod,  Randolph  wrote  of  his  conversion  to  Wm. 
Meade :  ■ '  I  can  compare  it  to  nothing  so  well  as  the  dawn- 
ing sun  after  a  dark,  tempestuous  night.  "2 

It  would  take  us  too  far  afield  to  quote  very  freely  from 
the  numerous  letters  written  by  Randolph  on  such  topics. 
Moreover,  religious  as  the  world  still  is,  the  morbid  psy- 
chology, revealed  by  these  letters,  is  more  or  less  obsolete. 
On  the  principle,  however,  of  ex  pede  Herculem  we  will 
bring  two  more  of  them  to  the  attention  of  the  reader. 
Both  were  written  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough. 

(1) 

"It  was  to  me  a  subject  of  deep  regret  that  I  was  obliged 
to  leave  town  before  Mr.  Meade's  arrival.  I  promised  myself 
much  comfort  and  improvement  from  his  conversation.  My 
dear  sir,,  there  is,  or  there  is  not,  another  and  a  better  world. 
If  there  is,  as  we  all  believe,  what  is  it  but  madness  to  be 
absorbed  in  the  cares  of  a  clay-built  hovel,  held  at  will,  un- 
mindful of  the  rich  inheritance  of  an  imperishable  palace,  of 
which  we  are  immortal  heirs?  We  acknowledge  these  things 
with  our  lips,  but  not  with  our  hearts ;  we  lack  faith. 

V  We  would  serve  God;  provided  we  may  serve  Mammon  at 
the  same  time.  For  my  part,  could  I  be  brought  to  believe 
that  this  life  must  be  the  end  of  my  being,  I  should  be  disposed 
to  get  rid  of  it  as  an  incumbrance.  If  what  is  to  come,  be 
anything  like  what  is  passed,  it  would  be  wise  to  abandon  the 
hulk  to  the  underwriters,  the  worms.  I  am  more  and  more 
convinced  that,  with  a  few  exceptions,  this  world  of  ours  is  a 
vast  mad-house.     The   only  men   I   ever  knew  well,   ever 

1  Roanoke,  Sept.  7.  1818,  Gar1and,  v.  2,  99, 

2 Roanoke,  Dec.  21,  18 18,  Misc.  Randolph  Letters,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  657 

approached  closely,  whom  I  did  not  discover  to  be  unhappy, 
are  sincere  believers  of  the  Gospel,  and  conform  their  lives, 
as  far  as  the  nature  of  man  can  permit,  to  its  precepts.  There 
are  only  three  of  them.  [Meade,  Hoge,  Key?]  And  yet, 
Ambition,  and  Avarice,  and  Pleasure,  as  it  is  called,  have  their 
temples  crowded  with  votaries,  whose  own  experience  has 
proved  to  them  the  insufficiency  and  emptiness  of  their  pur- 
suits, and  who  obstinately  turn  away  from  the  only  waters 
that  can  slake  their  dying  thirst  and  heal  their  diseases. 

*'.  One  word  on  the  subject  of  your  own  state  of  mind.  I  am 
well  acquainted  with  it — too  well.  Like  you,  I  have  not 
reached  that  lively  faith  which  some  more  favored  persons 
enjoy.  But  I  am  persuaded  that  it  can  and  will  be  attained 
by  all  who  are  conscious  of  the  depravity  of  our  nature,  of  their 
own  manifold  departures  from  the  laws  of  God,  and  sins 
against  their  own  conscience;  and  who  are  sincerely  desirous 
to  accept  of  pardon  on  the  terms  held  out  in  the  Gospel. 
Without  puzzling  ourselves,  therefore,  with  subtle  disquisitions, 
let  us  ask,  are  we  conscious  of  the  necessity  of  pardon  ?  are  we 
willing  to  submit  to  the  terms  offered  to  us — to  consider 
Christianity  as  a  scheme  imperfectly  understood,  planned  by 
Infinite  Wisdom,  and  canvassed  by  finite  comprehensions — to 
ask  of  our  Heavenly  Father  that  faith  and  that  strength  which 
by  our  own  unassisted  efforts  we  can  never  attain  ?  To  me  it 
would  be  a  stronger  objection  to  Christianity,  did  it  contain 
nothing  which  baffled  my  comprehension,  than  its  most 
difficult  doctrines.  What  professor  ever  delivered  a  lecture 
that  his  scholars  were  not  at  a  loss  to  comprehend  some  parts 
of  it?  But  that  is  no  objection  to  the  doctrine.  But  the 
teacher  here  is  God !  I  may  deceive  myself,  but  I  hope  that  I 
have  made  some  progress;  so  small  indeed  that  I  may  be 
ashamed  of  it,  in  this  necessary  work,  even  since  I  saw  you.  I 
am  no  disciple  of  Calvin  or  Wesley,  but  I  feel  the  necessity  of  a 
changed  nature ;  of  a  new  life ;  of  an  altered  heart.  I  feel  my 
stubborn  and  rebellious  nature  to  be  softened,  and  that  it  is 
essential  to  my  comfort  here,  as  well  as  to  my  future  welfare,  to 
cultivate  and  cherish  feelings  of  good  will  towards  all  man- 
kind ;  to  strive  against  envy,  malice,  and  all  uncharitableness. 
I  think  I  have  succeeded  in  forgiving  all  my  enemies.     There 

VOL.  II — 42 


658         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

is  not  a  human  being  that  I  would  hurt,  if  it  were  in  my  power; 
not  even  Bonaparte."1 

(2) 

"As  well  as  very  bad  implements  and  worse  eyes  will  permit 
me  to  do  it  by  candlelight,  I  will  endeavor  to  make  some  return 
to  your  kind  letter,  which  I  received,  not  by  Quashee,  but  the 
mail.  I  also  got  a  short  note  by  him,  for  which  I  thank  you. 
.  .  .  And  now,  my  dear  friend,  one  word  in  your  ear — in 
the  porches  of  thine  ear.  With  Archimedes,  I  may  cry  Eureka. 
Why,  what  have  you  found — the  philosopher's  stone?  No — 
something  better  than  that.  Gyges'ring?  No.  A  substitute 
for  bank  paper?  No.  The  elixir  vitoe,  then?  It  is;  but  it  is 
the  elixir  of  eternal  life.  It  is  that  peace  of  God  which  passeth 
all  understanding,  and  which  is  no  more  to  be  conceived  of  by 
the  material  heart  than  poor  St.  George  can  be  made  to  feel  and 
taste  the  difference  between  the  Italian  and  German  music. 
It  is  a  miracle,  of  which  the  person,  upon  whom  it  is  wrought, 
alone  is  conscious — as  he  is  conscious  of  any  other  feeling — e.g. 
whether  the  friendship  he  professes  for  A  or  B  be  a  real  senti- 
ment of  his  heart,  or  simulated  to  serve  a  turn. 

"God,  my  dear  friend,  hath  visited  me  in  my  desolation;  in 
the  hours  of  darkness,  of  sickness,  and  of  sorrow :  of  that  worst 
of  all  sickness,  sickness  of  the  heart,  for  which  neither  wealth 
nor  power  can  find  or  afford  a  cure.  May  you,  my  dear  friend, 
find  it,  where  alone  it  is  to  be  found !  in  the  sacred  volume — 
in  the  word  of  God,  whose  power  surpasseth  all  that  human 
imagination  (unassisted  by  grace)  can  conceive.  I  am  now? 
for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  supplied  with  a  motive  of  action 
that  never  can  mislead  me — the  love  of  God  and  my  neighbor 
— because  I  love  God.  All  other  motives  I  feel,  by  my  own 
experience,  in  my  own  person,  as  well  as  in  that  of  numerous 
'friends'  (so  called),  to  be  utterly  worthless.  God  hath  at  last 
given  me  courage  to  confess  him  before  men.  Once  I  hated 
mankind — bitterly  hated  them — but  loved  (like  that  wretched 
man,  Swift)  'John  or  Thomas.'  Now,  my  regard  for  in- 
dividuals is  not  lessened,  but  my  love  for  the  race  exalted 
almost  to  a  level  with  that  of  my  friends — I  am  obliged  to  use 
1  Roanoke,  July  4,  181 5,  Garland,  v.  2,  68. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  659 

the  word.  I  pretend  to  no  sudden  conversion,  or  new  or  great 
lights.  I  have  stubbornly  held  out,  for  more  than  a  Trojan 
siege,  against  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  my  creator.  Yes — 
Troy  town  did  not  so  long  and  so  obstinately  resist  the  con- 
federated Greeks.  But  what  is  the  wrath  of  the  swift-footed 
Achilles  to  the  wrath  of  God?  and  what  his  speed  to  the 
vengeance  of  heaven?  and  what  are  these  even  to  the  love  of 
Jesus  Christ,  thou  Son  of  David?  I  have  often  asked,  but  it 
was  without  sufficient  humility;  or,  perhaps,  like  the  Canaan- 
itish  woman,  God  saw  fit  to  try  me.  I  sought,  but  not  with 
sufficient  diligence — at  least,  deserted  in  my  utmost  need,  (not 
indeed  like  Darius,  great  and  good — for  I  could  command 
service,  such  as  we  often  pay  to  God — lip  service  and  eye 
service),  desolate  and  abandoned  by  all  that  had  given  me 
reason  to  think  they  had  any  respect  and  affection  for  me,  I 
knocked  with  all  my  might.  I  asked  for  the  crumbs  that 
otherwise  might  be  swept  out  to  the  dogs,  and  there  was  opened 
to  me  the  full  and  abundant  treasury  of  his  grace.  When  this 
happened,  I  cannot  tell.  It  has  broken  upon  me  like  the  dawn 
I  see  every  morning,  insensibly  changing  darkness  into  light. 
My  slavish  fears  of  punishment,  which  I  always  knew  to  be 
sinful,  but  would  not  put  off,  are  converted  into  an  humble 
hope  of  a  seat,  even  if  it  be  the  lowest,  in  the  courts  of  God. 
Yes,  at  last  I  am  happy — as  happy  as  man  can  be.  Should  it 
please  God  to  continue  his  favor  to  me,  you  will  see  it — not 
only  on  my  lips,  but  in  my  life.  Should  he  withdraw  it,  as 
assuredly  he  will,  unless  with  his  assistance  I  humbly  endeavor 
by  prayer  and  self-denial,  and  doing  of  his  word  as  well  as  hear- 
ing it,  to  obtain  its  continuance,  mine  will  only  be  the  deeper 
damnation.  Of  this  danger  I  am  sensible,  but  not  afraid.  I 
mean  slavishly  afraid.  He  that  hath  quenched  the  smoking 
flax,  who  has  snatched  me  as  a  brand  from  the  burning,  will 
not,  I  humbly  yet  firmly  trust,  cast  me  back  into  the  furnace. 
T  now  know  the  meaning  of  words  that  before  I  repeated,  but 
did  not  comprehend.  I  am  no  Burley  of  Balfour,  but  I  have 
been,  as  I  thought,  on  the  very  verge  and  brink  of  his  disease; 
but  I  prayed  to  God  to  save  me,  and  not  to  suffer  me  to  fall  a 
prey  to  the  arts  and  wiles  of  Satan,  at  the  very  moment  I  was 
seeking  his  reconcilement. 


660         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"I  am  not  mad,  most  noble  Festus,  but  speak  the  words  of 
truth  and  soberness.  I  have  thrown  myself,  reeking  with  sin, 
on  the  mercy  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  his  blessed  Son 
and,  our  (yes,  my  friend,  our)  precious  Redeemer;  and  I  have 
assurance  as  strong  as  that  I  now  owe  nothing  to  your  Bank, 
that  the  debt  is  paid;  and  now  I  love  God,  and  with  reason. 
I  once  hated  him,  and  with  reason  too,  for  I  knew  not  Christ. 
The  only  cause  why  I  should  love  God  is  his  goodness  and 
mercy  to  me  through  Christ.  But  for  this,  the  lion  and  the 
sea-serpent  would  not  be  more  appalling  to  my  imagination 
than  a  being  of  tremendous  and  definite  power,  who  made  me 
what  I  am — who  wanted  either  the  will  or  the  ability  to  pre- 
vent the  existence  of  evil,  and  punishes  what  is  inevitable. 
This  is  not  a  God,  but  a  Devil,  and  all  unbelievers  in  God 
tremble  and  believe  in  this  Devil  that  they  worship — such 
worship  as  it  is,  in  his  place.  I  have  been  looking  over  some 
of  my  marginal  pencilled  notes  on  Gibbon,  and  rubbing  them 
out.  I  had  thought  to  burn  the  book,  but  the  Quarterly  Re- 
view and  Professor  Porson  have  furnished  the  antidote  to  his 
poison,  whether  in  the  shape  of  infidelity  or  obscenity.  See 
Review  of  Gibbon's  Posthumous  works. 

"  'Chains  are  the  portion  of  revolted  man, 
Stripes  and  a  dungeon;  and  his  body  serves 
The  triple  purpose.     In  that  sickly,  foul, 
Opprobrious  residence  he  finds  them  all.' 

Cowper's  Task. 

God  hath  called  me  to  come  out  from  among  them — the 
worshippers  of  Mammon  or  of  'Moloch  homicide,'  of  'Chemos, 
the  obscene  dread  of  Moab's  son,'  'Peor,  his  other  name'; 

'"Lust  hard  by  Hate,' 

and  I  will  come  so  help  me  God ! 

"Is  it  madness  to  prefer  your  new  house  in  fee  simple,  to  a 
clay  cottage,  of  which  I  am  a  tenant  at  will,  and  may  be 
turned  out  at  a  moment's  warning,  and  even  without  it;  and 
out  of  which  I  know  I  must  be  turned  in  a  few  years  certainly? 

"It  is  now  midnight.     May  God  watch  over  our  sleep — over 


Randolph  as  a  Man  661 

our  helpless,  naked  condition,  and  protect  us  as  well  from 
the  insect  that  carries  death  in  its  sting,  as  from  the  more 
feared  but  not  so  obvious  dangers  with  which  life  is  beset ;  and, 
if  he  should  come  this  night  (as  come  he  will)  like  a  thief,  may 
we  be  ready  to  stand  in  his  presence  and  plead  not  our  merits, 
but  his  stripes,  by  whom  we  are  made  whole.     J.  R.  of  R. 

"P.S.  I  was  not  aware  of  the  length  to  which  my  sermon 
would  extend.  Let  me  entreat  you  again  to  read  Milton  and 
Cowper.  They  prepared  me  for  the  'Samson'  (as  Rush  would 
say)  among  the  medicines  for  the  soul."1 

One  of  the  effects  of  the  full  maturity  of  Randolph's 
spiritual  re-birth  was  to  chill  his  interest  in  politics. 
Immediately  after  his  election  to  Congress  in  1815,  he 
wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough : 

"I  got  here  today.  Tomorrow  we  are  to  begin  our  in- 
quisition (a  contested  election).  This  business  does  not  suit 
me  at  all.  My  thoughts  are  running  in  a  far  different  channel. 
I  never  feel  so  free  from  uneasiness  as  when  I  am  reading  the 
Testament,  or  hearing  some  able  preacher.  This  great  concern 
presses  me  by  day  and  by  night,  almost  to  the  engrossing  of  my 
thoughts.  It  is  first  in  my  mind  when  I  awake,  and  the  last 
when  I  go  to  sleep.  I  think  it  becomes  daily  more  clear  to  me. 
All  other  things  are  as  nothing  when  put  in  comparison  with  it. 
You  have  had  a  great  comfort  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Meade. 
I  too,  am  not  without  some  consolation;  for  I  have  received 
a  letter  from  Frank  Key  that  I  would  not  exchange  for  the 
largest  bundle  of  bank  notes  that  you  ever  signed." 2 

Another  effect  of  religion  upon  Randolph's  nature  was 
to  fill  him  with  a  sense  of  humility,  which  he  had  never 
before  known :  ' '  If  I  could  have  my  way, "  he  said  to  Key 
in  one  of  his  letters,  "I  would  retire  to  some  retreat  far 
from  the  strife  of  the  world  and  pass  the  remnant  of  my 
days  in  meditation  and  prayer;  and  yet  this  would  be  a 

1  Roanoke,  Aug.  25, 1818,  So.  Lit.  Mess.,  v.  2,  8;  July,  1836,  pp.  461,  462. 

2  Buckingham  C.  H.,  May  29,  1815;  Garland,  v.  2.,  65. 


662         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

life  of  ignoble  security. " *  In  the  same  letter,  he  told  Key 
that  there  were  two  ways  only,  in  his  opinion,  in  which  he 
might  be  serviceable  to  mankind;  one  was  in  teaching 
children,  and  that  he  had  some  thoughts  of  establishing 
a  school. 

"Then  again,"  he  added,  "it  comes  into  my  head  that  I 
am  borne  away  by  a  transient  enthusiasm,  or  that  I  may  be 
reduced  to  the  condition  of  some  unhappy  fanatics  who  mis- 
take the  perversion  of  their  intellects  for  the  conversion  of 
their  hearts.     Pray  for  me." 

After  this  change  took  place  in  Randolph,  it  was 
observed  that,  when  Dr.  Hoge  dined  with  him  at  Roanoke, 
he  always  seated  himself  at  the  foot  of  his  table,  and 
placed  Dr.  Hoge  at  its  head ;  and  here,  as  well  as  elsewhere, 
we  might  mention  the  fact  that  for  this  celebrated  divine 
he  felt  the  highest  degree  of  admiration. 

"I  consider  Dr.  Hoge,"  he  once  said,  "as  the  ablest  and 
most  interesting  speaker  that  I  ever  heard  in  the  pulpit  or  out 
of  it ;  and  the  most  perfect  pattern  of  a  Christian  teacher  that 
I  ever  saw.  His  life  affords  an  example  of  the  great  truths  of 
the  doctrine  that  he  dispenses  to  his  flock;  and,  if  he  has  a  fault, 
'which  being  mortal  I  suppose  he  cannot  be  free  from,'  I  have 
never  heard  it  pointed  out."2 

In  speaking  of  Randolph  at  divine  service  in  West- 
minster Abbey  in  1822,  Harvey  says: 

"Most  audibly  and  solemnly  did  Randolph  repeat  the 
responses.  His  figure,  his  voice,  his  solemnity  of  manner  were 
so  striking  the  persons  present  eyed  him  with  no  small  curios- 
ity, and  I  caught  even  the  Reverend  Clergyman's  gaze  more 
than  once  fixed  upon  him;  but  he  noticed  them  not,  so  com- 
pletely were  his  feelings  enlisted  in  the  simple  services  of  the 
altar."3 

1  May  31,  1815,  Id.,  66. 

2  Garland,  v.  2,  64.  3  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  29. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  663 

We  also  learn  from  Harvey  that,  when  Randolph  was 
crossing  the  Atlantic  with  him  in  1822,  he  read  aloud  an 
extract  from  the  Bible  and  a  part  of  the  Episcopal  service 
each  Sunday,  except  when  he  was  prevented  by  bad 
weather  or  ill-health,  once  delivered  an  extemporaneous 
prayer,  and  on  Good  Friday  composed  some  religious 
observations  suitable  to  the  day,  which  were  expressed 
in  the  purest  English.1 

But  most  grateful  after  all  is  the  sober  testimony  ren- 
dered by  Wm.  Leigh  in  the  Randolph  will  litigation,  to  the 
real  change  of  heart  which  religious  conversion  produced 
in  Randolph. 

Another  result  was  a  quickened  sensitiveness  on  his 
part  to  his  character  as  a  slave-holder,  which  led  him  to 
accumulate  a  sum  of  money  for  the  purpose  of  defraying 
the  expense  of  emancipating  his  slaves,  and  establishing 
them  in  life.  This  fund  was  lost  by  the  failure  of  Tomp- 
kins and  Murray  in  1819.2 

Of  course,  as  time  elapsed,  and  Randolph's  spiritual 
convulsion  abated,  leaving  him  fully  subject  to  all  his 
natural  impulses  and  all  the  excitement  of  public  life,  he 
became  involved  occasionally  in  inconsistencies  between 
religious  profession  and  practice,  which  were  by  no  means 
edifying  to  a  straight-laced  Christian.  In  his  observations 
on  John  Randolph's  religious  character,  it  is  quite  obvious 
that  Bishop  Meade,  whom  Randolph  in  the  meridian  of 
his  religious  enthusiasm,  had  sometimes  gone  all  the  way 
from  Washington  to  Christ  Church,  at  Alexandria,  to 
hear  preach,3  had  grave  doubts  as  to  whether  Randolph 
could  be  safely  held  up  as  an  example  of  the  full  efficacy 
of  Grace.4  More  than  one  amusing  story  is  told  of  the 
dexterous  shifts  to  which  Randolph,  between  the  ready 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  1,  346. 

2  J.  R.  to  F.  S.  Key,  May  3,  1819,  Garland,  v.  2,  106. 

3  Old  Churches,  etc.,  by  Meade  (Phil.,  1910),  v.  1,  33. 
*Id.  (note). 


664  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

spur  of  his  quick  temper  and  his  desire  to  maintain  a 
reputation  for  religious  conformity,  was  driven,  when  he 
found  it  necessary  to  convince  a  Southside  Virginia  pietist 
that  the  word  ''damn"  was  nothing  more  than  an  equiva- 
lent for  the  word  "condemn."  The  incompatibility 
between  the  hair-triggered  temper  and  religious  decorum 
was  especially  pronounced,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say, 
during  seasons  of  mental  disturbance.  An  illustracion 
of  this  fact,  at  once  sad  and  amusing,  is  recalled  in  the 
Reminiscences  of  John  Randolph  by  the  Rev.  R.  L.  Dabney, 
to  which  we  have  already  referred. 

"It  is  well  known  that  after  Mr.  Randolph's  religious 
impression  began,  he  was  zealous  for  the  Christian  instruction 
of  his  negroes.  There  was  a  large  room  near  his  cottage, 
where  he  assembled  them  for  worship,  and  where  he  often  read 
the  Scriptures  to  them  and  instructed  them  himself.  After  his 
health  declined,  he  made  a  contract  with  some  respectable 
Christian  minister  to  give  his  people  an  afternoon  service. 
At  one  time,  he  had  such  an  engagement  with  the  Rev.  Abner 
Clopton,  an  excellent  Baptist  divine  of  Charlotte  County. 
Mr.  Carrington's  statement  to  me  was  that  Mr.  Clopton 
himself  related  the  following  incident.  He  went  to  Roanoke 
from  his  morning  appointment  near  Scuffletown,  and  dined 
with  Mr.  Randolph,  as  he  was  accustomed  on  the  days  of  his 
appointment.  After  dinner,  Mr.  Randolph  accompanied  him 
to  the  log  chapel,  and  they  found  it  full  of  negroes.  Mr. 
Clopton  said  that  he  behaved  with  all  the  seriousness  of  a 
Presbyterian  elder.  Knowing  the  weakness  of  the  negroes 
for  a  religion  more  emotional  than  sanctifying,  he  aimed  his 
sermon  strongly  against  the  Antinomian  abuse  of  the  gospel. 
When  the  services  were  about  to  end,  Mr.  Randolph  rose  and 
spoke  in  substance  thus:  Rev.  Sir,  I  crave  your  permission 
to  add  my  poor  word  of  confirmation  to  the  excellent  instruc- 
tion you  have  given  these  people.  My  excuse  must  be  my 
great  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  the  souls  of  these  dependents 
of  mine.  Mr.  Clopton  told  him  that  certainly  he  should  feel 
at  liberty  to  instruct  his  servants,  for  nobody  had  a  better 


Randolph  as  a  Man  665 

right  to  do  it  than  the  master.  Mr.  Randolph  then  arose, 
and  began  with  great  point,  and  in  most  excellent  scriptural 
language,  to  enforce  the  doctrine  that  the  faith  which  did  not 
produce  good  works  could  not  justify.  From  being  solemn 
and  emphatic,  he  grew  excited  and  then  sarcastic.  He 
described  the  type  of  religion  too  current  among  negroes, 
which  made  them  sing  and  bow  and  shout  and  weep  in  their 
meetings,  but  which  failed  to  restrain  them  from  gross  immo- 
ralities. This  spurious  fanaticism  he  scathed  with  the  keen- 
est sarcasm.  At  last,  he  evidently  lost  control  of  himself; 
singling  out  a  young  buck  negro  on  the  third  bench  from  the 
front,  who  had  been  very  emphatic  in  his  amens  and  such  like 
manifestations  of  piety,  he  shook  his  long  forefinger  at  him, 
and  said:  ' Here  is  this  fellow  Phil.  In  the  meeting  on  Sun- 
day, he  is  the  foremost  man  to  sing  and  shout  and  get  happy, 
and,  on  Sunday  night,  he  is  the  first  man  to  steal  his  master's 
shoats — the  damned  rascal !'  Mr.  Clopton  laid  his  hand  on 
his  arm  in  protest,  saying:  'Mr.  Randolph,  Mr.  Randolph!' 
He  instantly  stopped  in  the  most  deferential  manner,  and  asked 
Mr.  Clopton  what  correction  he  had  to  offer.  He  replied: 
'He  thought  it  his  duty  to  protest  against  the  terms  which 
Mr.  Randolph  was  employing. '  '  What  terms? '  '  Why  those 
in  which  you  have  just  addressed  that  man  Phil.  It  can  never 
be  proper  in  teaching  God's  truth  to  use  any  profanity,  seeing 
God  has  forbidden  it.'  Randolph  replied:  'Sir,  you  both 
astonish  and  mortify  me.  I  had  hoped  that,  if  my  credit  as 
a  Christian  was  so  poor  (and  I  know  that  I  am  but  a  sorry 
Christian)  as  not  to  save  me  from  the  imputation  of  profanity, 
my  credit,  as  a  gentleman,  should  have  done  so.  I  had  flat- 
tered myself  that  I  should  be  judged  incapable  of  insulting  a 
minister  of  our  holy  religion,  while  my  own  guest,  by  using 
profanity  in  his  presence.'  This  view  of  the  matter  rather 
provoked  Mr.  Clopton,  and  he  insisted  that  the  terms,  in 
which  he  had  rebuked  the  negro,  were  not  only  cruelly  severe 
but  distinctly  profane,  and  that  in  the  midst  of  a  religious 
service.  'What  then  did  I  say  to  him  that  was  so  bad?' 
'  Why,  Sir,  you  called  him  in  expressed  words  'a  damned  rascal !' 
'  And  you  misunderstood  that  as  an  intentional  profanity  ?  You 
fill  me  with  equal  surprise  and  mortification.     I   considered 


666  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

myself  as  only  stating  a  theological  truth  in  terms  of  faith- 
ful plainness.  Do  not  the  sacred  Scriptures  say  that  thieves 
are  liable  to  the  condemnation  of  the  Divine  Judge  ?  And  is 
not  this  just  the  meaning  of  the  term  which  you  say  I  used?' 
Mr.  Clopton  said  this  turn  quite  took  his  breath  away,  and 
he  thought  it  best  not  to  continue  the  discussion. "  * 

But  all  the  same,  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  reli- 
gious impressions  stamped  on  Randolph's  mind  in  child- 
hood, and  afterwards  renewed  by  the  throes,  through 
which  he  passed  between  1810  and  18 19,  were  never 
wholly  effaced.  Indeed,  they  never  seemed  so  natural 
or  genuine  as  during  those  rare  moments  in  his  latter 
years  when  his  soul,  like  that  of  Saul,  freed  from  the  evil 
spirit  that  persecuted  him,  was  at  peace. 

"  Mr.  Pinkney,  whom  I  heard  and  saw  a  day  or  two  ago  in 
the  pride  of  life,"  he  wrote  to  his  niece,  "is  now  an  almost 
insensible  and  helpless  corpse.  Perhaps  our  souls  may  be 
demanded  this  night.  May  we  be  able  to  say  on  that  (as  on 
every  other)  occasion,  awful  as  it  is,  'Thy  will  be  done."'2 

In  the  same  year  he  wrote  to  his  niece : 

"God  bless  you  and  all  that  are  dear  to  you,  and  may  the 
chastening  of  that  heavenly  Father,  who  scourgeth  every 
son,  that  he  receiveth,  purify  our  hearts  that  we  may  become 
dwellers  in  the  mansions  prepared  for  them  that  believe  in  his 
most  blessed  son,  our  Precious  Redeemer,  and  earnestly 
implore  His  aid  to  do  His  will  on  earth;  as  it  is  in  heaven. 
Which  may  He  in  His  infinite  good  and  mercy  grant  for  Jesus 
Christ  sake,  Amen.   Your  uncle  and  friend,  John  Randolph.  ' ' 3 

Some  five  years  later,  he  wrote  to  the  same  beloved 
object  of  his  affections:  "That  you  think  of  me  before 
committing  yourself  to  rest  is  a  grateful  circumstance. 

1  Union  Seminary  Magazine,  v.  6,  1894-95,  14-21. 

2  Feb.  19,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Jan.  II,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  667 

Remember  me  in  your  prayers."1  These  letters,  be  it 
remembered,  were  written  to  a  young  girl  on  whom  he 
was  simply  lavishing  the  unaffected  language  of  his 
spontaneous  thoughts  and  feelings. 

Some  of  the  remarkable  entries  made  by  Randolph  in 
one  of  his  journals,  during  the  period  in  1818,  when  his 
religious  mania  was  at  its  height,  are  not  without  interest. 
One,  under  date  of  Aug.  26,  is:  "Tempted  and  did  not 
fall.  Praised  be  His  holy  name.  "2  Another,  under  date 
of  Aug.  27:  "  Tempted  again,  and  was  falling,  but  arrested 
by  the  hand  of  God.  Repent  and  am  ashamed."3  A 
month  later,  he  fell  all  the  way  to  the  ground,  because, 
under  date  of  Sept.  27,  he  enters  these  words:  "Sin, 
repent."4  "Oh!  night  of  bliss,"  "This  morning  God 
gives  me  leave  to  look  over  my  old  papers,"  are  other 
jottings. 

These  entries  were  made  when  the  stream  of  his  religious 
thoughts  had  not  worked  itself  free  from  its  turbid  ele- 
ments. A  few  years  later,  when  it  had  deposited  its 
sediment,  and  was  no  longer  chafed  by  the  rocks  and 
shoals  of  spiritual  anxieties  and  fears,  it  was  a  very  differ- 
ent thing.  "He  was  habitual  in  his  reverential  regard 
for  the  divinity  of  our  religion, "  we  are  told  by  Benton, 
"and  one  of  his  beautiful  expressions  was  that  'if  woman 
had  lost  us  paradise,  she  had  gained  us  heaven."5  And 
truly,  like  a  song  in  the  night,  must  have  been  the  rhap- 
sody which  fell  from  his  lips  in  the  presence  of  Benton 
during  the  last  months  of  his  life,  when,  between  mental 
distractions,  bodily  disease,  and  the  lenitives,  to  which  he 
resorted  to  assuage  intolerable  distress,  he  was  as  deserving 
of  the  pity  of  God  as  any  object  upon  which  it  has  ever 
been  bestowed : 

1  Washington,  Feb.  2,  1827,  Bryan  MSS. 

3  Libr.  Cong. 

3  Id.  4  id. 

s  jo  Year*'  View,  475. 


668         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

"The  last  time  I  saw  him  (in  that  last  visit  to  Washington 
after  his  return  from  the  Russian  Mission,  and  when  he  was 
in  full  view  of  death),"  Benton  says,  "I  heard  him  read  the 
chapter  in  the  Revelations  (of  the  opening  of  the  seals)  with 
such  power  and  beauty  of  voice  and  delivery,  and  such  depth 
of  pathos  that  I  felt  as  if  I  had  never  heard  the  chapter  read 
before.  When  he  had  got  to  the  end  of  the  opening  of  the 
sixth  seal,  he  stopped  the  reading,  laid  the  book  (open  at  the 
place)  on  his  breast,  as  he  lay  on  his  bed,  and  began  a  discourse 
upon  the  beauty  and  sublimity  of  the  Scriptural  writings, 
compared  to  which  he  considered  all  human  compositions 
vain  and  empty.  Going  over  the  images,  presented  by  the 
opening  of  the  seals,  he  averred  that  their  divinity  was  in 
their  sublimity,  that  no  human  power  could  take  the  same 
images  and  inspire  the  same  awe,  and  terror,  and  sink  our- 
selves into  such  nothingness  in  the  presence  of  the  'wrath  of 
the  Lamb, '  that  he  wanted  no  proof  of  their  divine  origin  but 
the  sublime  feelings  which  they  inspired."1 

"It  would  have  been  as  easy  for  a  mole  to  have  written 
Sir  Isaac  Newton's  Treatise  on  Optics,"  he'  declared  on 
another  occasion,  "as  for  uninspired  men  to  have  written 
the  Bible."2 

It  is  a  just  remark  of  Parton  that  Randolph's  political 
influence  was  enhanced  by  his  high  social  position3;  and 
another  thing  that  helped  to  bring  his  figure  out  in  high 
relief  was  the  fact  that  he  was  the  owner  of  a  large  planta- 
tion, and  many  hundreds  of  negroes.  In  other  words,  he 
belonged  to  a  class  of  which  Randolph  himself  said,  with 
some  truth,  that  it  was  as  much  a  nobility  as  if  it  had  been 
composed  of  Dukes,  Earls,  or  Barons. 4 

In  addition  to  his  other  lands,  Randolph  was  also  the 
owner  for  a  time  of  a  farm  of  400  acres,  called  "the  Mich- 
eaux  place, "  in  Cumberland  County,  Va.,  which,  he  sold, 

1 30  Years'  View,  475. 

3  Bouldin,  87. 

3  Famous  Americans,  198. 

*  J.  R.  to  — ,  Washington,  May  6,  1826. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  669 

in  1 81 6,  to  Thomas  A.  Morton.1  After  his  death  his 
estate  was  also  compelled  to  pay  about  $14,000  for  a  tract 
in  Chesterfield  County  which  he  had  contracted  to  buy 
from  Benjamin  Moody.2  And  his  correspondence  with 
Garnett  shows  that  he  was  eager  at  one  time  to  acquire 
an  estate  between  the  James  and  Rappahannock  called 
Port  Tobago.3 

Roanoke  was  divided  into  three  shifts,  known  as  the 
Ferry  Quarter,  the  Middle  Quarter,  and  the  Lower  Quar- 
ter; and  the  two  dwellings,  in  which  Randolph  resided, 
were  situated  on  the  Middle  Quarter.  To  the  Staunton 
River,  which  bounded  Roanoke  on  the  South,  there  is  a 
happy  allusion  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Josiah  Quincy : 

"It  rises,"  he  said,  "beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  indeed  in  the 
Alleghany  Mountains;  passes  through  the  counties  of  Mont- 
gomery and  Botetourt  under  its  right  name;  issues  from  the 
mountains  incog.,  under  the  appellation  of  Staunton;  here 
receives  the  Little  Roanoke;  and,  on  its  junction  with  the 
Dan,  about  30  miles  below,  resumes  its  true  name,  which  it 
retains  during  the  remainder  of  its  course  to  the  Sound.  "4  . 

At  this  day  it  is  difficult  to  realize  how  remote  and 
secluded  Roanoke  was.  Richmond,  nearly  a  hundred 
miles  off,  was  the  nearest  town  to  it  of  any  considerable 
importance,  except  Petersburg,  a  place  of  only  8,322 
inhabitants  even  in  1830. s  As  late  as  1840,  Lynchburg 
had  a  population  of  but  some  5,000  persons6;  and,  as  late 
as  1847,  Danville  was  a  town  of  only  about  1,500  inhabi- 
tants.7 Norfolk  was  some  160  or  so  miles  away.  To 
secure  the  household  commodities  that  he  needed,  ancj  to 

1  Cumberland  C.  H.,  Deed  Book,  16,  p.  8. 

2  Volume  relating  to  Randolph's  Adm.  vs.  Hobson,  Va.  State  Libr. 

3  Jan.  14,  1813,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

4  July  4,  1814,  Life  of  Quincy,  356. 
sffist.  Colls,  of  Va.,  by  Howe,  242. 
6Id.,  211. 

tld.,  429. 


670  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

find  a  vent  for  the  produce  of  his  lands,  Randolph  main- 
tained what  was  practically  a  wagon  line  between  Roanoke 
and  Richmond,  and  repeatedly  in  his  correspondence  we 
find  references  to  his  wagoner,  Quashee,  who,  with  Simon 
and  other  wagoners  of  his,  must  have  been  almost  per- 
petually on  the  road  hauling  tobacco,  wheat  or  flour  from 
Roanoke  to  Richmond,  and  herdsgrass  seed,  clover  seed, 
plaster,  and  domestic  commodities  of  all  sorts  from  Rich- 
mond to  Roanoke.  The  nearest  postoffice  to  Roanoke 
was  at  Charlotte  Court  House,  12  or  13  miles  distant.1 
When  we  recall  the  ubiquitous  service,  which  now  brings 
the  federal  mail  every  secular  day  of  the  week  practically 
to  the  door-step  of  every  negro  cabin  in  Charlotte  County, 
we  can  scarcely  refrain  from  smiling  when  we  read  these 
words  in  a  letter  written  by  Randolph  to  Dr.  Dudley  in 
1810:  "Direct  to  Charlotte  C.  H.,  'Roanoke,  near  Char- 
lotte C.  H.,  Va. '  "2  As  late  as  the  year  1832,  Randolph 
told  Nathan  Loughborough  that  he  had  been  reduced  to 
sending  three  times  and  often  four  times  a  week  to  Char- 
lotte Court  House  for  his  mail. 3   (a) 

Living  under  such  circumstances  of  isolation,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  he  should  have  written  to  Dr.  Brocken- 
brough  from  Oakland,  the  home  of  his  friend,  Wm.  R. 
Johnson,  in  1829:  "I  shall  with  a  sick  heart,  as  well  as 
dead,  try  to  get  to  my  lair  by  the  middle  of  next  week.  "4 

In  the  first  year  of  the  19th  century,  when  he  was 
residing  at  Bizarre,  his  postal  facilities  were  even  more 
limited;  for  in  that  year  he  wrote  to  Nicholson  that  the 
post  arrived  but  once  a  week  at  the  little  village  (Farm- 
ville)  adjacent  to  his  residence. s 

Roanoke  produced  large  quantities  of  tobacco.  In 
1 8 10,  before  its  acreage  had  been  enlarged  by  subsequent 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  39. 

2  Roanoke,  Oct.  29,  18 10,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  74. 

3  Roanoke,  Feb.  16,  1832,  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

4  Nov.  26,  1829,  Mo.  Hist.  Soc. 

*  July  1,  1800,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  671 

purchases,  it  produced  49  hogsheads  of  tobacco  and  1,541 
barrels  of  corn. F  The  tobacco,  grown  on  Roanoke  in  that 
year,  however,  should  not  be  accepted  as  its  standard  of 
production,  since  we  are  informed  by  Randolph  that  its 
tobacco  crop  in  18 10  was  "very  indifferent."2  In  18 14, 
no  less  than  430,000  hills  of  tobacco  were  destroyed  by  the 
great  freshet  of  that  year  on  the  Roanoke  lowgrounds 
alone,  besides  corn,  oats,  and  wheat.3  In  the  succeeding 
year,  Randolph  wrote  to  his  friend,  David  Parish,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  unfavorable  season,  he  had  made  the 
greatest  crop  ever  raised  at  Roanoke.  "This,"  he  said, 
"I  calculate  will  make  me  a  return  of  from  $20,000  to 
$25,000 — a  small  affair  for  you  great  nabobs,  who  deal  in 
millions  of  money  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  of 
land."4  During  the  career  of  Randolph,  the  market 
prices  of  tobacco  underwent  violent  fluctuations.  In 
1805,  when  he  was  still  residing  at  Bizarre,  he  wrote  to 
Nicholson  that  the  merchants  in  Richmond  had  offered 
him  no  more  than  $7.00  per  hundred-weight  for  his 
tobacco.5  In  18 14,  when  the  War  of  18 12  was  under 
way,  he  wrote  to  Josiah  Quincy  that  tobacco  had  sold  in 
Richmond  as  high  as  $13.10  per  hundred-weight5;  and, 
in  18 16,  he  informed  Dr.  Dudley  from  Richmond  that  he 
had  sold  his  tobacco  for  $20.00  per  hundred- weight,  pay- 
able in  the  succeeding  July. 6 

A  few  weeks  later  when  at  Roanoke  he  wrote  to  Dr. 
Dudley  that  a  general  apprehension  of  famine  pervaded 
the  land,  and  that  $6.00  and  $7.50  had  been  given  in 
advance  for.  new  corn  from  the  stack. 7  In  the  letter  to 
Nicholson,  to  which  we  have  just  referred,  he  stated 
that  he  had  lost  nearly  $1,000  by  the  recent  fall  in  the 

1  J.  R.'s  Diary.  2  Id. 

3  Roanoke,  Oct.  30,  1815,  Beverley  D.  Tucker  MSS. 
4Richm.,  Apr.  12,  1805,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 
sRichm.,  March  1,  1814,  Life  of  Quincy,  350. 

6  Aug.  10,  1816,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  178. 

7  Sept.  3,  1816,  Id.,  179. 


672  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

price  of  flour,  but  that,  by  the  sale  of  both  his  flour  and  his 
tobacco,  he  hoped  to  raise  enough  money  to  pay  his  debts 
at  home,  and  to  leave  him  $3,000  or  $4,000  for  a  voyage 
to  Europe,  which  he  contemplated.  At  the  time  of 
Randolph's  death,  he  is  said  to  have  had  more  than 
$20,000  in  bank ;  but  this  balance  may  have  been  derived 
in  part  from  the  sums  which  he  received  as  Minister  to 
Russia. 

But  to  the  general  reader  more  interesting  than  the 
tobacco  and  corn  grown  on  the  Roanoke  estate  were  the 
horses  reared  on  it  by  Randolph,  either  for  his  own  personal 
use  or  for  the  competitions  of  the  race  track.  From  his 
early  manhood  until  the  day  when  he  sat  up  on  his  death- 
bed at  Philadelphia,  cracking  his  coach  whip,  he  was 
passionately  addicted  to  horses,  and  to  all  the  different 
forms  of  recreation  and  sport  to  which  they  minister. 
Nicholson,  it  seems,  had  some  kinsman  who  shared  Ran- 
dolph's tastes  in  this  respect,  for,  in  1802,  Randolph,  on 
his  return  to  Bizarre  from  Congress,  by  way  of  Richmond, 
wrote  to  Nicholson  that  he  had  seen  Nicholson's  "little 
nabob"  uncle  beaten  for  three  successive  days,  to  his 
irrepressible  mortification. 

"Desdemona,  that  jewel  which  thousands  were  sacrificed 
to  obtain,"  Randolph  further  said,  "is  now  of  as  little  worth 
as  her  biped  namesake,  after  the  frantic  Moor  had  wrecked 
his  jealous  fury  on  her  fair  form.  "x 

In  1805,  Randolph  wrote  to  Nicholson  that  the  races 
at  Richmond  were  over,  and  that  Mr.  Selden  had  started 
a  colt  of  his  that  had  run  with  great  credit  three  heats  of 
4  miles  each,  but  had  not  won.2  Indeed,  it  is  said  by 
W.  B.  Green,  one  of  Randolph's  neighbors,  that  Randolph 
was  generally  unsuccessful  on  the  turf. 3 

1  Bizarre,  May  9,  1802,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 
3Richm.,  Oct.  12,  1805,  Id. 
3  Bouldin,  25. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  OF  ROANOKE 

By  William  Henry  Brown. 


I 


Randolph  as  a  Man  673 

One  of  the  features  of  the  races  which  were  the  subject 
of  Randolph's  letter  to  Nicholson,  was  a  great  match  for 
$3,000  between  Mr.  Tayloe's  Peacemaker,  5  years  old 
(118  lbs.),  and  Mr.  Batt's  Florizet,  4  years  old  (106  lbs.); 
both  by  Diomed.  It  was  won  by  Florizet,  Randolph  said 
in  a  subsequent  letter  to  Nicholson,  in  a  canter. s 

"Thus  you  see,"  he  observed,  "whilst  you  turbulent  folks 
on  the  east  of  Chesapeake  are  wrangling  about  Snyder  and 
McKean,  we  old  Virginians  are  keeping  it  up  more  majorum. 
De  gustibus  non  est  disputandum,  says  the  proverb.  Never- 
theless, I  cannot  envy  the  taste  of  him  who  finds  more  amuse- 
ment in  the  dull  scurrility  of  a  newspaper  than  in  Weatherby's 
Calendar,  and  prefers  an  election  ground  to  a  race  field. " 

And  few  persons,  even  professional  turfmen,  we  venture 
to  say,  have  ever  been  more  familiar  with  Weatherby's 
calendar  than  Randolph.  Convincing  evidence  of  this 
fact  is  to  be  found  in  more  than  one  letter  from  his  hand, 
including  one  which  he  addressed  to  his  friend,  John  S. 
Skinner,  of  Baltimore,  in  which  he  called  off  the  names  of 
celebrated  horses,  as  if  his  life  had  mainly  been  spent  in 
the  pasture  field  and  on  the  judge's  stand  at  race  courses. 2 
It  was  an  easy  thing  to  inflame  his  pride  about  one  of  his 
horses.  On  one  occasion,  he  offered  for  sale  at  public 
auction  one  of  his  best  stallions,  Roanoke,  by  the  famous 
Old  Sir  Archie  out  of  Lady  Bunsbury.  For  a  considerable 
time,  there  was  no  bid  made,  but,  at  length,  Hugh  Wyllie, 
the  owner  of  Marske,  a  renowned  race  horse,  bid  £50; 
whereupon  Randolph  flared  up  in  flaming  indignation, 
and,  turning  a  face  full  of  anger  to  Wyllie,  exclaimed: 
"Do  you,  Sir,  bid  £50  for  a  horse  that  pushed  Marske  up 
to  the  throat-latch?"  There  was  a  dead  silence,  and 
Roanoke  was  led  away  unsold. 3 

*  Bizarre,  Oct.  23,  1815,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

2  Roanoke,  Apr.  10,  1830,  Md.  Hist.  Soc. 

3  Bouldin,  26. 

vol.  11 — 43 


674         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

One  of  the  most  famous  races  ever  attended  by  Ran- 
dolph was  that  on  Long  Island  in  1823,  between  Eclipse, 
the  pride  of  the  North,  and  Henry,  the  pride  of  the  South. 
In  its  day,  this  race  stirred  up  fully  as  much  popular 
excitement  as  the  subsequent  debate  between  Webster 
and  Hayne.  Just  as  the  two  horses  were  about  to  start 
off,  a  stranger  walked  up  to  Randolph,  and  offered  to 
bet  $500  on  Eclipse.  " Done,"  Randolph  said.  "Col. 
Thompson  will  hold  the  stakes, "  said  the  stranger.  "Who 
will  hold  Col.  Thompson,"  replied  Randolph — a  reply 
which  has  been  frequently  repeated  on  race  tracks  from 
that  day  to  this. x  During  this  race,  Randolph  is  said  to 
have  stood  in  a  very  conspicuous  position,  surrounded  by 
rival  backers  of  the  two  sections,  and,  misled  by  his  dis- 
position to  disparage  what  he  once  called  the  wrong  side 
of  the  Potomac,  he  was' very  confident  of  the  success  of 
Henry.  Afterwards,  when  the  host  of  assembled  spec- 
tators were  vociferously  applauding  Purdy,  the  jockey 
who  had  ridden  the  victorious  Eclipse,  he  was  heard  saying 
in  his  satirical  accents:  "Well,  gentlemen,  it  is  a  lucky 
thing  for  the  country  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  is  not  elected  by  acclamation,  else  Mr.  Purdy  would 
be  our  next  President  beyond  a  doubt."2  When  Jared 
Sparks  was  in  Richmond  in  May,  1726,  one  of  the  years 
in  which  Randolph  lost  his  mental  balance,  he  found  the 
whole  town,  gentlemen,  ladies,  mechanics,  and  negroes, 
agog  with  excitement  over  the  pending  races.  "John 
Randolph  was  here  yesterday, ' '  he  said,  ' '  with  the  appear- 
ance and  manners  of  a  madman.  He  carried  in  his  hand 
a  large  purse  of  silver  coin.  With  this  he  went  to  the 
races.     He  talked  wildly  and  behaved  extravagantly."3 

In  reading  Randolph's  letters,  we  are  struck,  first,  with 
the  great  number  of  his  horses,  and,  secondly,  with  the 

1  Bouldin,  26. 

2  The  New  Mirror,  v.  2,  43. 

3  Life  of  Sparks,  by  Adams,  v.  1,  454. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  675 

strong  feeling  of  personal  attachment  that  he  cherished 
for  them.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley,  he  speaks 
of  his  numerous  idle  horses,  and  we  can  readily  believe 
that  the  adjectives  were  not  misapplied.  Both  when  he 
lived  at  Bizarre  and  Roanoke,  he  frequently  mentioned 
his  horses  by  name  in  his  correspondence  with  his  friends. 
In  his  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley,  while  he  still  lived  at,  Bizarre, 
he  often  refers  to  his  favorites  in  language  that  trenches 
closely  upon  the  affection  of  one  human  being  for  another. 
"I  hope,"  he  wrote  on  one  occasion,  "Mr.  Galding  will 
attend  to  poor  little  Minikin. " r  On  another  occasion,  he 
wrote: 

11  How  does  the  stock  fare  this  bad  weather?  Are  the  Sans- 
Culottes  fillies  in  good  plight  ?  An  account  of  matters  on  the 
plantation  might  supply  the  subject  of  a  letter.  How  is  poor 
old  Jacobin?  and  all  the  rest  of  the  houyhnhnmns?"2 

Sans-Culotte  and  Jacobin,  of  course,  were  given  their 
names  at  the  beck  of  the  same  Gallomania  which  led 
Joseph  Bryan  to  speak  of  Randolph's  little  godson  as 
"Citizen  Randolph."  Could  the  Jacobin  mentioned  by 
Randolph  in  his  letter  to  Dr.  Dudley  have  been  the  Jaco- 
bin that  he  says  in  his  1830  journal  that  he  had  sold  to 
David  Sims  for  $I50?3  If  so,  the  price  was  no  greater 
than  the  one  at  which  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley  on  one 
occasion  that  he  had  sold  each  of  his  colts. 4  For  Ran- 
dolph's day,  the  general  run  of  his  horses  commanded 
very  good  prices,  and  by  his  neighbor,  W.  B.  Green,  we 
are  told  that,  after  his  death,  his  stud  of  blooded  horses 
brought  high  prices  at  auction,  and  were,  in  many 
instances,  purchased  by  gentlemen  who  resided  outside  of 
the  State  of  Virginia.5     "If  anyone  will  give  you  $1,000 

1  March  18,  1808,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  5. 

2  Georgetown,  Feb.  12,  1808,  Id.,  46. 

3  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 

4Richm.,  May  16,  1814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R,,  158, 
5  Bouldin,  26. 


676         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

for  Gracchus, "  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley,  "take  it.  "■*■  We 
know,  too,  that  he  was  once  offered  for  one  of  his  saddle 
horses  $500. 2 

It  evidently  cost  him  a  considerable  twinge  of  pain  to 
sell  any  of  his  pets.  After  selling  two  saddle  horses — 
Bloomsbury  and  Fidget — to  his  friend  David  Parish,  of 
Philadelphia,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley,  who  was  in  Phila- 
delphia at  the  time,  that  in  reminding  him  of  them, 
Dr.  Dudley  had  recalled  to  his  memory  some  unpleasant, 
at  least  mournful,  recollections.3  Minimus,  "his  little 
bay,"  Duette,  Brunette,  Hyperion,  to  whom  he  deemed 
every  rival  but  a  satyr,  Everlasting,  Spot,  Roanoke, 
Topaz,  Rosetta,  Boojet,  Witch,  Rob  Roy,  Black  Warrior, 
Yellow  Jacket,  Gascoigne,  Junius,  "the  finest  horse  and 
foal-getter  in  the  world,"  Fairy  Queen,  Agnes  Sorel, 
Wildfire,  Fidget,  Bloomsbury,  John  Hancock,  Rinaldo.. 
Earl  Grey,  Miss  Peyton,  Hob,  Ranger,  Never  Tire,  and 
Daredevil  are  some  of  the  names  which  turn  up  in  Ran- 
dolph's journals  and  letters  in  connection  with  his  stables 
and  pastures. 

"We  are  burnt  to  a  cinder, "  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough 
in  1828,  "although  I  had  beautiful  verdure  this  summer  until 
late  in  July;  but,  if  you  could  see  but  my  colt  Topaz,  out  of 
Ebony,  my  filly  Sylph,  out  of  Witch,  or  my  puppy  Ebony, 
you  would  admit  that  the  wonders  of  the  world  were  ten,  and 
these  three  of  them.  "4 

Randolph  raised  horses  of  all  sorts — race  horses,  draft 
horses,  and  saddle  horses,  (a)  What  some  of  them  were 
we  can  well  judge  from  their  names,  to  say  nothing  of 
perilous  situations  in  which  at  least  one  of  them  involved 
him.     Wildfire!     (b)    Daredevil!    Yellow  Jacket,  out  of 

1  Richm.,  Mar.  7,  18 14,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  15. 

2  Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

3  Georgetown,  Feb.  3,  1812,  118  (note). 

4  Roanoke,  Aug.  10,  1828,  Garland,  v.  2,  310. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  677 

Frenzy !  we  experience  little  difficulty  in  forming  a  mental 
picture  of  what  these  nervous,  mettlesome,  and  wicked « 
eyed  creatures  were. 

Of  a  very  different  order  was  his  steady,  trustworthy 
horse  Spot.  "I  should  like  to  meet  Spot,"  he  wrote  to 
Dr.  Dudley  on  one  occasion  from  Georgetown,  "to  take 
me  through  the  sloughs  and  over  the  ruts  and  gullies 
between  that  place  (Richmond)  and  Obsto.  I  shall  go 
via  Farmville  and  Prince  Edward  Court."1  Five  years 
after  this  letter  was  written,  Randolph  wrote  to  Dr. 
Dudley : 

"Spot,  I  fear,  is  irreparably  ruined  by  a  disease  which, 
when  of  the  worst  type,  is  as  incurable  as  the  glanders  or  the 
farcy.  I  succeeded,  you  remember,  with  poor  old  Rosetta, 
but  she  always  carried  a  stiff  neck;  but  that  case  was  treated 
secundum  artem,  and  not  in  the  stupid,  sottish  style  of  our 
soi-disant  farriers. " 2 

Of  all  Randolph's  draft  and  saddle  horses,  Brunette 
and  Fidget,  we  should  say,  had  the  most  speed  and  the 
best  bottom.  Among  his  journal  entries,  is  one  which 
states  that  on  Sept.  23,  181 1,  Randolph,  behind  Brunette 
and  Fidget,  covered  the  distance  between  Roanoke  and 
Prince  Edward  Court  House,  34  miles,  in  4  hours  and  20 
minutes.  All  this  hurry  apparently  was  because  he 
wished  to  be  on  hand  to  hear  Caleb  Baker  tried  for  mur- 
der, and  defended  by  Beverley  Tucker. 3 

Whatever  else  may  have  palled  in  his  latter  years  upon 
the  interest  of  Randolph,  his  horses  never  did.  On  one 
occasion,  when  at  Roanoke,  he  noted  that  Euston  had 
broken  his  left  fore-leg  above  the  knee4;  and,  8  days  later, 
that  a  foal  by  Hyperion  out  of  Duchess,  produce  of  1809, 


1  Georgetown,  Mar.  4,  18 17,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  197. 

2  Washington,  Jan.  27,  1822,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  243. 

3  T.  R.'s  Diarv. 


3  J.  R.'s  Diary 

4/(2. 


678  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

had  been  found  dead  in  the  pasture.1  "You  have  never 
mentioned  whether  the  chestnut  gelding  colt  is  yet  lame 
or  not, "  he  reminds  Dr.  Dudley  in  one  letter  from  George- 
town 2 ;  and,  three  days  later,  he  asks  Dr.  Dudley  in  another 
letter:  "How  is  the  chestnut  gelding  out  of  the  blaze- 
faced  S.  C.  mare ? ' ■ 3  "I  believe  I  omitted  to  tell  you  that 
I  wished  you  to  use  Everlasting;  pray  be  merciful  to  her, " 
was  his  petition  to  Dr.  Dudley  in  a  third  letter.4 

Nor  was  Randolph  more  passionately  attached  to  his 
horses  than  he  was  to  his  dogs.  A  fit  preface  to  what  we 
shall  say  on  this  subject  is  his  general  observations  in  the 
Diary  on  dogs,  in  which  he  takes  ireful  exception  to  the 
opinion  of  Jefferson  that  dogs  were  a  pernicious,  at  least 
a  useless,  race,  and  that,  to  save  food  and  put  an  end  to 
hydrophobia,  measures  ought  to  be  taken  by  law  for  their 
extirpation.  The  observations  are  as  follows,  and  remind 
us  not  a  little  of  Byron's  epitaph  on  Boatswain : 

"The  hydrophobia,  Sir,  is  a  disease  of  the  wolf,  the  fox,  and 
domestic  cat,  as  well  as  of  the  dog.  Were  the  dogs  all  de- 
stroyed, we  should  be  overrun  by  them  and  by  other  vermin — 
and  we  should  deserve  so  to  be  for  having,  upon  the  principle 
of  cold  calculation,  exterminated  the  best  friend  of  man. 
Worthless  dogs,  like  horses,  etc.,  of  the  same  description,  only 
prove  that  the  breed  should  be  more  attended  to.  There  are 
thousands  of  horses,  black  cattle,  etc.,  which  serve  only  'fruges 
consumer  e'  without  adding  anything  to  the  stock  of  public 
wealth ;  but  shall  we  therefore  extirpate  those  valuable  species 
of  animals?  When  a  law  is  passed  to  exterminate  dogs,  I 
shall  set  my  dogs  on  the  officer  who  comes  to  execute  it,  and 
back  them  with  my  gun.  The  only  fault  with  which  they 
have  been  ever  charged,  and  the  only  one,  which,  in  the  course 
of  3,000  years'  association  with  man,  they  have  acquired  from 
him,  is  worrying  an  unhappy  individual  of  their  own  species 
whom  they  find  in  distress.     The  strongest  proof,   in  my 

1  J.  R.'s  Diary. 

2  Georgetown,  Feb.  8,  1817,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  188. 

3  Id.,  Feb.  11,  1817;  Id.,  189.  *  Id.,  May  II,  1812;  Id.,  123. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  679 

opinion,  of  the  unfitness  of  the  dog  to  live  is  his  having  attached 
himself  exclusively  to  so  base  and  ungrateful  an  animal  as 
man.  If  all  men  were  like  this  philosopher,  they  would  merit 
that  their  nightly  guardians,  the  faithful,  honest  dogs,  should 
conspire  and  strangle  them  in  their  sleep.  Like  many  other 
Laputan  theories,  totally  mistaken  in  principle,  object,  and 
result." 

To  say  how  many  dogs  Randolph  had  in  the  course  of 
his  life  would  be  almost  like  trying  to  say  how  many 
horses  he  had.  In  an  unpublished  letter  before  us,  dated 
March  4,  1833,  the  writer  stated  that  Randolph  was  in 
Washington,  when  she  wrote,  with  an  English  chariot  and 
four  horses,  two  men  servants,  and  a  bare-footed  boy  who 
had  seven  dogs  under  his  care. *  Whatever  change,  there- 
fore, may  have  taken  place  in  his  cynical  views  about 
man  since  1804,  when  his  observations  on  dogs  were 
inserted  in  the  Diary,  none  had  taken  place  in  his  partial 
estimate  of  dogs.  More  than  once  in  letters  written  by 
or  about  him,  the  head  of  a  dog  or  puppy  looks  out  at  us 
over  the  body  of  his  vehicle  as  he  flounders  along  over  the 
long  lake  of  mud  between  Washington  and  Richmond. 
It  would  be  curious  to  run  down  all  his  contemporaries 
who  named  a  son  after  him,  or  gave  him  a  dog.  Commo- 
dore John  Rogers,  for  certainty,  gave  him  a  Spanish 
bloodhound  bitch;  Beaumontais,  a  setter;  Mr.  Hackley, 
Judith's  brother-in-law,  a  double-nosed  Spanish  pointer, 
and  M.  DeKantzow,  the  Minister  of  His  Swedish  and 
Norwegian  Majesty,  a  slut  of  some  species  or  other  which 
came  to  be  known  as  Sylph,  and  whose  only  puppy, 
despite  her  high  degree,  was  begotten  by  a  cur — a  faux 
pas  that  she  never  had  an  opportunity  to  repeat,  as  she 
was  afterwards  bitten,  by  a  mad  dog,  and  was  killed  on 
that  account ;  all  of  which,  like  many  other  particulars  of 
the  same  sort,  is  duly  chronicled  in  the  Diary. 2 

1  Mrs.  Susan  B.  Taylor,  to  her  nephew,  Langborne  M.  Williams  MSS. 

2  1824,  Journal,  May  n,  1824,  Va.  Hist.  Soc. 


680  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Of  the  double-nosed  pointer,  we  only  know  that  she  was 
stolen  from  the  Fountain  Inn  in  Baltimore,  but  was 
recovered  by  another  inn-keeper  at  Washington,  and 
turned  over  to  Wm.  Bernard,  of  Mansfield,  the  owner  of 
one  of  the  famous  old  Virginia  country  seats,  to  whom 
Randolph,  true  to  his  working  principle  that  all  life  is  a 
commerce, ■  was  generous  enough  to  resign  her. 

The  Diary  also  records  the  fact  that  J.  S.  Skinner  gave 
him  a  setter  dog,  named  Topaz;  Dennis  A.  Smith,  "a 
rough  Scotch  terrier, "  named  Vixen,  and  Elisha  Hundley, 
"a  black  puppy  with  white  legs,"  named  Keeper,  (a) 
Carlo,  Echo,  Sancho,  Dido,  Juno,  Banquo,  Bibo,  Caesar, 
Caesar  No.  2,  Milo,  Mina,  Venus,  Ebony,  Lion,  Tiger, 
and  Nero  (a  fine  house-dog)  are  the  names  of  some  of  the 
other  dogs  or  puppies  owned  at  one  time  or  another  by 
Randolph. 2 

Nor  were  Randolph's  friends  more  generous  in  pre- 
senting him  with  dogs  than  he  was  in  returning  the  favor. 
Another  proof  that,  until  Randolph's  "lonesome  latter 
years, "  he  and  Robert  Carrington  were  good  friends  is  the 
fact  that  the  Diary  records  the  gift  by  him  to  Carrington 
of  Dash,  "pupped, "  Randolph  declares,  "in  March  (late), 
1826,  by  old  Czar,  the  most  celebrated  dog  between  Rich- 
mond and  New  York,  out  of  a  very  fine  slut. " 

Sometimes,  a  friend  would  send  a  slut  to  Roanoke  to  be 
crossed  by  one  of  his  fine  dogs.  Thus  he  tells  us  in  the 
Diary  that  in  1822,  Maj.  John  Nelson's  setter  slut  was 
sent  to  Roanoke  in  August  of  that  year,  and  was  ' '  warded ' ' 
by  Bibo.  For  this  service,  he  received  his  toll  in  the  form 
of  a  fine  male  puppy. 

Nothing  relating  to  Randolph's  dogs  was,  in  his  eyes, 
too  trivial  to  be  commemorated  in  the  Diary.  Dido  we 
know  was  responsive  enough  to  bear  6  puppies  to  Sancho, 

1  Letter  to  J.  R.  Bryan,  Roanoke,  July  29,  1832,  Dr.  St.  G.  J.  Grinnan 
MSS. 

3  J.  R.'s  Diary. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  68 1 

though  he  had  had  access  to  her  only  once;  Carlo  was  a 
latch-opener,  which  speaks  highly  at  any  rate  for  his 
intelligence ;  and  Venus,  with  all  the  charms  that  her  name 
implies,  was  purchased  by  him  from  a  steerage  passenger 
in  1826  for  the  paltry  sum  of  $5.00.  And,  in  reading  the 
journals  and  letters  of  Randolph,  it  is  curious  to  note  how 
frequently  his  dogs,  though  far  from  being  exposed  to  the 
almost  incessant  peril,  to  which  ferce  naturce  are,  became 
involved  in  more  or  less  tragic  casualties.  It  would  seem 
that  Randolph  could  not  always  give  up  the  companion- 
ship of  dogs,  even  when  he  was  journeying  abroad;  for 
Venus  was  purchased  from  a  steerage  passenger  when  his 
face  was  set  towards  England,  only  to  be  lost  after  he 
arrived  there. r  The  seller,  Randolph  says  in  the  Diary, 
with  the  emotion  of  tenderness  that  a  child  rarely  failed 
to  arouse  in  him,  was  returning  to  Scotland  with  his  wife 
and  * '  little  daur  Jeannie. " 

When  in  his  own  country  not  only  did  Randolph's  dog 
have  the  freedom  of  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives as  fully  as  one  of  its  former  members,  but,  when  he 
was  at  Roanoke,  that  of  the  homes  of  his  neighbors: 

" Whenever  he  made  a  visit,"  W.  B.  Green  tells  us,  "he 
brought  some  of  his  dogs  with  him,  and  they  were  suffered  to 
poke  their  noses  into  everything,  and  to  go  where  they  pleased 
from  kitchen  to  parlor.  They  were  a  great  annoyance  to 
ladies  and  house-keepers.  This,  however,  was  obliged  to  be 
quietly  submitted  to,  as  any  unkind  treatment  to  his  dogs 
would  have  been  regarded  as  an  insult  to  himself.  "2 

Somewhere  Darwin  expresses  the  idea  that  to  a  dog, 
eyeing  his  master,  the  form  of  the  latter  must  present  the 
appearance  of  a  demigod.  To  Randolph's  dogs  his  tall, 
lank  figure  must  have  been  at  least  that  of  some  kind  of 
benignant  genius.  Nothing  can  be  more  intensely  human 
than  the  unfailing  interest  and  affection  that  he  lavished 

1  J.  R.'s  Diary.  3  Bouldin,  25. 


682  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

upon  them  from  youth  until  death.  Like  his  horses,  they 
seemed,  in  his  contemplation,  to  belong,  at  any  rate,  to 
some  stage  of  being,  intermediate  between  the  brute  crea- 
tion and  man. 

"  Remember  me  to  old  Carlo,  and  Dido,  and  Sancho, "  he 
says  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley. *  (a)  "You  have  not 
said  a  word  about  the  dogs, "  he  complained  in  another  letter 
to  Dr.  Dudley2  "You  say  nothing  about  the  dogs.  Has 
Sancho  recovered  his  eyesight  ?  Is  Dido  likely  to  have  another 
litter?  and  how  comes  on  the  puppy?"  are  some  of  the  forms 
that  his  solicitous  inquiries  about  his  dogs  took  when  he  was 
absent  at  Babel. 

Carlo,  Echo,  and  Dido  seem  to  have  been  his  favorites. 
In  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley,  after  telling  him  that 
Mr.  Hackley  had  sent  him  two  Spanish  pointers,  one 
double-nosed  and  the  only  one  of  that  species  that  could 
be  procured,  he  added  loyally:  "However,  I  question  if 
they  are  better  than  Echo  or  Dido  whom  old  Carlo  is  now 
guarding  with  a  Spaniard's  jealousy."3  The  fracture  of 
"poor  Sancho' s"  hind  leg  was  bad  enough,4  but,  when 
Echo  died,  it  was  almost  as  if  he  had  lost  a  two-footed 
friend. 

"The  death  of  poor  Echo  is  a  severe  blow  upon  me,"  he 
wrote  to  Dr.  Dudley.  "  *I  ne'er  shall  look  upon  her  like 
again, '  and,  among  the  inducements  which  I  felt  to  revisit  my 
own  comfortless  home,  it  was  not  the  least  that  I  should  again 
see  her  and  witness  the  sagacity  and  attachment  of  this  humble 
yet  faithful  four-footed  friend."5 

One  of  the  important  events  in  Randolph's  life  was  a 
scrape  in  which  Echo  involved  herself  in  1810.     In  giving 

1  York  Buildings,  Dec.  27,  1814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  170. 

2  Georgetown,  Feb.  4,  181 7,  Id.,  187. 

3  Roanoke,  Sep.  3,  181 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  101. 
"Apr.  8,  1816,  Id.,  176. 

sGeorgetown,  June  5,  1812,  Id.,  124. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  683 

the  date  of  this  incident,  we  but  follow  the  example  of 
Randolph  himself,  who  did  not  disdain  to  enter  even  the 
date  of  the  death  of  a  favorite  dog  in  the  Diary.  The 
story  is  told  in  a  letter  from  him  to  Dr.  Dudley,  written 
just  after  he  had  returned  from  Mecklenburg  Court  to 
Roanoke,  where  he  had  left  Echo  confined  at  the  beginning 
of  his  absence. 

11 1  have  just  learned, "  he  said,  "that  she  went  off  yesterday 
morning  with  the  chain  upon  her,  and  I  fear  that  the  poor 
thing  may  have  gotten  entangled  with  it,  so  as  to  prevent  her 
getting  along,  and,  in  that  condition,  may  be  exposed  to 
perish.  I  cannot  express  how  much  I  am  distressed  at  this 
thought.  I  shall,  therefore,  dispatch  Phil  in  the  morning 
with  this  letter  in  quest  of  her.  MI 

Made  restless  by  the  loss  of  her  master,  Echo  had 
coursed  in  half  a  night,  with  a  trace-chain  about  her  neck, 
over  the  40  miles  of  distance  between  Roanoke  and 
Bizarre,  but  had  had  the  good  sense  never  once  to  leave 
the  highway.2  Another  reference  to  this  incident  is 
readable,  if  for  no  other  reason,  because  it  is  a  good  speci- 
men of  the  pleasing  way  in  which  Randolph's  interest  in 
the  smallest  practical  details  could  be  given  a  graceful 
turn  by  his  literary  culture: 

"I  am  obliged  to  you  also,  my  dear  Theodore,"  he  said  in 
a  letter  to  Dr.  Dudley,  ''for  the  intention  with  which  you  sent 
up  poor  Echo,  whose  retreat  equals  that  of  the  10,000  under 
Xenophon,  although  she  is  not  likely  to  have  so  eloquent  an 
historian  of  her  anabasis.  "3 

Echo,  the  reader  should  be  told,  had  been  a  part  of  the 
Bizarre  household,  before  Randolph  took  up  his  perma- 
nent residence  at  Roanoke,  and,  shifted  from  Bizarre  to 

1  Roanoke,  Aug.  6,  1810,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  69. 

3  J.  R.'s  Diary,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  70. 

3  Roanoke,  Aug.  9,  18 10,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  70. 


684  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

Roanoke,  did  not  find  it  easy  to  conquer  the  force  of  old 
habits. 

In  going  over  Randolph's  library  at  Roanoke  after  his 
death,  Hugh  Blair  Grigsby  observed  this  marginal  entry 
in  Randolph's  handwriting  on  the  leaves  of  one  of  his 
books,  which  had  been  torn:  "Done  by  Bibo  when  a 
puppy."  The  inference  intended  to  be  suggested  by  the 
writer,  of  course,  was  that  Bibo  would  not  have  been 
guilty  of  such  a  shabby  trick  if  he  had  arrived  at  years  of 
discretion. 

And  ah!  how  joyously  for  a  moment  at  least  does  the 
blood  surge  again  even  in  those  depleted  veins  which 
Juvenal  grimly  says  warm  with  fever  alone  when  the 
superannuated  sportsman  reads  this  description  in  a 
letter  from  Randolph  to  Theodore  of  Dido : 

"On  Wednesday  I  shot  with  Mr.  Bouldin,  and  I  never  saw 
any  pointer  behave  better  than  Dido,  fetching  the  birds 
excepted.  I  had  given  her  some  lessons  in  the  dining-room, 
and  one  day's  previous  practice  by  herself.  She  found  the 
birds  in  the  highest  style — stood  as  staunchly  as  old  Carlo — 
never  flushed  one  and  hunted  with  the  most  invincible  resolu- 
tion. She  followed  the  worm  of  the  fence  through  thick  briers 
and  put  up  successively  in  each  corner  fifteen  to  twenty  birds. 
I  was  next  the  river;  and,  although  I  could  see  her,  they  flew 
next  the  field  except  two  that  I  killed.  She  was  delighted  to 
see  them  fall  and  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  sport  fully.  "x 

A  fitting  conclusion,  perhaps,  to  what  we  have  said 
about  Randolph  and  his  dogs,  is  a  letter  which  he  wrote 
to  an  unknown  correspondent  in  the  year  1826. 

"Mr.  Randolph  has  received  the  dog,  and  is  very  much 
obliged  to  you  for  him ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  unless  it  be  too 
unreasonable,  he  will  be  very  thankful  for  the  puppy.  He  is 
fully  sensible  to  your  kind  and  obliging  attentions  in  minister- 
ing to  one  of  his  ruling  passions,  '  Gaudet  equis  canibusque. ' 

1  Roanoke,  Oct.  29,  18 10,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  72. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  685 

Be  pleased  to  send  the  puppy  down  here  by  the  first  safe  con- 
veyance. Mr.  Randolph  can  then  send  him  around  with  his 
other  effects  by  the  steamboat  to  Richmond.  *  *  *  * 
There  is  constant  intercourse  between  Petersburg  and  Farm- 
ville  by  bateaux,  and  Farmville  is  the  place  of  deposit  of  Mr. 
Randolph's  tobacco;  but  the  mischief  is  that  the  steamboats 
cannot  get  up  to  Petersburg,  so  that  a  link  of  ten  miles  land 
carriage  from  City  Point  creates  so  much  difficulty  in  the 
communication  that,  except  for  heavy  articles,  that  are  not 

liable  to  be  injured,  Richmond  is  the  best  route for 

setter  puppies,  glass,  china,  and  other  brittle  and 

precious  ware."1 

During  the  shooting  season,  Randolph's  setters  and 
pointers  must  have  had  a  happy  existence  at  Roanoke; 
for  his  journals  and  letters  are  filled  with  the  fresh,  stimu- 
lating breath  of  the  autumnal  fields  of  Southside  Virginia, 
and  the  manly  jocund  sports  of  which  they  were  the  scene. 
In  all  his  early  tastes  and  habits,  he  was  a  typical  South- 
side  Virginia  boy.  These  are  the  terms  in  which  he 
recalled  his  childhood  at  Matoax  in  a  letter  to  Garnett: 

"The  weather  still  continues  bad.  The  snow  is  driven 
through  a  dark  rheumatic  atmosphere,  but  there  is  something 
pleasing,  although  melancholy,  to  me  in  the  sight.  I  think 
of  the  days  of  my  boyhood,  when  I  used  to  trudge  through 
such  weather  to  visit  my  traps.  I  can  see  the  very  spot, 
covered  with  green  briers,  where  I  used  to  set  them,  and  felt 
my  heart  beat  as  I  approached  with  anxiety  for  the  fate  of 
my  adventure.  Those  were  happy  days,  and,  if  the  murder- 
ous axe  had  not  despoiled  the  finest  groves  I  ever  saw,  I  would 
purchase  the  place,  and  lay  my  bones  there.  "2    (a) 

Indeed  there  was  no  time  in  Randolph's  life  when  he 
could  not  say  truthfully  with  the  Douglas  that  he  would 
rather  hear  the  lark  sing  than  the  mouse  squeak.     So  long 

1  Washington,  May  6,  1826. 
3  Id.,  Feb.  10,  1823. 


686         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

as  he  retained  a  moderate  measure  of  health,  he  found  a 
large  part  of  his  enjoyment  in  the  open  sky,  the  fair  face 
of  the  earth,  and  the  simple  phenomena  of  its  forests, 
fields,  and  waters.  He  owned  several  copies  of  Wilson's 
Ornithology,  and  the  feathered  life  about  Roanoke  must 
have  sent  him  frequently  to  its  pages  for  identification  or 
comparison.  Throughout  all  his  more  vigorous  years  his 
attitude  towards  bird  and  mammal  at  Roanoke  reminds 
us  not  a  little  of  Gilbert  White  and  his  Natural  History 
of  Selborne.  Now  we  find  him  measuring  and  weighing 
an  owl,  4  ft.  and  2  inches  from  tip  to  tip,  and  1  pound  and 
6  oz.  in  weight;  or  weighing  a  turtle,  which  had  crawled 
up  the  Ferry  Branch  from  the  Staunton  River.  It 
weighed  28  pounds.1  The  circumstance  that  Henry  Dies 
had  killed  a  ground-hog  at  the  Lower  Quarter  of  Roanoke 
he  thought  quite  material  enough  to  be  entered  in  the 
Diary ;  and  he  had  as  little  compunction  as  Gilbert  White 
would  have  had  about  noting  in  one  of  his  other  journals 
that  on  July  14,  181 8,  a  raccoon  had  been  killed  at  Roa- 
noke. Indeed,  he  knew  the  relation  between  rats  and  the 
corn  that  he  grew  on  the  Staunton  River  lowgrounds  too 
well  to  refrain  from  entering  in  the  same  jounral  four  days 
later  even  the  fact  that  he  had  killed  100  rats. 2  A  pang 
went  through  him  when  he  heard  that  a  hawk  had  finally 
destroyed  the  two  wood-ducks,  whose  movements  he  had 
long  observed ;  and  well  might  this  have  been  the  case ;  for 
civilization  has  worked  few  small  tragedies  of  more 
moment  than  the  practical  extinction  of  this  beautiful 
bird  in  parts  of  the  United  States  where  it  was  once  abun- 
dant and  something  more  than  a  mere  migrant.  If  he 
flushed  a  wild  turkey  or  a  pheasant,  in  one  of  his  horseback 
rambles  at  Roanoke,  he  was  likely  to  mention  the  fact  in 
the  Diary,  whether  he  had  had  his  gun  along  with  him  or 
not.     In  other  words,  so  long  as  he  was  not  too  old  or 

IJ.  R.'s  Diary. 

a  Journal,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  687 

diseased  for  the  " vernal  joys,"  of  which  he  deplored  the 
loss  so  pathetically  in  the  words  of  Michael  Bruce,  every 
rural  sight  or  sound  was  to  him  a  source  of  pure  and  deep- 
seated  joy.   (a) 

Both  at  Bizarre  and  Roanoke,  Randolph  was  constantly, 
during  the  proper  seasons,  whenever  he  could  escape  from 
the  trammels  of  Congress,  engaged  in  the  pastime  of 
shooting ;  usually,  if  not  always,  with  one  of  his  nephews 
or  other  relations  or  friends,  and  at  one  time  he  was  a  fox- 
hunter  too. ■  In  the  Diary,  there  are  frequent  references 
to  the  wild  turkey — that  coureur  du  bois,  fleet  of  foot  and 
fleet  of  wing,  which  in  a  state  of  barnyard  degeneracy  is  a 
good  illustration  of  what  a  nation  comes  to  which  forgets 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  war;  the  pheasant,  now  but  a 
rare  denizen  of  the  Charlotte  County  woods;  the  whis cling 
plover,  a  fine  game  bird  which  has  passed  away,  or  all  but 
passed  away,  in  that  county  with  the  passenger  pigeon; 
the  reed  bird,  which  drops  that  name  and  its  other  aliases 
— "rice  bird,"  and  "bob-o-link" — and  resumes  in  the 
valley  of  the  Staunton  its  French  name  "ortolan";  the 
sora,  or  soree,  (vulgarly  "soaruss"),  which  vanishes  with 
the  first  frost,  like  a  ghost  with  the  first  streak  of  morning 
light ;  the  wood-cock  which  appears  to  be  a  so  much  easier 
mark  for  the  gunner  than  it  really  is;  the  jack-snipe,  hard 
to  hit  in  his  first  flurry,  but,  afterwards,  by  no  means  so; 
the  bull  bat,  which  the  merest  tyro  can  bring  down  without 
difficulty  when  he  is  flying  along  in  a  direct  course,  pro- 
vided that  he  is  low  enough,  but  which  hopelessly  bewil- 
ders any  but  a  practiced  eye  when  he  is  circling  tortuously 
about  the  eaves  of  a  weevil-infested  barn ;  and,  above  all, 
that  nonpareil  of  small  game  birds,  the  quail  or  partridge, 
as  he  is  called  in  Virginia,  which  needs  only  a  little  pro- 
tection from  the  hawk  and  the  trespasser  to  be  as  abun- 
dant in  the  valley  of  the  Staunton  as  it  ever  was.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  there  is  no  mention  in  the  journals  or 

1  Reg.  of  Debates,  1827-8,  v.  4,  Part  I.,  1380. 


688         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

letters  of  Randolph  of  the  common  dove,  which  is  probably 
as  abundant  in  Charlotte  County  to-day  as  it  ever  was 
and  has  always  been  considered  there  a  game  bird,  or  of 
the  passenger  pigeon,  which  is  now  extinct,  but  which  in 
Randolph's  time  darkened  the  very  sky  with  its  countless 
numbers;  or,  with  one  exception,  of  the  wild  goose,  which, 
like  the  mallard  and  the  dusky  duck,  still  winters  in  the 
valley  of  the  Staunton.  There  are  references  in  the  Diary 
to  the  squirrel,  which  warrant  the  idea,  that,  in  Randolph's 
eye,  this  animal  was  worth  a  load  of  powder  and  shot. 
For  instance,  on  one  occasion,  he  mentions  the  fact  that 
he  has  shot  two  squirrels  "flying";  and,  under  date  of 
Aug.  13,  1 8 1 1 ,  there  is  this  entry  too :  ' '  Boys  killed  black- 
birds."  But  blackbirds  and  meadow-larks,  of  which,  by 
the  way,  no  mention  is  made  either  by  Randolph  in  his 
journals,  were  the  objects  upon  which  a  Southside  Vir- 
ginia boy  usually  began  when  he  wished  to  learn  how  to 
shoot  on  the  wing;  not  unlike  the  barber  apprentices  in 
Ireland  in  the  18th  century,  who  are  said  to  have  learned 
how  to  shave  by  first  shaving  beggars. 

In  Randolph's  time  there  was,  of  course,  no  such  thing 
as  a  breech-loading  gun,  but  only  muzzle-loaders,  and  once 
his  hand  was  dreadfully  lacerated  by  an  explosion  caused 
by  pouring  a  charge  of  powder  from  his  powder-flask  down 
the  barrel  of  his  gun  when  a  piece  of  ignited  wadding  was 
still  sticking  in  it.  (a)  He  evidently  had  a  sense  of  strong 
attachment  to  his  fowling-pieces  which  were  imported 
from  England,  and  the  weights  of  several  of  them  are 
entered  in  the  Diary. 

In  October,  181 1,  he  had  not  yet  become  a  sufficient 
Sabbatarian  to  scruple  about  shooting  ortolans  and  part- 
ridges on  Sunday  with  John  Morton  and  Henry  Tucker, 
the  brother  of  George  Tucker  the  historian.  *  "To-day 
we  broke  the  Sabbath,  according  to  the  estimation  of 
Puritans,"  he  said. 

1  Roanoke,  Oct.,  20,  181 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  in. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  689 

Randolph  was  a  good  shot,  though,  apparently,  by  no 
means  a  crack  shot.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Nicholson, 
he  mentions  the  fact  that  he  had  shot  8  partridges  and  a 
hare,  a  day  or  so  before,  at  12  shots.  But  this  was  at 
Bizarre.1  Later,  on  one  occasion  at  Roanoke,  he  killed 
2  woodcock,  4  partridges,  and  2  plover  at  8  shots. 2  Other 
feats,  approximating  this  measure  of  skill,  are  mentioned 
in  the  Diary,  but  neither  at  Bizarre  nor  at  Roanoke  do  his 
bags  appear  to  have  been  very  remarkable.  We  do  find  this 
entry  in  one  of  his  journals:  " Killed  30  pieces;  Dr.  22. " 
But  it  is  not  altogether  clear  that  the  shooting  on  this  day 
was  limited  to  Dr.  Dudley  and  himself.  One  bag  of  45 
partridges,  and  another  amazing  bag  of  65  partridges, 
almost  as  famous  as  the  great  flood  of  1877  in  the  Staun- 
ton, has  been  known. by  the  author  to  have  been  made  in 
his  boyhood  in  a  single  day  by  a  single  gunner  on  a  Staun- 
ton River  plantation  some  15  or  16  miles  west  of  Roanoke. 
But  this  was  when  poaching  was  not  so  common  on  such 
a  plantation  as  it  is  to-day ;  and,  moreover,  when  the  law 
permitted  shooting  before  the  vegetation  of  the  fields  had 
been  entirely  killed  down  by  frost  or  the  birds  had  ac- 
quired their  full  strength  of  wing. 

In  the  mind  of  Randolph,  his  slaves,  some  373  in 
number  when  he  died,  were  intimately  associated  with 
his  horses  and  dogs.  Like  the  wife  in  The  Locksley  Hall 
of  Tennyson,  one  of  them  was  to  him  a  little  better  than 
his  horse,  a  little  dearer  than  his  dog;  but  then  he  loved 
his  horses  and  dogs  so  intensely  that  this  is  saying  much. 
The  birth  of  the  last  black  infant  at  the  Ferry  Quarter  is 
entered  in  the  Diary  in  very  much  the  same  matter  of 
fact  way  as  the  birth  of  the  last  foal  dropped  by  one  of  his 
English  mares.  ' '  Sally  has  a  child ;  black  mare  (Quashee's) 
died  on  the  12th, "  is  one  entry  in  it.  "  What  of  clover- 
seed?  of  Spot,  and  Roanoke? — one  or  both  of  which  I  shall 

1  Bizarre,  Oct.  24,  1806,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 
3  J.  R.'s  Diary. 

VOL.  II — 44 


690  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

want  very  soon?  Of  the  dogs?  and  though  last,  not  least, 
of  old  Essex  (a)  and  Co.,  and  little  Molly?"  (b),  is  a  para- 
graph in  one  of  Randolph's  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley. '  On 
another  occasion,  pining  for  news  from  Roanoke,  after  his 
long  sojourn  in  Richmond,  in  the  winter  of  18 13-14, 
Randolph  wrote  to  Theodore:  "I  wish  when  you  write 
to  me,  you  would  call  to  mind  such  objects  as  you  suppose 
would  interest  me ;  even  the  dogs  and  little  Molly,  I  would 
rather  hear  of  than  nothing.  "2  "  You  have  not  said  one 
word  of  Dido  or  her  puppies,  or  my  poor  old  Carlo,  or 
little  Molly,  or  Essex,  or  Jupiter,  or  Nancy.  Ten  suis 
fache."3  But,  until  his  mind  finally  succumbed,  Ran- 
dolph was  a  very  kind,  not  to  say  affectionate,  master. 

"Mr.  Randolph  was  a  humane  master,  and  a  kind  neigh- 
bor," Sawyer  tells  us.  "He  saw  personally,"  Sawyer  con- 
tinues, "into  the  wants  and  the  complaints  of  his  numerous 
slaves;  administered  to  them,  as  the  occasion  required,  and 
studied  their  comfort  in  every  particular.  He  used  daily  to 
ride  over  his  fields,  when  they  were  at  work,  and,  when  he 
approached,  they  would  make  their  obeisance  with  a  touch  of 
the  hat,  which  he  would  return  with  a  nod  or  bow.  "4 

It  is  said  by  Bouldin  that  Randolph's  servants  were 
the  best  and  politest  in  the  county,  and,  if  they  really 
deserved  this  commendation,  it  was  doubtless  because  of 
the  kind  and  considerate  treatment  that  they  had  received 
at  the  hands  of  their  master.5  (e)  The  Rev.  James 
Waddell  Alexander  goes  so  far  as  to  declare  that  Randolph 
was  adored  by  his  negroes.6  This  is  strong  language, 
but  it  is  corroborated  by  a  paragraph  in  Josiah  Quincy's 
Figures  of  the  Past. 

1  Babel,  Jan.  14,  1817,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  182. 

2  Richm.,  May  16,  1814,  Id.,  158. 

3  York  Buildings,  Dec.  24,  18 14,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  168. 

4  Sawyer,  47. 
*  Bouldin,  73. 

6  Forty  Yrs.'  Letters,  v.  1,  270. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  691 

"  A  gentleman,  whom  I  met  in  Washington, "  he  says,  "had 
returned  with  Randolph  to  his  plantation  after  a  session  of 
Congress,  and  testified  to  me  of  the  affection  with  which  he 
was  regarded  by  his  slaves.  Men  and  women  reached  toward 
him,  seized  him  by  the  hand  with  perfect  familiarity,  and 
burst  into  tears  of  delight  at  his  presence  among  them.  His 
conduct  to  these  humble  dependents  was  like  that  of  a  most 
affectionate  father  among  his  children."1 

Authentic  instances  are  not  wanting  in  which  Randolph 
occasionally  chastised  one  of  his  servants  with  his  own 
hand;  but,  if  any  such  incident  can  be  referred  to  any 
period  when  his  mental  condition  was  normal,  the  fact 
can  be  reasonably  reconciled  with  the  parental  relation 
that  the  words  of  Quincy  depict.  Certainly,  all  the  facts 
disclosed  by  Randolph's  journals  and  letters  tend  to  bear 
out  the  statements  of  Sawyer  and  Quincy. 

It  was  a  remark  of  Wm.  Cabell  Rives  that  a  Virginia 
plantation  was  a  sort  of  mimic  Commonwealth, 2  and  we 
derive  a  renewed  sense  of  the  felicity  of  this  description 
when  the  relations  of  Randolph  to  Roanoke  and  its  black 
population  and  overseers  are  brought  to  our  knowledge. 
Randolph's  negroes  were  well  fed  and  when,  because  of 
some  natural  catastrophe,  there  was  any  reason  for  him 
to  doubt  his  ability  to  supply  them  with  abundant  food, 
his  distress  was  poignant.  Productive  as  Roanoke  was, 
and  many  hands  as  well  as  mouths  as  it  contained,  Ran- 
dolph had  to  buy,  after  his  return  from  Russia,  nearly 
$2,000  worth  of  provisions  for  the  maintenance  of  his 
slaves.3  His  slaves  were  also  well  clothed,  doubtless 
principally  with  garments  made  out  of  cloth  spun  or  woven 
on  his  own  plantations;  although  he  mentions  in  his  letters 
purchases  of  cloth  for  his  slaves  made  by  him.  We  know 
also  that  his  slaves  were  well  provided  with  bed-clothing. 4 

1  P.  228.  2  Life  of  Jas.  Madison,  v.  1 , 3. 

3  Garland,  v.  2,  347. 
"Bouldin,  71. 


692  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

In  his  Reminiscences  of  John  Randolph,  the  Rev.  R.  L. 
Dabney  recalls  a  scene  witnessed  at  Roanoke  by  Wm. 
Coles  Dickinson,  a  horse  breeder,  on  one  occasion,  when 
he  had  been  taken  to  Roanoke  by  his  business : 

"  Dickinson  said  that  he  spent  the  night  by  Mr.  Randolph's 
invitation.  After  supper,  John  came  in  and  said  to  his  master : 
'The  people  are  ready,  Sir.'  Randolph  said  to  his  guest: 
'  My  servants  are  expecting  of  me  this  evening  the  performance 
of  a  duty,  which  is  a  very  important  and  interesting  one  to 
them.  I  make  it  a  matter  of  conscience  not  to  disappoint 
them.  It  is  the  distribution  of  the  annual  supply  of  blankets 
for  the  plantation.  I  must,  therefore,  beg  you  to  excuse  me 
for  an  hour,  and  to  amuse  yourself  with  the  books  and  news- 
papers. Or,  if  you  prefer  to  accompany  me,  I  shall  be  glad 
to  have  you  witness  the  proceeding. '  Dickinson  said  that  he 
was  eager  to  see  all  he  could  of  this  strange  and  famous  man, 
and  so  he  eagerly  chose  the  latter  proposal.  They  went  to 
the  preaching-house,  where  a  large  number  of  negroes  were 
present,  and  John  and  others  brought  in  large  rolls  of  stout 
English  blankets  (Mr.  Randolph  had  so  strong  a  sense  of  the 
injustice  of  the  protective  tariffs  that  he  refused  on  principle 
to  buy  anything  of  Yankee  manufacture  which  shared  this 
iniquitous  plunder.  His  great  tobacco  crops  were  shipped 
to  London,  and  sold  there  on  his  own  account,  and  he  bought 
there  everything  needed  for  his  plantations.)  He  then  began 
to  call  the  roll  of  the  adult  servants.  Each  one,  as  he  came 
forward,  was  required  to  exhibit  the  blankets  which  he  already 
possessed.  Some  prudent  ones  exhibited  four  and  received 
four  new  ones  in  addition;  some  presented  two,  and  received 
two  new  ones;  some  one  and  received  one.  Some  careless 
fellows  had  none  to  show,  and  were  sent  away  without  any, 
receiving  a  pretty  keen  rebuke  instead.  When  it  was  over, 
Mr.  Dickinson  remarked  to  him  that  the  principle  of  distribu- 
tion seemed  a  very  strange  one,  since  those  who  needed  new 
blankets  the  least  got  the  most,  and  those  who  needed  them 
most  got  none.  Randolph  answered :  '  No,  sir,  the  Bible  rule 
is  mine,  "He  that  hath,  to  him  shall  be  given  that  he  may 
have  more  abundance,  and  from  him  that  hath  not  shall  be 


Randolph  as  a  Man  693 

taken  away  that  which  he  seemeth  to  have."  '  He  then 
explained  that  his  purpose  was  to  give  his  servants  an  impres- 
sive object  lesson  upon  the  virtue  of  thrift.  That  those  care- 
less fellows,  who  could  present  no  blanket,  had  traded  off  for 
whiskey  what  he  had  given  them,  or  had  lazily  allowed  them 
to  be  burned  or  lost,  and  their  disappointment  would  teach 
them  to  be  wiser  in  future. "x 

A  letter  from  Randolph  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  dated 
Nov.  15,  1831,  not  only  evidences  the  fact  that  the  negro 
children  at  Roanoke  were  warmly  clad  in  wool  during  the 
winter,  but  also  gives  us  an  insight  into  the  contents  of  a 
negro  cabin  of  the  best  class  there. 

"  I  have  been  in  a  perpetual  broil, "  he  said,  "  with  overseers 
and  niggers.  My  head  man  I  detected  stealing  the  wool  that 
was  to  have  clad  his  own  and  the  other  children ;  the  receiver 
the  very  rascal  (one  of  Mr.  Mercer's  house-keepers)  who 
flogged  poor  Juba,  who  had  no  wool,  except  upon  his  head, 
I  have  punished  the  scoundrel  exemplarily,  and  shall  send  him 
to  Georgia  or  Louisiana,  at  Christmas.  He  has  a  wife  and 
three  fine  children.  Here  is  a  description  of  his  establishment : 
a  log  house  of  the  finest  class,  with  two  good  rooms  below,  and 
lofts  above ;  a  barrel  half  full  of  meal  (but  two  days  to  a  fresh 
supply) ;  steel  shovel  and  tongs  better  than  I  have  seen  in  any 
other  house,  my  own  excepted;  a  good  bed,  filled  with  hay; 
another,  not  so  good,  for  his  children ;  eight  blankets ;  a  large 
iron  pot,  and  Dutch-oven;  frying-pan;  a  large  fat  hog,  finer 
than  any  in  my  pen;  a  stock  of  large  pumpkins,  cabbages,  &c, 
secured  for  the  winter.  His  house  had  a  porch,  or  shed,  to  it, 
like  my  own."2 

The  attention  of  the  reader  has  already  been  called  to 
the  fact  that  the  efforts  of  John  Randolph  to  impart 
religious  instruction  to  his  slaves  went  hand  in  hand,  on 
soberer  occasions  than  the  one  mentioned  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Clopton,  with  his  efforts  to  impart  it  to  such  boys  as 

1  Union  Seminary  Mag.,  (1894-95),  v.  6,  14-21. 

2  Garland,  v.  2,  347. 


694         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

happened  to  be  under  his  roof.  There  could  be  no  better 
proof  of  the  considerate  manner  in  which  he  looked  after 
the  material  welfare  of  his  negroes  than  the  advanced 
ages  of  some  of  them  who  are  named  in  the  list  of  his 
emancipated  slaves  registered  at  Charlotte  Court  House. 
For  instance  the  age  of  old  Quash,  whom  we  have  more 
than  once  mentioned  in  these  pages,  is  given  in  this  reg- 
ister as  90  years,  and  that  of  his  wife  Nancy,  called 
Mulatto  Nancy,  as  80.  Among  the  persons  registered 
was  also  Granny  Hannah,  aged  100  years. 

Randolph's  slaves  were  divided  into  two  classes — his 
"out"  servants,  whose  labor  carried  on  his  plantation 
operations,  and  his  house  servants,  who  performed  the 
various  menial  services  that  his  household  establishment 
required.  He  was  so  frequently  absent  from  Roanoke 
that  his  plantation  affairs  were  largely  left  to  the  manage- 
ment of  his  overseers;  consequently,  it  is  not  often  that 
we  obtain  a  glimpse  of  any  of  his  field  laborers  in  his 
journals  and  letters.  On  one  occasion,  however,  they  are 
brought  rather  dramatically  to  our  notice  by  an  order 
which  he  once  gave  to  them,  in  the  later  years  of  his  life, 
to  save  fodder  on  the  Sabbath.  As  a  result  of  this  viola- 
tion of  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath,  John  Marshall,  of 
Charlotte  Court  House,  who  was  at  Roanoke  when  the 
order  was  given,  and  heard  it  uttered,  was  summoned 
before  the  Grand  Jury  at  Charlotte  Court  House  to  tes- 
tify to  the  offence.  He  positively  refused  to  make  any 
answer  to  the  Grand  Jury,  when  questioned  upon  the 
subject,  on  the  ground  that  to  do  so  would  be  a  breach 
of  social  duty.  This  excuse  the  Grand  Jury  declined  to 
accept  as  valid,  but,  Marshall  still  refusing  to  answer,  it 
was  left  no  choice  but  to  submit  it  to  the  Court,  Judge 
Wm.  Leigh,  Randolph's  intimate  friend,  who  at  once 
decided  that  a  guest  could  not  lawfully  claim  such  a  privi- 
lege. Hardly,  however,  had  Marshall  been  remanded  to 
the  Grand  Jury  room  when  Randolph  was  driven  up  to 


Randolph  as  a  Man  695 

the  court  house  in  his  English  coach,  drawn  by  four 
blooded  horses.  Leaving  it,  he  proceeded  directly  into 
the  court  room,  and  took  his  seat  immediately  in  front  of 
Judge  Leigh;  announcing,  audibly,  in  one  of  his  strange 
half -whispers,  that  he  understood  that  he  was  to  be  pre- 
sented, and  that  he  had  come  to  make  his  defence.  Hap- 
pily for  him,  it  did  not  become  necessary  for  him  to  do  so, 
because,  when  sent  back  to  the  Grand  Jury  room,  Marshall 
had  shrewdly  raised  the  point  that,  under  the  revised  Code 
of  Virginia  then  in  force,  the  act  of  each  slave  was  a  sepa- 
rate offence,  and  that  the  penalty  prescribed  for  it,  $1.67, 
was  below  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court.  The  incident 
rests  upon  the  testimony  of  Wood  Bouldin,  of  Charlotte 
County,  who  afterwards  became  a  distinguished  member 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals  of  Virginia,  and  by  him 
we  are  also  told  that,  if  his  memory  was  not  at  fault,  E. 
W.  Henry,  the  last  surviving  son  of  Patrick  Henry,  was 
the  foreman  of  the  Grand  Jury. x 

Repeatedly,  however,  certain  of  the  house  servants  of 
Randolph  are  mentioned  by  him  in  one  connection  or 
another ;  and  often  in  terms  of  the  sincerest  affection  and 
sympathy.  "Nancy,"  he  wrote  on  one  occasion,  "is 
very  ill.  Old  Essex,  too,  is  laid  up  with  a  swelled  jaw  from 
a  carious  tooth.  This,  I  believe,  is  the  sum  of  our  domes- 
tic news,  except  that  old  Dido  is  plus  caduque  que  son 
maitre."2  To  John  Marshall,  of  Charlotte  Court  House, 
we  are  indebted  for  a  vignette  of  Essex  before  he  incurred 
the  displeasure  of  his  master  in  1831. 

"  There  was  an  old  negro  man,  named  Essex,  who,  according 
to  his  own  and  Mr.  Randolph's  account,  was  upwards  of  80 
years  old.  He  was  the  most  genteel  servant  I  ever  saw,  and 
Mr.  Randolph  used  to  call  him  familiarly  'Daddy'  Essex, 
and,  although  the  relation  of  master  and  servant  was  kept  up 
between  them,  it  was  done  with  the  utmost  cordiality  and 

1  Bouldin,  31. 

2  Roanoke,  June  10,  1821,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.y  221. 


696         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

kindness  in  the  manner  of  each  which  I  had  ever  witnessed 
between  master  and  slave.  It  was  the  custom  of  Essex,  when 
leaving  his  master's  service  at  night,  to  give  him  the  usual 
salutation  and  wish  him  good  repose;  and  this  civility  was 
returned  by  the  master."1 

To  the  two  of  his  slaves,  who  were  his  body  servants — 
Juba,  or  Jupiter,  and  John — Randolph  was  peculiarly 
attached,  and,  so  closely  associated  were  they  with  all  the 
movements  of  their  master  that  they  became  almost  as 
well  known  as  he  was.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley, 
Randolph  asks  him  to  remember  him  to  old  Essex,  and 
Jupiter,  and  Nancy,  and  little  Molly,  and  Hetty,  and  all 
the  people.  "I  hope  Jupiter  does  well,"  he  adds.2 
"  Remember  me  to  Juba,"  is  the  postscript  a  year  or  so 
later  to  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Dudley. 3  This  was  when 
Jupiter  had  been  worn  down  by  nursing  Richard  Stanford 
at  Washington,  and  had  gone  back  to  Roanoke.  "You 
say  nothing  of  Juba, "  is  a  reminder  that  he  gives  to  Dr. 
Dudley  several  weeks  later.4  Jupiter  was  twice  pros- 
trated by  illness,  while  in  the  service  of  his  master;  once 
immediately  after  Stanford's  death,  and,  subsequently, 
when  Randolph  was  at  St.  Petersburg.  Nothing  could 
have  been  tenderer  than  the  feelings  excited  in  Randolph 
by  each  event.  In  one  of  his  letters,  he  mentions  the  fact 
that  Juba  had  murmured  in  one  of  his  intervals  of  restless 
sleep  after  Stanford's  death,  "I  wish  master  and  I  was  at 
home."  (a)  Jupiter's  second  illness  at  St.  Petersburg 
affected  Randolph  even  more  deeply.  Describing  it  in  a 
letter  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  he  said : 

"In  consequence  of  Juba's  situation,  I  walked  down  one 
morning   to   the   English   boarding-house,    where   Clay   had 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

2  York  Buildings,  Dec.  27,  1814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  170. 

3  Richm.,  Aug.  10,  1816,  Id.,  178. 

4  Roanoke,  Sept.  3,  1816,  Id.,  179. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  697 

lodged,  kept  by  a  Mrs.  Wilson,  of  whom  I  had  heard  a  very 
high  character  as  a  nurse,  and  especially  of  servants.  I  pre- 
vailed upon  her  to  take  charge  of  the  poor  boy,  which  she 
readily  agreed  to  do.  I  put  Juba,  on  whom  I  had  practiced 
with  more  than  Russian  energy,  into  my  carriage,  got  into  it, 
brought  him  into  the  bedroom  taken  for  myself,  had  a  blazing 
fire  kindled  so  as  to  keep  the  thermometer  at  650  morning,  700 
afternoon;  ventilated  well  the  apartment;  poured  in  the 
quinine,  opium,  and  port  wine,  and  snake-root  tea  for  drink 
with  a  heavy  hand  (he  had  been  previously  purged  with  mer- 
curials) ;  and  to  that  energy  under  God  I  owe  the  life  of  my 
dear,  faithful  Juba."1 

There  is  also  a  pleasant  reference  to  Juba  in  the  remi- 
niscences of  Jacob  Harvey. 

"Why,  Sir,"  he  reports  Randolph  as  being  in  the  habit  of 
saying  of  some  leading  politician,  for  whom  he  had  no  partic- 
ular partiality,  "he  has  not  half  the  talents  of  my  man  Juba. 
Give  Juba  some  more  learning — book  knowledge  I  mean,  Sir ; 
not  head-work,  he  has  that — and  I'll  match  him  against  half 
the  cabinet,  Sir,  for  real,  .substantial  talents."2 

There  are  two  references  to  Juba  in  Randolph's  letters 
to  John  Randolph  Clay.  In  one  letter,  he  says:  "Juba 
humbly  but  affectionately  returns  your  greeting.  Homer 
says  that,  in  reducing  man  to  the  state  of  a  slave,  you 
take  half  his  worth  away.  When  you  enfranchise  a  negro, 
you  take  away  the  remaining  half.  "3  In  another  letter, 
written  during  the  same  month,  Randolph  said:  "Poor 
Juba  sends  his  humble  howdye'."4  A  Virginian,  at  any 
rate,  will  smile  when  he  reads  a  statement  in  one  of  Ran- 
dolph's letters  from  Richmond  that  Juba  had  cut  his  leg 
against  the  "rock" ;  that  is  the  marble  slabs,  on  the  stair- 
case in  Dr.  Brockenbrough's  bank. s 

1  Garland,  v.  2,  338.  2  The  New  Mirror,  v.  I,  353. 

3  Washington,  Feb.  12,  1829,  Libr.  Cong 

4  Washington,  Feb.  3,  1829,  Libr.  Cong, 
s  Bank  of  Va.,  Dec.  22,  1813,  147. 


698  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

If  anything,  John  was  still  closer  to  Randolph  than 
Juba.  He  was  one  of  Randolph's  body  servants  as  early 
as  1803,  and  served  him  in  that  capacity  until  his  last 
respiration. 

"His  treatment  of  servants  and  especially  his  own  slaves," 
declares  a  friend  of  Randolph  speaking  of  him  as  he  knew  him 
in  1805,  "was  that  of  the  kindest  master,  and  he  always  called 
his  personal  attendant  '  Johnny ' — a  circumstance  to  my  mind 
strongly  indicative  of  habitual  good  will  towards  him.  " ' 

Twenty-seven  years  after  these  words  were  written, 
Randolph  wrote  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Thomas  A.  Morton, 
from  London,  in  which,  after  asking  Morton  to  remember 
him  to  the  old  servants,  particularly  Syphax,  Louisa, 
Sam,  and  Phil,  he  paid  this  tribute  to  John  in  a  postcsript : 
"John,  my  servant,  is  quite  well.  He  has  not  been  other- 
wise since  we  left  the  U.  S.,  and  is  a  perfect  treasure  to 
me.  He  desires  his  remembrance  to  Syphax,  &c,  &c.  "2 
In  an  earlier  letter  to  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  who  had 
just  lost  one  of  his  faithful  servants,  Randolph  spoke  of 
John  in  these  terms : 

"Your  most  welcome  letter  is  just  now  put  into  my  hands 
by  my  '  John, '  who,  if  he  lives  as  long,  will  be  just  such  another, 
I  trust,  as  the  humble  friend  that  you  have  lost.  I  know  not 
at  this  time  a  better  man,  one  of  more  conscientious,  rational 
piety,  or  more  trustworthy ;  although  he  neither  sings  hymns 
nor  goes  to  night  meetings,  I  have  not  a  truer  friend;  no,  not 
even  yourself;  but  where  am  I  wandering  to?"3 

Some  few  years  afterwards,  he  wrote  to  John  Randolph 
Clay:  "People  may  say  what  they  please,  but  I  have 
found  no  better  friends  than  among  my  own  servants."4 

1  Bouldin,  173. 

3/d.,228. 

3  Washington,  Feb.  20,  1826,  L.  W.  Tazewell,  Jr.,  MSS. 

4  Feb.  12,  1829,  Clay  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  699 

In  the  following  letter  from  Randolph  to  his  niece,  he  not 
only  had  something  to  say  about  the  weaker  side  of  John's 
character,  but  also  some  observations  to  make  on  his 
other  servants  and  the  management  of  servants  generally : 

"What  you  say  about  your  Mammy  does  not  reflect  credit 
upon  her  character  only,  but  on  those  who  were  her  masters 
and  mistresses.  It  does  honor  at  once  to  your  heart  and 
understanding.  I  have  never  known  very  bad  servants 
unless  to  bad  masters  and  mistresses,  who  either  were  perpet- 
ually scolding  and  correcting,  or  fell  into  the  other  extreme  of 
leaving  them  to  themselves,  and  spoiling  them  by  false  indul- 
gences. I  was  at  home  from  March  22  nd  to  the  middle  of 
November  last  year,  and,  in  all  that  time,  I  never  rebuked  but 
one  of  my  domestics  (a  woman),  and  that  was  once  and  once 
only,  and  not  harshly.  Finding  fault  never  yet  did  good. 
Neither  have  I  for  years  corrected  them  in  any  other  way, 
and  then  only  boys.  I  am  satisfied  that,  if  I  had  habitually 
found  fault,  they  would  have  got  used  to  it  in  a  fortnight; 
now  they  watch  my  countenance  like  my  faithful  Newfound- 
land dog.  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  Johnny,  when  Charles 
L.  Bonaparte  asked  me  at  dinner  the  other  day  if  the  servant 
behind  my  chair  was  my  famous  man,  John:  so  well  known 
in  Europe  for  his  fidelity  and  attachment  to  me.  This  last 
he  said,  when  I  asked  how  famous  ?  Now  I  took  John  a  little 
boy,  and  shewed  him  that  my  purpose  was  never  to  punish 
him  unless  he  compelled  me  to  do  so.  He  fell  where  the  best 
have  fallen,  under  the  temptations  and  seductions  of  a  town 
life.  He  became  a  sot  when  the  fact  was  no  longer  to  be 
concealed.  I  asked  whether  I  had  ever  reproached  him  with 
a  suspicion  of  the  kind.  He  said  that  I  never  had.  I  replied : 
'I  have  had  strong  suspicions  of  it  for  three  years.  Go  and 
report  yourself  to  the  overseer. '  He  did  so ;  worked  manfully 
but  (as  was  to  be  expected  from  one  whose  coat  was  always 
cut  off  the  same  piece  of  cloth  as  mine)  they  quarrelled.  The 
overseer  was  an  uncommonly  just,  humane,  but  resolute  man. 
John  went  away  (as  he  said,  and  as  I  now  firmly  believe) 
to  get  to  me,  but,  as  it  was  a  short  session  of  Congress,  and 
we  had  in  fact  adjourned  about  the  period  of  his  elopement, 


700  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

I  then  doubted  it.  He  was  taken  up  at  Occoquan,  and  com- 
mitted to  Dumfries  Jail.  There,  I  let  him  lie  about  three 
months,  directing  the  jailer  to  keep  him  on  jail  allowance, 
and  to  speak  to  no  one  but  himself.  He  got  many  letters 
written,  praying  to  come  home.  I  sent  a  man  to  pay  his 
charges  and  bring  him  home.  They  came  together  in  the 
stage  as  far  as  Richmond,  when  my  agent  went  to  his  own 
house  in  Powhatan,  and  John  gladly  made  the  best  of  his  way 
home.  I  remitted  him  to  his  toil  in  the  fields.  He  was  the 
best  hand  (so  Curd,  the  overseer,  said)  that  I  had.  I  left  him 
there  three  years,  and  then  put  him  upon  good  behaviour 
about  my  person.  He  is  a  man  of  strict  truth,  he  no  longer 
drinks  or  games;  I  need  not  say,  after  the  first  attribute  (truth), 
that  he  is  scrupulously  honest.  His  attention  and  attachment 
to  me  resemble  more  those  of  a  mother  to  a  child,  or  rather  a 
lover  to  his  mistress,  than  a  servant's  to  a  master.  I  have 
nearly  reformed  his  father  from  drinking,  (a)  I  lock  up 
nothing  from  my  servants  at  home  but  ardent  spirits,  not 
wine  or  porter  or  sugar  or  coffee,  etc.  Hetty  keeps  my  smoke- 
house and  other  keys.  I  don't  believe  that  she,  or  her  daugh- 
ter Nancy,  now  dead,  wronged  me  of  a  pin.     They,  as  well  as 

John,  are  truly  religious.     But ,  like  his  master,  'has 

none  to  speak  of. '  The  same  was  the  character  of  his  sister. 
No  cant,  no  groaning,  and  sighing,  and  hymn-singing.  I  am 
at  the  end  of  my  paper.  Essex,  Queen  and  Juba  are  likewise 
trustworthy.     They  never  take,  i.  e.  steal  anything.  "* 

In  the  preceding  pages  of  this  book  we  have  more  than 
once  referred  to  Mammy  Aggy,  who  had  been  the  maid 
of  Randolph's  mother,  but  had  afterwards  become 
attached  to  the  family  of  Judge  Coalter.  Nothing  could 
be  more  characteristic  of  the  Slave  Era  than  the  place 
which  this  woman  occupied  in  Randolph's  affections. 
Few  names  recur  oftener  than  hers  in  his  letters  to  his 
niece.  ' '  My  love  to  mammy.  God  bless  you,  my  dear, " 
were  the  concluding  words  of  one  of  them.2    When  his 

1  Jan.  19,  1828,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Jan.  31,  1824,  Bryan  MSS. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  701 

niece,  who  had  recently  received  an  injury  to  her  foot, 
writes  to  him  that  she  cannot  get  the  information  which 
she  would  like  to  get  from  Mammy  about  his  Aunt  Mur- 
ray, he  simply  cannot  understand  it,  and  goes  off  into  a 
long  genealogical  excursion,  for  the  purpose  of  refreshing 
Mammy's  waning  memory. 

"Mammy,"  he  declared,  "must  have  lost  her  momery,  if 
she  has  forgotten  Aunt  Murray,  the  mother  of  Cousin  Billy 
Murray  and  of  Mrs.  David  and  of  Mrs.  Tom  Gordon. " 
*  *  *  *  * 

"Talk  to  her  of  Athol  (pronounced  Aw-thol),  of  Grove 
Brook,  where  your  dear  mother  had  spent  many  a  hospitable 
day;  of  that  family,  Nancy,  now  Mrs.  Dr.  Robinson,  Rebecca, 
Martha,  Polly  Skipwith;  of  Polly  Murray  (Mrs  Edm  Harri- 
son), whose  mother,  James  Murray's  widow,  married  Jerman 
Baker,  of  Archer's  Hill,  by  whom  she  had  the  late  treasurer 
and  Jack  Baker;  of  Mrs.  John  Murray,  one  of  whose  daughters 
married  The.  Ruffin;  of  Mrs.  Davis,  mother  of  Peggy  Goode, 
who  married  Mr.  Knox;  of  Mrs.  Tom  Gordon,  mother  of 
Nancy  Gordon,  who  married  Col.  Henry  E.  Coleman,  of 
Halifax.  She  died  in  1824,  while  I  was  in  England.  Pray 
give  the  foot  time — only  healer  when  the  (foot)  hath  bled."1 

Several  other  letters  from  Randolph  to  his  niece  make 
it  apparent  that  he  was  a  sort  of  nexus  between  Mammy 
Aggy  and  the  older  Randolph  negroes  at  Roanoke. 

"I  write  only,"  he  wrote  on  one  occasion  to  his  niece,  "to 
prove  to  you  the  value  that  I  set  upon  your  correspondence, 
and  to  gratify  Mammy's  laudable  curiosity  respecting  her 
kinsfolk  in  this  quarter  of  the  country.  Essex,  whom  she 
more  particularly  names,  has  been  quite  well  until  yesterday. 
His  indisposition  is  slight,  the  consequence  of  not  adapting  his 
dress  to  the  late  sudden  change  in  the  weather.  Hetty,  Nancy, 
Johnny,  and  Juba  are  well  and  all  of  my  out  people — uncom- 
monly so."2 

1  Washington,  Feb.  25,  1829,  Bryan  MSS. 

2  Roanoke,  Sept.  26,  1823,  Dr.  R.  B.  Carmichael  MSS. 


702        John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

An  institution,  under  which  the  kindest  master  might, 
by  the  loss  of  his  reason,  be  converted  into  a  harsh  and 
tyrannical  one,  without  any  escape  for  the  slave  from  his 
lot,  was  an  institution  not  easily  defended,  even  at  its 
best;  but,  after  closely  going  over  the  relations  of  Ran- 
dolph to  his  slaves,  before  the  milk  of  human  kindness  in 
his  breast  had  been  curdled  by  insane  impulses  and  delu- 
sions, we  can  readily  understand  how  his  neighbor  and 
friend,  John  Marshall,  could  have  testified  in  the  Ran- 
dolph will  litigation :  ' '  His  slaves  were  very  much  attached 
to  him;  they  almost  worshipped  him.  "' 

If  Randolph  was  unkind  to  anybody  on  his  plantations, 
it  was  not  to  his  slaves,  but  to  his  overseers.  His  relations 
with  some  of  them  were  far  from  being  either  trustful  or 
friendly.  If  there  was  good  reason  for  this,  it  was  prob- 
ably because  his  frequent  absence  from  home  gave  unusual 
point  in  his  case  to  the  saying  that  the  eye  of  the  master 
is  worth  both  hands  of  the  servant.  The  salary  usually 
paid  by  him  to  one  of  his  overseers  appears  to  have  been 
$400.00  or  $500.00,  per  annum2;  but,  of  course,  many 
perquisites  went  along  with  this  salary,  which  made  it  a 
much  larger  one  in  fact  than  in  terms  of  money.  More 
than  once  in  his  life  Randolph  formed  the  idea  that  it  was 
considerably  increased  by  dishonest  practices. 

"In  answer  to  your  most  kind  and  flattering  questions," 
he  once  wrote  to  Josiah  Quincy,  "I  must  tell  you  that  it  is  so 
because  a  Southern  proprietor  is  a  poor  devil  and  his  overseer 
a  prince.  I  had  to  discard  one  the  other  day  for  malversation 
and  peculation  in  office — a  small  affair  compared  with  what 
we  wot  of  in  the  '  great  vulgar  and  the  small '  in  the  city  of  0, 
[Washington]  and  its  dependencies.  I  wish  you  could  have 
heard  two  worthy  neighbors  cautioning  me  against  a  contest 
at  law  with  an  overseer  as  a  'tremendous  business,'  where, 

1  Coalter's  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir.  Ct.,  Petersburg, 
Va. 

3  J.  R.'s  Diary. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  703 

whatever  may  be  the  merits  of  the  case,  the  employer  is  sure 
to  be  cast. '     I  knew,  too,  that  they  were  right.  "* 

In  one  place  in  the  Diary,  Randolph  speaks  of  ' '  Palmer's 
villainy";  and  it  really  does  look  as  if  this  overseer  was 
far  from  being  everything  that  he  should  have  been.  In 
one  of  his  letters,  Randolph  says  in  that  academic  diction 
which  sat  upon  him  as  naturally  as  he  sat  upon  a  saddle, 
that  another  overseer  of  his  is  in  meditatione  fugce  to 
Tennessee. 

The  rough  manner  in  which  he  handled  one  of  his 
overseers,  named  Pentecost,  who  had  incurred  his  dis- 
pleasure, has  been  told  by  Henry  Carrington  in  a  manner 
which  gives  us  a  sharpened  insight  into  the  seamy  side  of 
plantation  life : 

"In  the  above  mentioned  year,  Mr.  Randolph  failed  in  his 
supply  of  tobacco  plants  at  his  lower  quarter,  where  a  man 
by  the  name  of  P.  [Pentecost]  was  overseer.  About  the  first 
of  July,  he  ascertained  that  he  could  get  plants  from  Colonel 
C,  in  Halifax.  He  wrote  to  P.  to  take  a  boat  belonging  to 
the  estate,  cross  the  river  to  Colonel  C.'s,  get  the  plants,  and 
plant  his  crop. 

"Some  two  days  afterwards,  he  learned  that  the  overseer 
had  not  obeyed  the  order.  He  was  aroused.  He  wrote  to 
me  to  meet  him  on  the  estate  at  nine  o'clock  next  day.  On 
going  to  the  place,  according  to  his  appointment,  I  found  him 
on  the  ground,  and  also  Colonel  C,  Captain  W.,  Captain  J.  S., 
and  Mr.  A.  G.  He  proposed  to  us  to  ride  with  him  over  the 
estate  and  view  the  condition  of  the  crops.  We  found  every- 
thing in  bad  order;  the  tobacco  ground  particularly  out  of 
order  for  planting. 

"After  consuming  some  hours  in  the  survey,  he  conducted 
us  to  the  granary.  There  were  gathered  together  the  planta- 
tion implements  of  every  description,  and,  in  the  midst,  were 
standing  two  negro  girls,  each  with  a  mulatto  child  in  her 
arms.     The   assemblage   was   remarkable,   and   I   anxiously 

1  Roanoke,  Oct.  18,  1813,  Life  of  Quincy,  338. 


704  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

expected  a  scene.  He  enquired  of  the  girls  where  was  P. 
They  said  that,  after  collecting  the  various  articles  then  in 
our  view,  he  disappeared. 

"Mr.  Randolph  said  he  had  ordered  him  also  to  be  present; 
but  he  disobeyed  because  he  could  not  stand  the  ordeal  to 
which  he  was  to  be  subjected.  Then,  turning  to  Mr.  G.,  a 
plain  but  respectable  citizen,  who  had  some  years  before, 
acted  as  steward  for  Mr.  Randolph,  he  said:  'I  have  invited 
you  herewith  today,  Mr.  G.,  to  make  to  you  publicly,  in  the 
presence  of  these  gentlemen,  all  the  reparation  in  my  power 
for  the  great  injury  I  have  done  you. ' 

"Mr.  G.  seemed  greatly  startled.  He  assured  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph that  there  was  no  occasion  for  explanation ;  that  he  had 
always  treated  him  very  well. 

'Sir,'  replied  Mr.  Randolph,  'you  are  greatly  mistaken. 
For  more  than  a  year  past,  I  have  endeavored  to  show  by  my 
bearing  towards  you,  my  disgust  with  you  and  my  contempt 
for  your  character.  But  I  am  undeceived.  This  fellow,  P., 
had  induced  me  to  believe  that  you  were  the  father  of  the 
children  now  before  us.  But,  I  now  know  that  he,  P.,  has 
carried  on  the  intercourse  which  he  charges  upon  you,  and 
that  these  are  his  children. ' 

"Never  was  man  more  astonished  than  was  Mr.  G.  He 
reiterated, — '  Never,  Mr.  Randolph,  was  there  a  greater  lie. ' 
*  *  *  Mr.  Randolph  all  the  time  assuring  him  that  he 
knew  that  he  had  wronged  him,  and,  therefore,  he  was  anxious 
to  make  the  most  ample  apology  and  reparation. 

"He  then  turned  to  the  gentlemen  present,  and  said :  ' Look 
at  these  girls ;  they  are  my  crop  hands.  See  how  their  heads 
are  combed ;  how  oily  their  hair.  Do  they  look  like  they  had 
stood  blasts  of  Winter  or  Summer's  sun?  No,  Sirs;  they  have 
been  in  his  harem. ' 

"The  scene  was  highly  dramatic;  the  acting,  if  it  could  be 
so  regarded,  unsurpassed. 

"After  this  scene  at  the  granary,  Mr.  Randolph  proposed 
to  us  to  go  to  the  house,  and  get  some  fresh  water.  Mrs.  P. 
brought  us  the  water.  Mr.  Randolph,  in  our  presence,  said 
to  her,  he  was  aware  of  the  infidelity  of  her  husband,  and  felt 
for  her  the  deepest  compassion. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  705 

"  Mr.  P.  had,  in  the  meantime,  taken  himself  to  some  house 
in  the  neighborhood,  where,  from  great  perturbation  of  spirit, 
he  fell  ill.  Mr.  Randolph  sent  for  a  lawyer,  and  instituted 
several  suits  against  him.  But,  hearing  that  he  was  seriously 
ill,  his  feelings  relented.  He  told  me  it  did  not  become  him, 
a  professing  Christian,  to  persecute  the  man  to  death.  'I 
must  go  and  see  him,'  said  he;  and  he  did  so,  with  the  hope 
of  curing  and  relieving  him. 

"He  told  P.  that  he  must  not  let  this  difficulty  depress  him; 
that  the  suits  he  had  ordered  against  him  must  be  prosecuted 
to  judgment,  as  an  example  to  his  successors,  but  that  no 
execution  should  be  issued. 

"Mr.  Randolph  asked  him  what  he  intended  to  do.  Mr. 
P.  told  him  he  wished  to  move  west.  Mr.  Randolph  asked 
him  if  he  had  money  for  the  purpose.  Mr.  P.  replied,  he  had 
not;  but  that  he  proposed  selling  the  negro  boy  who  waited 
on  him.  Mr.  Randolph  asked  the  price.  Five  hundred 
dollars,  was  the  reply.  Thereupon,  Mr.  Randolph  agreed  to 
purchase  the  boy,  and  paid  the  price."1 

According  to  the  details  of  this  transaction,  given  by 
one  of  Randolph's  journals,  when  he  heard  that  Pentecost 
was  dying  he  went  to  his  house,  and  found  him  in  a  state 
of  hysteria,  and,  subsequently,  after  first  writing  a  long 
bill  in  chancery,  so  as  to  provide  for  every  contingency, 
like  Sydney  Smith,  when  he  took  along  with  him  to  the 
bedside  of  his  ill  parishioner  both  the  Collects  for  the  Sick 
and  a  bottle  of  castor  oil,  visited  him  again,  and  bought 
from  him  his  boy  Moses,  with  a  view  to  accelerating  his 
hegira  from  Roanoke. 2 

But  all  of  Randolph's  overseers  were  by  no  means 
Palmers  or  Pentecosts.  It  was  a  saying  of  Charles  Bruce, 
the  Charlotte  County  planter,  to  whom  we  have  more 
than  once  referred,  that  it  was  easier  to  secure  a  hundred 
good  hands  than  one  good  overseer;  and,  taken  as  a  whole, 

1  Bouldin,  126. 
3  Libr.  Cong. 
vol.  11— 4S 


706         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

the  man,  who  occupied  the  position  of  overseer  on  a  large 
Virginia  plantation,  however  illiterate  he  might  be,  was 
usually  endowed  to  a  greater  degree  than  most  men  with 
the  three  elements  that  make  up  that  rare  thing — execu- 
tive ability;  namely,  justice,  kindness,  and  firmness. 

What  Randolph  thought  of  the  faithful,  capable  Curd, 
whom  he  nursed  so  tenderly  under  his  own  roof,  the  reader 
has  already  been  told.  And  another  one  of  his  overseers, 
Cumby  by  name,  was  held  in  equally  high  esteem  by  him. 
"  Cumby  can  do  anything, "  he  was  in  the  habit  of  saying. 
One  day,  he  said,  he  and  Cumby  were  riding  over  Roanoke 
when  they  came  to  a  frame  house,  which  drew  from  him 
the  remark  that  he  wished  that  he  could  have  it  for  a 
store-house.  Two  days  afterwards,  the  house  walked  up 
(to  use  his  expression)  into  his  yard;  with  everything 
complete  except  the  chimneys.  On  another  occasion, 
according  to  Randolph,  Cumby  built  a  barn,  when  he  was 
absent  from  Roanoke.  When  he  returned,  he  told  him 
that  it  was  in  the  right  place  but  that  it  was  set  wrong, 
and  should  have  been  set  on  a  north  and  south  line.  The 
next  day,  when  he  rode  by  it,  he  found  that  it  had  been 
turned  entirely  around  by  Cumby,  and  he  was  so  pleased 
that  he  gave  it  the  name  of  the  ''turn-around  barn," 
which  it  ever  afterwards  bore.  ■ 

On  one  occasion  Randolph  was  told  by  Palmer  that  he 
was  "too  tight  with  him";  that  is,  to  adopt  Randolph's 
translation  of  these  words,  would  not  permit  him  to 
encroach  beyond  the  terms  of  his  contract  with  him ;  and 
this  Randolph  set  down  as  a  piece  of  impertinence. 

But  he  knew  when  to  relax  as  well  as  to  tighten  the 
reins  with  his  overseers,  and  we  learn  from  Jacob  Harvey 
that  he  expressed  a  strong  feeling  of  respect  for  a  favorite 
overseer  who  had  declined  to  adopt  a  new-fangled  plan  of 
planting  tobacco,  which  he  had  picked  up  at  Washington. 
Randolph,  or  "Mr.  Randall, "  as  this  overseer  was  in  the 

1  Bouldin,  102. 


Randolph  as  a  Man  707 

habit  of  calling  him,  bowed  his  neck  in  submission, 
although  he  was  told  flatly  by  the  man  that,  notwithstand- 
ing the  respect  that  he  had  for  the  opinions  of  "Mr. 
Randall"  on  all  other  subjects  but  tobacco  planting,  he 
would  plant  tobacco  in  his  own  way  or  not  at  all.  The 
result,  Randolph  said,- was  a  great  crop.1 

In  concluding  what  we  have  had  to  say  about  Roanoke, 
it  may  interest  the  reader  to  know  that  this  was  a  list  of 
topics  which  Randolph  once,  when  at  Washington,  asked 
Dr.  Dudley  to  cover  in  his  next  letter  from  Roanoke,  in 
the  order  in  which  he  mentioned  them : 

"Your  own  affair — Ca. — CI. — Plantation  affairs  generally 
— Essex  and  Hetty — Nancy,  etc., — Pheasants  — Partridges — 
Summer  ducks — Fruit  Trees — Sir  Archy  Colt — and  Phillis — 
Blood  stock  generally — Tobacco — ."2 

1  The  New  Mirror,  v.  i,  353. 

2  Washington,  Feb.  7,  1820,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  212. 


CHAPTER  X 
Conclusion 

In  conclusion,  we  cannot  refrain  from  dwelling  for  a 
moment  upon  the  profound  change  which  has  taken  place 
since  Randolph's  death  in  the  District,  so  long  and  so 
conspicuously  represented  by  him  in  Congress.  The  face 
of  nature  in  it  has,  it  is  true,  undergone  but  little  alter- 
ation. The  willow-fringed  Staunton  still  flows  by  Roa- 
noke, through  silent  solitudes  for  the  most  part,  to  Clarks- 
ville,  where  it  receives  the  waters  of  the  Dan,  hurrying  to 
their  tryst  with  its  own  current.  The  general  appearance 
of  the  country  between  the  James  and  the  Roanoke  is 
still  that  of  a  single  vast  forest,  invaded  at  intervals  by 
the  axe  and  the  plow,  and  traversed  here  and  there  by 
common  dirt  roads,  half  lost  to  sight  in  its  leafy  recesses. 
All  species  of  wild  game  are  not  as  abundant  in  this  region 
as  when  Randolph  jotted  down  his  bags  of  partridges  and 
woodcock,  and  the  number  of  Dido's  last  litter  in  the 
Diary;  but  even  such  a  shy  thing  as  the  wild  turkey  still 
haunts  its  glades  and  plant  patches,  and,  in  at  least  one 
of  its  streams,  within  recent  years,  the  beaver,  that  curious 
artisan  of  the  primaeval  wilderness,  has  been  known  to 
rear  its  rude  structures.  In  the  absence  of  a  diversified 
industry,  the  people  of  Randolph's  former  District  still 
believe,  as  Randolph  believed,  that  their  best  resource  is 
the  tobacco  plant. 

But,  in  all  political  and  social  respects,  how  radically 
transformed  has  this  region  become  since   1833!    The 

708 


Conclusion  709 

freehold  suffrage,  but  for  which  Randolph's  career  would 
hardly  have  been  possible,  was  abolished  by  the  adoption 
of  the  Virginia  State  Constitution  of  1850,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  universal  white  suffrage,  which  he  so  deeply 
distrusted.  After  the  Civil  War,  under  circumstances, 
which  would  have  seemed  to  him  the  complete  fulfillment 
ol  his  worst  forebodings  of  federal  tyranny,  this  suffrage 
was  so  enlarged  as  to  include  first  black  as  well  as  white 
men,  and  then  both  white  and  black  women.  To  Ran- 
dolph the  extension  of  the  suffrage  to  the  negro  and  the 
female  sex  would  have  been,  it  is  safe  to  say,  only  less 
monstrous  than  its  extension  to  his  horse,  Gracchus,  or  to 
his  dog,  Carlo.  The  landed  gentry,  which  controlled  the 
county  governments  in  his  District,  and  imparted  vivid 
life  and  color  to  the  character  of  the  latter,  has  passed 
away,  with  its  frank,  engaging,  generous,  and  spirited 
manners;  its  love  of  the  horse,  the  hound,  and  the  gun;  its 
numerous  servants,  its  profuse  tables,  its  doors  that,  like 
those  of  Timon  of  Athens,  "were  ne'er  acquainted  with 
their  wards."  A  few  weeks  ago,  the  author  left  the 
house  in  Charlotte  County,  which  was  once  the  home  of 
one  of  the  wealthiest  slave  owners  of  Virginia ;  then  teeming 
with  servants  and  lavishly  blest  with  all  the  essentials 
of  abundant  and  joyous  living ;  but  now  a  mere  vacant, 
deserted  anachronism;  and,  as  he  looked  back  from  a 
lower  level  on  its  lonely  towers  and  battlements,  his 
imagination  experienced  no  difficulty  in  picturing  it  as 
some  huge  marine  fossil  left  stranded  upon  its  high  seat 
by  the  recession  of  some  prehistoric  sea. 

Thousands  of  steady,  moral,  God-fearing  inhabitants 
reside  in  the  four  counties  which  Randolph  represented, 
and,  in  many  respects,  they  are  better  qualified  than  the 
members  of  the  class,  of  which  we  have  been  speaking, 
would  be  to  bring  about  the  industrial  change,  which  is 
steadily  giving  a  wholly  new  aspect  to  parts  of  the  face 
of  North  Carolina,  and  is  bound,  sooner  or  later,  to  make 


7J°         John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

its  influence  generally  felt  in  all  Southside  Virginia.  But 
in  point  of  social  characteristics  and  tastes,  these  individ- 
uals are,  as  a  rule,  far  removed  from  the  inmates  of  the 
country  seats  in  Charlotte,  Prince  Edward,  Buckingham, 
and  Cumberland  Counties,  which  were  so  often  visited 
by  Randolph  in  the  early  part  of  the  19th  century.  Yet 
the  renown  of  Randolph,  the  most  famous  Virginian  ever 
born  below  the  James,  will  unquestionably  continue  to  be 
one  of  the  most  cherished  possessions,  not  only  of  the 
people  of  his  former  District,  but  of  all  Virginia;  for, 
despite  the  sharp  social  distinctions  of  the  past,  the  people 
of  Virginia,  as  geographically  limited  to-day,  are,  and 
always  have  been,  a  highly  homogeneous  one.  We  make 
the  prediction  that  we  do,  not  because  Virginia  is  disposed 
to  place  Randolph  upon  a  pedestal  of  such  exalted  promi- 
nence as  has  been  sometimes  affirmed  by  bigoted  writers. 
When  she  came  to  fill  the  niggard  space  in  Statuary  Hall 
at  the  National  Capitol,  tendered  to  her  rich  abundance, 
she  did  not  turn  to  any  Virginian,  of  whom  it  can  be  said, 
as  it  can  be  truthfully  said,  in  a  limited  sense,  of  him,  that 
he  was  exclusively  hers,  but  to  Washington  and  Lee,  of 
whom  one  would  but  mock  her,  if  he  were  to  say  that  they 
were  hers  only.  In  the  future,  doubtless,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  fame  of  Jefferson,  the  most  illustrious  exemplar, 
perhaps,  of  the  democratic  movement,  which  has  been  the 
most  permanent  and  irresistible  movement  in  human 
history,  the  fame  of  no  native  Virginian  is  so  likely  to  be 
lasting  as  that  of  Washington  and  Marshall,  who,  lifted 
by  their  serene  balance  of  character  and  breadth  of  view 
and  sympathy  above  the  sectional  jealousies  and  discords 
of  their  age,  always  kept  their  eyes  steadily  fixed  upon  no 
vision  less  splendid  than  that  of  One  People  and  One 
Destiny,  to  which  the  stride  of  great  events,  since  the 
conclusion  of  the  Civil  War  has  happily  brought  every 
portion  of  the  United  States. 

But  Virginia  cannot  forget  that  there  was  another  time 


Conclusion  711 

in  her  history  when  the  wisest  and  best  man,  within  her 
borders,  might  well  have  doubted  whether  his  paramount 
allegiance  was  to  her  or  to  the  ill-defined  union  created 
by  the  Federal  Constitution ;  indeed,  when  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority  of  her  people,  influenced  by  the  inexorable 
course  of  events,  decided  that  question,  though  most 
reluctantly,  in  favor  of  her  sovereignty,  and  gave  all  that 
men  can  honorably  give — Peace,  Wealth,  and  Life — to 
make  their  decision  good.  Remembering  these  things, 
Virginia  will  always  hold  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  in 
grateful  remembrance ;  retaining  ineffaceably  in  her  mem- 
ory in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  the  recollection  of  his 
unique  presence;  his  unfaltering  intrepidity;  his  bitter 
sorrows  and  misfortunes ;  his  brilliant  rhetorical,  literary, 
and  social  gifts;  his  searching  flashes  of  prescience  and 
reasoning ;  his  high  public  motives ;  his  scorn  for  the  muck- 
worms and  scavengers  of  prostituted  politics,  and,  above 
all,  his  unceasing  constancy  in  the  maintenance  of  what 
his  native  State  conceived  that  her  honor  and  interests 
required.  Nor,  now  that  the  veil  has  been  completely 
withdrawn  from  his  private  life,  will  Virginia  fail  to  bear 
in  mind,  too,  his  heart  far  more  sensitive,  after  all,  despite 
a  morbidly  high-strung  nature  and  tragic  intervals  of 
mental  aberration,  to  the  tenderest  impulses  of  human 
love  and  pity  than  to  those  of  human  passion,  arrogance, 
and  hatred. 

And  more  and  more,  in  the  future,  it  can  be  confidently 
predicted,  will  it  be  realized  by  every  part  of  the  United 
States  that,  with  respect  to  Randolph  also,  it  may  be  said 
that  it  is  upon  the  poet,  after  all,  that  the  true  gift  of 
divination  has  been  bestowed : 

"Bard,  Sage  and  Tribune!  in  himself 
All  moods  of  mind  contrasting; — 
The  tenderest  wail  of  human  woe 
The  scorn  like  lightning  blasting; 


7i2  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 

The  pathos  which  from  rival  eyes 
Unwilling  tears  could  summon; 
The  stinging  taunt,  the  fiery  burst 
Of  hatred  scarcely  human; — 
Mirth  sparkling  like  a  diamond  shower 
From  lips  of  life-long  sadness; 
Clear  picturings  of  majestic  thought 
Upon  a  ground  of  madness; 
And,  over  all,  romance  and  song 
A  classic  beauty  throwing, 
And  laurelled  Clio  at  his  side 
Her  storied  pages  showing." 

(Whittier.) 


APPENDIX 

"At  Washington,  I  learned  the  result  of  the  dispatches 
brought  by  the  John  Adams  (a  name  of  evil  omen) ,  and  there 
rumors  were  afloat,  which  have  since  gathered  strength,  of 
a  disposition  in  Massachusetts,  and,  indeed,  throughout  New 
England,  to  follow  the  example  of  Nantucket,  and  declare  for 
a  neutrality  in  the  present  contest  with  Great  Britain.  I 
will  not  believe  it.  What!  Boston,  the  cradle  of  American 
Independence,  to  whose  aid  Virginia,  stept  forth  unsolicited, 
when  the  whole  vengeance  of  the  British  ministry  was  wreaked 
on  that  devoted  town.  Boston!  now  to  desert  us,  in  our 
utmost  need;  to  give  up  her  old  ally  to  ravage,  at  the  price  of 
her  own  impunity  from  the  common  enemy? — I  cannot,  will 
not,  believe  it.  The  men,  if  any  such  there  be  among  you, 
who  venture  to  insinuate  such  an  intent  by  the  darkest  in- 
nuendo, do  they  claim  to  be  the  disciples  of  Washington? 
They  are  of  the  school  of  Arnold.  I  am  not  insensible  to  the 
vexations  and  oppression,  with  which  you  have  been  harassed, 
with  little  intermission,  since  the  memorable  embargo  of  1807. 
These  I  am  disposed,  as  you  well  know,  neither  to  excuse,  nor 
to  extenuate.  Perhaps,  I  may  be  reminded  of  an  authority,  to 
which  I  always  delight  to  refer,  'Segnius  irritant  animos,  etc.? 
but  let  me  tell  such  gentlemen  that  our  sufferings,  under 
political  quacks  of  our  own  calling  in,  are  not  matter  of  hearsay. 
It  is  true  they  are  considered  by  the  unhappy,  misguided 
patient  as  evidence  of  the  potency,  and  consequently  (accord- 
ing to  his  system  of  logic)  of  the  efficacy,  of  the  medicine,  as 
well  as  the  inveteracy,  of  the  disease.  It  is  not  less  true  that 
this  last  has  become,  from  preposterous  treatment,  in  the  high- 
est degree,  alarming.     The  patient  himself  begins  to  suspect 

713 


7H  Appendix 

something  of  the  sort,  and  the  doctors  trembling,  each  for  his 
own  character,  are  quarrelling  and  calling  hard  names  among 
themselves.  But  they  have  reduced  us  to  such  a  condition 
that  nothing  short  of  the  knife  will  now  do.  'We  must  fight, 
Mr.  Speaker'/  said  Patrick  Henry  in  1775,  when  his  sagacious 
mind  saw  there  was  nothing  else  left  for  us  but  manly  resist- 
ance or  slavish  submission;  and  his  tongue  dared  to  utter  what 
his  heart  suggested.  How  much  greater  the  necessity  now, 
when  our  country  is  regarded  not  as  a  property  to  be  recovered, 
and  therefore  spared,  so  far  as  is  compatible  with  the  end  in 
view,  but  as  an  object  of  vengeance,  of  desolation. 

You  know  my  sentiments  of  the  men  at  the  head  of  our 
affairs,  and  of  the  general  course  of  administration  during  the 
last  eight  years.  You  know  also  that  the  relation,  in  which 
I  stand  towards  them,  is  one  of  my  own  deliberate  choice; 
sanctioned  not  more  by  my  judgment  than  by  my  feelings. 
You,  who  have  seen  men,  in  the  ranks,  when  I  commanded 
in  chief  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  others,  at  that 
time  too  green  to  be  on  the  political  muster  roll,  whose  names 
had  never  been  pronounced  out  of  their  own  parish,  raised  to 
the  highest  offices.  You,  who  are  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  whole  progress  of  my  separation  from  the  party,  with 
which  I  was  once  connected  in  conduct,  do  not  require  to  be 
told,  that  'there  was  a  time  in  which  I  stood  in  such  favor  in 
the  closet  that  there  must  have  been  something  extravagantly 
unreasonable  in  my  wishes,  if  they  might  not  ALL  have  been 
gratified.'  But  I  must  acknowledge  that  you  have  seen 
instances  of  apostasy,  among  your  quondam  political  associ- 
ates, as  well  as  my  own,  that  might  almost  justify  a  suspicion 
that  I,  too,  tired  of  holding  out,  may  wish  to  make  my  peace 
with  the  administration  by  adding  one  more  item  'to  the  long 
catalogue  of  venality  from  Esau  to  the  present  day.'  Should 
such  a  shade  of  suspicion  pass  across  your  mind  I  can  readily 
excuse  it,  in  consideration  of  the  common  frailty  of  our  nature, 
from  which  I  claim  no  peculiar  exemption,  and  the  transcend- 
ent wickedness  of  the  times  we  live  in ;  but  you  will  have  given 
me  credit  for  a  talent  which  I  do  not  possess.  I  am  master  of 
no  such  ambidexterity;  and,  were  I  to  attempt  this  game, 
which  it  is  only  for  adepts  (not  novices)  to  play,  I  am  thor- 


Appendix  715 

oughly  conscious  that,  like  other  bungling  rogues,  I  should  at 
once  expose  my  knavery  and  miss  my  object.  Not  that  our 
Political  Church  refuses  to  open  her  arms  to  the  vilest  of  here- 
tics and  sinners,  who  can  seal  their  abjuration  of  their  old 
faith  by  the  prosecution  of  the  brethren  with  whom  they  held 
and  professed  it ;  but  I  know  that  my  nerves  are  of  too  weak  a 
fibre  to  hear  the  question  ordinary  and  extraordinary  from  our 
political  inquisitors.  I  can  sustain  with  composure  and  even 
with  indifference  the  rancorous  hatred  of  thenumerous  enemies, 
whom  it  has  been  my  lot  to  make  in  the  course  of  my  unpros- 
perous  life,  but  I  have  not  yet  steeled  myself  to  endure  the 
contemptuous  pity  of  those  noble  and  high-minded  men  whom 
I  glory  to  call  my  friends;  and  I  am  on  too  bad  terms  with  the 
world  to  encounter  my  own  self -disrespect. 

You  may  however  very  naturally  ask  why  I  have  chosen 
you  for  the  object  of  this  address?  Why  I  have  not  rather 
selected  some  one  of  those  political  friends,  whom  I  have 
yet  found  'faithful  among  the  faithless,'  as  the  vehicle  of  my 
opinions?  It  is  because  the  avenue  to  the  public  ear  is  shut 
against  me  in  Virginia,  and  I  have  been  flattered  to  believe 
that  the  sound  of  my  voice  may  reach  New  England.  Nay, 
that  it  would  be  heard  there,  not  without  attention  and  re- 
spect. With  us,  the  press  is  under  a  virtual  imprimatur,  and 
it  would  be  more  easy,  at  this  time,  to  force  into  circulation 
the  Treasury  notes  than  opinions  militating  against  the  ad- 
ministration through  the  press  in  Virginia.  We  were  indeed, 
beginning  to  open  our  eyes  in  spite  of  the  opiate  with  which  we 
were  drugged  by  the  newspapers  and  the  busy  hum  of  the 
insects,  that  bask  in  the  sunshine  of  court  patronage,  when 
certain  events  occurred,  the  most  favorable  that  could  have 
happened  for  our  rulers;  whose  'luck,'  verifying  the  proverb, 
is  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  their  wisdom;  or,  perhaps,  I  ought 
to  say  who  have  the  cunning  to  take  advantage  of  glaring  acts 
of  indiscretion  in  their  adversaries  at  home  and  abroad,  as 
these  may  affect  the  public  mind;  and  such  have  never  failed 
to  come  to  their  relief,  when  otherwise  their  case  would  have 
been  hopeless.  I  give  you  the  most  serious  assurance  that 
nothing  less  than  the  shameful  conduct  of  the  enemy  and  the 
complexion  of  certain  occurrences  to  the  Eastward  would  have 


7i  6  Appendix 

sustained  Mr.  Madison  after  the  disgraceful  affair  at  Wash- 
ington. The  public  indignation  would  have  overwhelmed,  in 
one  common  ruin,  himself  and  his  hireling  newspapers.  The 
artillery  of  the  press,  so  long  the  instrument  of  our  subjugation, 
would,  as  at  Paris,  have  been  turned  against  the  destroyer  of 
his  country.  When  we  are  told  that  Old  England  says  he 
'shall,'  and  New  England  that  he  'must,'  retire  from  office,  as 
the  price  of  peace  with  the  one,  and  of  union  with  the  other, 
we  have  too  much  English  blood  in  our  veins  to  submit  to  this 
dictation,  or  to  any  thing  in  the  form  of  a  threat.  Neither 
of  these  people  know  any  thing  of  us.  The  ignorance  of  her 
foreign  agents,  not  only  of  the  country,  to  which  they  are 
sent,  but  even  of  their  own,  has  exposed  England  to  general 
derision.  She  will  learn,  when  it  is  too  late,  that  we  are 
a  high-minded  people,  attached  to  our  liberty  and  our  country, 
because  it  is  free,  in  a  degree  inferior  to  no  people  under  the 
sun.  She  will  discover  that  'our  trade  would  have  been  worth 
more  than  our  spoil,'  and  that  she  has  made  deadly  enemies  of 
a  whole  people,  who,  in  spite  of  her  and  of  the  world,  of  the 
sneers  of  her  sophists,  or  of  the  force  of  her  arms,  are  destined 
to  become,  within  the  present  (century?)  a  mighty  nation.  It 
belongs  to  New  England  to  say  whether  she  will  constitute  a 
portion,  an  important  and  highly  respectable  portion,  of  this 
nation,  or  whether  she  will  dwindle  into  that  state  of  insigni- 
ficant, nominal  independence,  which  is  the  precarious  curse 
of  the  minor  kingdoms  of  Europe.  A  separation  made  in  the 
fulness  of  time,  the  effect  of  amicable  arrangements,  may  prove 
mutually  beneficial  to  both  parties.  Such  would  have  been 
the  effect  of  American  independence,  if  the  British  ministry 
would  have  listened  to  any  suggestion  but  that  of  their  own 
impotent  rage;  but  a  settled  hostility,  embittered  by  the 
keenest  recollections,  must  be  the  result  of  a  disunion  between 
you  and  us,  under  the  present  circumstances.  I  have  some- 
times wished  that  Mr.  Madison  (who  endeavored  to  thwart 
the  wise  and  benevolent  policy  of  General  Washington  'to 
regard  the  English  like  other  nations,  as  enemies  in  war,  in 
peace  friends')  had  succeeded  in  embroiling  us  with  the  Court 
of  St.  James  twenty  years  sooner.  We  should  in  that  case 
have  had  the  Father  of  his  Country  to  conduct  the  war  and 


Appendix  7J7 

to  make  the  peace ;  and  that  peace  would  have  endured  beyond 
the  lifetime  of  the  authors  of  their  country's  calamity  and 
disgrace.  But  I  must  leave  past  recollections.  The  present 
and  the  immediate  future  claim  our  attention. 

It  may  be  said  that  in  time  of  peace  the  people  of  every 
portion  of  our  Confederacy  find  themselves  too  happy  to  think 
of  division ;  that  the  sufferings  of  a  war  like  this  are  requisite  to 
rouse  them  to  the  necessary  exertion.  War  is  incident  to  all 
governments;  and  wars,  I  very  much  fear,  will  be  wickedly 
declared  and  weakly  waged  even  by  the  New  England  Con- 
federacy, as  they  have  been  by  every  government  (not  even 
excepting  the  Roman  Republic)  of  which  we  have  any  knowl- 
edge ;  and  it  does  appear  to  me  no  slight  presumption  that  the 
evil  has  not  yet  reached  the  point  of  amputation  when  Peace 
alone  will  render  us  the  happiest  (as  we  are  the  freest)  people 
under  the  sun — at  least  too  happy  to  think  of  dissolving  the 
Union,  which,  as  it  carried  us  through  the  War  of  our  Revo- 
lution, will,  I  trust,  bear  us  triumphant  through  that  in  which 
we  have  been  plunged  by  the  incapacity  and  corruption  of  men, 
neither  willing  to  maintain  the  relations  of  peace  nor  able  to 
conduct  the  operations  of  war.  Should  I,  unhappily,  be  mis- 
taken in  this  expectation,  let  us  see  what  are  to  be  the  conse- 
quences of  the  separation,  not  to  us  but  to  yourselves.  An 
exclusion  of  your  tonnage  and  manufactures  from  our  ports 
and  harbors  [will  be  one  ?]  It  will  be  our  policy  to  encourage 
our  own  or  even  those  of  Europe  in  preference  to  yours;  a 
policy  more  obvious  than  that  which  induced  us  of  the  South 
to  consent  to  discriminating  duties  in  favor  of  American  ton- 
nage, in  the  infancy  of  this  Government.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  say  to  you  that  I  embrace  the  duties  on  imports,  as  well  as 
the  tonnage  duty,  when  I  allude  to  the  encouragement  of 
American  shipping.  It  will  always  be  our  policy  to  prevent 
your  obtaining  a  naval  superiority,  and  consequently  to  cut 
you  off  entirely  from  our  carrying  trade.  The  same  plain 
interest  will  cause  us  to  prefer  any  manufactures  to  your  own. 
The  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  that  exchanges  our 
surplus  for  theirs,  will  be  the  nursery  of  our  seamen.  In  the 
Middle  States  you  will  find  rivals  not  very  heartily  indisposed 
to  shut  out  the  competition  of  your  shipping.     In  the  same 


7i  8  Appendix 

section  of  country,  and  in  the  boundless  West,  you  will  find 
jealous  competitors  of  your  mechanics.  You  will  be  left  to 
settle,  as  you  can,  with  England,  the  question  of  boundary 
on  the  side  of  New  Brunswick;  and,  unless  you  can  bring  New 
York  to  a  state  of  utter  blindness  as  to  her  own  interests,  that 
great,  thriving,  and  most  populous  member  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy  will  present  a  hostile  frontier  to  the  only  States 
of  the  Union  of  Hartford  that  can  be  estimated  as  of  any 
efficiency.  Should  that  respectable  city  be  chosen  as  the  seat 
of  the  Eastern  Congress,  that  body  will  sit  within  two  days' 
march  of  the  most  populous  county  of  New  York  (Duchess),  of 
itself  almost  equal  to  some  of  the  New  England  States.  I 
speak  not  in  derision  but  in  soberness  and  sadness  of  heart. 
Rather  let  me  say  that,  like  a  thoroughbred  diplomatist,  I  try 
to  suppress  everything  like  feeling,  and  treat  this  question  as  a 
dry  matter  of  calculation;  well  knowing  at  the  same  time,  that, 
in  this,  as  in  every  question,  of  vital  interest,  'our  passions 
instruct  our  reason. '  The  same  high  authority  has  told  us  that 
Jacobinism  is  of  no  country ;  that  it  is  a  sect  found  in  all.  Now, 
as  our  Jacobins  in  Virginia  would  be  very  glad  to  hear  of  the 
bombardment  of  Boston,  so,  I  very  much  fear,  your  Jacobins 
would  not  be  very  sorry  to  hear  of  a  servile  insurrection  in 
Virginia.  But  such  I  trust  is  the  general  feeling  in  neither 
country;  otherwise  I  should  at  once  agree  that  Union,  like  the 
marriages  of  Mezentius,  was  the  worst  that  could  befall  us. 
For,  with  every  other  man  of  common  sense,  I  have  always 
regarded  Union  as  the  means  of  liberty  and  safety;  in  other 
words  of  happiness,  and  not  as  an  end,  to  which  these  are  to  be 
sacrificed.  Neither,  at  the  same  time,  are  means  so  precious, 
so  efficient  (in  proper  hands)  [for?]  these  desirable  objects,  to  be 
thrown,  rashly  aside,  because,  in  the  hands  of  bad  men,  they 
have  been  made  the  instrument  almost  of  our  undoing. 

You  in  New  England  (it  is  unnecessary  I  hope  to  specify 
when  I  do  not  address  myself  personally  to  yourself)  are  very 
wide  of  the  mark,  if  you  suppose  we  to  the  South  do  not  suffer 
at  least  as  much  as  yourselves  from  the  incapacity  of  our 
rulers  to  conduct  the  defence  of  the  country.  Do  you  ask  why 
we  do  not  change  those  rulers?  I  reply,  because  we  are  a 
people,  like  your  own  Connecticut,  of  steady  habits.     Our 


Appendix  7J9 

confidence,  once  given,  is  not  hastily  withdrawn.     Let  those 
who  will  abuse  the  fickleness  of  the  People ;  I  shall  say  such  is 
not  the  character  of  the  People  of  Virginia.     They  may  be 
deceived,  but  they  are  honest.     Taking  advantage  of  their 
honest  prejudices,  the  growth  of  our  Revolution,  fostered  not 
more  by  Mr.  Jefferson  than  by  the  injuries  and  (what  is 
harder  to  be  borne)  the  insults  of  the  British  ministry,  since 
the  Peace  of  1783  a  combination  of  artful  men  has,  with  the 
aid  of  the  Press,  and  the  possession  of  the  machinery  of 
government  (a  powerful  engine  in  any  hands)  led  them  to  the 
brink  of  ruin.     I  can  never  bring  myself  to  believe  that  the 
whole  mass  of  the  landed  proprietors  in  any  country,  but 
especially  such  a  country  as  Virginia,  can  seriously  plot  its 
ruin.     Our  Government  is  in  the  hands  of  the  landed  proprie- 
tors only.     The  very  men,  of  whom  you  complain,  have  left 
nothing  undone  that  they  dared  to  do  in  order  to  destroy  it. 
Foreign  influence  is  unknown  among  us.     What  we  feel  of 
it  is,  through  the  medium  of  the  General  Government,  which, 
acted  on  itself  by  foreign  renegadoes,  serves  as  a  conductor 
between  them  and  us  of  this  pernicious  influence.     I  know  of 
no  foreigner  who  has  been,  or  is,  in  any  respectable  office  in 
the  gift  of  the  People,  or  in  the  Government  of  Virginia.     No 
member  of  either  House  of  Congress,  no  leading  member  of  our 
Assembly,  no  judge  of  our  Supreme  Courts  [is  such  a  person?] 
Of  the  newspapers  printed  in  the  State,  as  far  as  my  knowledge 
extends,  without  discrimination  of  party  they  are  conducted  by 
native  Virginians .     Like  yourselves ,  we  are  an  unmixed  people . 
I  know  the  prejudice  that  exists  against  us,  nor  do  I  wonder  at 
it,  considering  the  gross  ignorance  on  the  subject  that  prevails 
north  of  Maryland,  and  even  in  many  parts  of  that  neighboring 
state. 

What  member  of  the  Confederacy  has  sacrificed  more  on 
the  altar  of  public  good  than  Virginia?  Whence  did  the  Gen- 
eral Government  derive  its  lands  beyond  the  Ohio,  then  and 
now  almost  the  only  source  of  revenue?  From  our  grant, — a 
grant  so  curiously  worded,  and  by  our  present  Palinurus  too, 
as  to  except  ourselves,  by  its  limitations,  from  the  common 
benefit. 

By  its  conditions,  it  was  forbidden  ground  to  us,  and  thereby 


720  Appendix 

the  foundation  was  laid  of  incurable  animosity  and  division 
between  the  States  on  each  side  of  that  great  natural  boundary, 
the  river  Ohio.  Not  only  their  masters,  but  the  very  slaves 
themselves,  for  whose  benefit  this  regulation  was  made,  were 
sacrificed  by  it.  Dispersion  is  to  them  a  bettering  of  their 
present  condition,  and  of  their  chance  for  emancipation.  It  is 
only  when  this  can  be  done  without  danger  and  without  ruin- 
ous individual  loss  that  it  will  be  done  at  all.  But  what  is 
common  sense  to  a  political  Quixote  ? 

That  country  was  ours  by  a  double  title,  by  charter  and  by 
conquest.  George  Rogers  Clark,  the  American  Hannibal,  at 
the  head  of  the  State  troops,  by  the  reduction  of  Post  Vincen- 
nes  obtained  the  lakes  for  our  northern  boundary  at  the  Peace 
of  Paris.  The  march  of  that  great  man  and  his  brave  com- 
panions in  arms  across  the  drowned  lands  of  the  Wabash  does 
not  shrink  from  a  comparison  with  the  passage  of  the  Thrasy- 
mene  Marsh.  Without  meaning  anything  like  an  invidious 
distinction,  I  have  not  heard  of  any  cession  from  Massachu- 
setts of  her  vast  wilds;  and  Connecticut  has  had  the  address, 
out  of  our  grant  to  the  firm,  to  obtain,  on  her  own  private 
account,  some  millions  of  acres ;  whilst  we,  yes  we  (I  blush  to 
say  it)  have  descended  to  beg  for  a  pittance  out  of  the  property 
once  our  own  for  the  brave  men  by  whose  valor  it  had  been 
won,  and  whom  heedless  profusion  had  disabled  us  to  recom- 
pense. We  met  the  just  fate  of  the  prodigal.  We  were 
spurned  from  the  door,  where  once  we  were  master,  with 
derision  and  scorn;  and  yet  we  hear  of  undue  Virginian  in- 
fluence. This  fund  yielded  the  Government,  when  I  had 
connection  with  it,  from  half  a  million  to  eight  hundred  thous- 
and dollars  annually.  It  would  have  preserved  us  from  the 
imposition  of  State  taxes,  founded  schools,  built  bridges  and 
made  roads  and  canals  throughout  Virginia.  It  was  squand- 
ered away  in  a  single  donative  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Madison. 
For  the  sake  of  concord  with  our  neighbors,  by  the  same 
generous  but  misguided  policy,  we  ceded  to  Pennsylvania 
Fort  Pitt,  a  most  important  commercial  and  military  position, 
and  a  vast  domain  around  it,  as  much  Virginia  as  the  city  of 
Richmond  and  the  county  of  Henrico.  To  Kentucky,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  the  Union,  the  Virginia  of  the  West,  we  have 


Appendix  721 

yielded  on  a  question  of  boundary,  from  a  similar  consideration. 
Actuated  by  the  same  magnanimous  spirit,  at  the  instance  of 
other  States,  with  the  exception  of  New  York,  North  Carolina 
and  Rhode  Island,  we  acceptedin  1783  the  present  Constitution. 
It  was  repugnant  to  our  judgment,  and  fraught,  as  we  feared, 
with  danger  to  our  liberties.  The  awful  voice  of  our  ablest 
and  soundest  statesmen,  of  Patrick  Henry  and  of  George 
Mason,  never  before  or  since  disregarded,  warned  us  of  the 
consequences.  Neither  was  their  counsel  entirely  unheeded; 
for  it  led  to  important  subsequent  amendments  of  that  instru- 
ment. I  have  always  believed  this  disinterested  spirit,  so 
often  manifested  by  us,  to  be  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the 
influence  which  we  have  exercised  over  the  other  States. 
Eight  States  having  made  that  Constitution  their  own,  we 
submitted  to  the  yoke  for  the  sake  of  union.  Our  attachment 
to  the  Union  is  not  an  empty  profession.  It  is  demonstrated 
by  our  practice  at  home.  No  sooner  was  the  Convention  of 
1788  dissolved  than  the  feuds  of  federalism  and  anti-federalism 
disappeared.  I  speak  of  their  effects  on  our  councils.  For  the 
sake  of  union  we  submitted  to  the  lowest  state  of  degradation 
— the  administration  of  John  Adams.  The  name  of  this 
man  calls  up  contempt  and  derision,  wheresoever  it  is  pro- 
nounced. To  the  fantastic  vanity  of  this  political  Malvolio 
may  be  distinctly  traced  our  present  unhappy  condition.  I 
will  not  be  so  ungenerous  as  to  remind  you  that  this  personage, 
of  whom  and  his  addresses  and  his  answers  I  defy  you  to  think 
without  a  bitter  smile,  was  not  a  Virginian,  but  I  must,  in 
justice  to  ourselves,  insist  in  making  him  a  set-off  against  Mr. 
Madison.  They  are  of  such  equal  weight  that  the  trembling 
balance  reminds  us  of  that  passage  of  Pope  where  Jove  weighs 
the  beau's  wits  against  the  lady's  hair! 

'The  doubtful  beam  long  nods  from  side  to  side, 
At  length  the  wits  mount  up,  the  hairs  subside.' 

Intoxicated  not  more  by  the  fulsome  adulation  with  which 
he  was  plied  than  by  the  fumes  of  his  own  vanity,  this  poor 
old  gentleman  saw  a  visionary  coronet  suspended  over  his  brow 
and  an  airdrawn  sceptre,  'the  handle  towards  his  hand,'  which, 

VOL.  II — 46 


722  Appendix 

attempting  to  clutch,  he  lost  his  balance,  and  disappeared, 
never  to  rise  again.  He  it  was  who,  'enacting'  Nat.  Lee's 
Alexander,  raved  about  the  People  of  Virginia  as  'a  faction, 
to  be  humbled  in  dust  and  ashes,'  when  the  sackcloth  already 
was  prepared  for  his  own  back. 

But  I  am  spinning  out  this  letter  to  too  great  a  length. 
What  is  your  object  ?  PEACE  ?  Can  this  be  attained  on  any 
terms  whilst  England  sees  a  prospect  of  disuniting  that  Con- 
federacy which  has  already  given  so  deep  a  blow  to  her  mari- 
time pride,  and  threatens  at  no  very  distant  day  to  dispute 
with  her  the  empire  of  the  ocean?  The  wound,  which  our 
gallant  tars  have  inflicted  on  her  tenderest  point,  has 
maddened  her  to  rage.  Cursed  as  we  are  with  a  weak  and 
wicked  administration,  she  can  no  longer  despise  us.  Already 
she  begins  to  hate  us ;  and  she  seeks  to  glut  a  revenge,  as  im- 
potent as  it  is  rancorous,  by  inroads  that  would  have  disgraced 
the  buccaneers,  and  bulletins  that  would  only  not  disgrace  the 
sovereign  of  Elba.  She  already  is  compelled  to  confess  in  her 
heart  what  her  lips  deny,  that,  if  English  bull-dogs,  and  game- 
cocks degenerate  on  our  soil,  English  MEN  do  not;  and  should 
(which  God  forbid)  our  brethren  of  the  East  desert  us  in 
this  contest  for  all  that  is  precious  to  Man,  we  will  main- 
tain it,  so  long  as  our  proud  and  insulting  foe  shall  refuse 
to  accede  to  equitable  terms  of  peace.  The  Government 
will  then  pass  into  proper  hands,  the  talents  of  the  country 
will  be  called  forth,  and  the  schemes  of  moon-struck  philos- 
ophers and  their  disciples  pass  away  and  'leave  not  a  rack 
behind.' 

You  know  how,  steady  and  persevering,  I  endeavored  for 
eight  years  to  counteract  the  artful  and  insidious  plans  of 
our  rulers  to  embroil  us  with  the  country  of  our  ancestors,  and 
the  odium  which  I  have  thereby  drawn  upon  myself.  Believ- 
ing it  to  be  my  duty  to  soften  as  much  as  possible  the  asperi- 
ties, which  subsisted  between  the  two  countries,  and  which 
were  leading  to  a  ruinous  war,  I  put  to  hazard,  nay,  exposed  to 
almost  certain  destruction,  an  influence  such  as  no  man, 
perhaps,  in  this  country,  at  the  same  age,  had  ever  before 
attained.  (The  popularity  that  dreads  exposure  is  too  deli- 
cate for  public  service.     It  is  a  bastard  species.     The  true 


Appendix  723 

sort  will  stand  the  hardest  frosts.)  Is  it  my  fault,  as  Mr. 
Burke  complained  of  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe,  that  Eng- 
land will  no  longer  suffer  me  to  find  palliatives  for  her  conduct? 
No  man  admired  more  than  I  did  her  magnanimous  stand 
against  the  tyrant,  before  whom  all  the  rest  of  Christendom  at 
one  time  bowed.  No  man,  not  even  her  own  Wilberforce  and 
Perceval,  put  up  more  sincere  prayers  for  her  deliverance.  In 
the  remotest  isle  of  Australasia,  my  sympathy  would  have 
been  enlisted,  in  such  a  contest,  for  the  descendants  of  Alfred, 
and  Bacon,  and  Shakespeare,  and  Milton,  and  Locke,  on  whom 
I  love  to  look  back  as  my  illustrious  countrymen.  In  any 
contest,  I  should  have  taken  side  with  Liberty;  but  on  this 
depended  (as  I  believed  and  do  still  believe)  all  that  made  my 
own  country  dear  in  my  sight.  It  is  past,  and,  unmindful  of 
the  mercy  of  that  protecting  Providence,  which  has  carried 
her  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  England  'feels 
power  and  forgets  right.'  I  am  not  one  of  the  whining  set  of 
people  who  cry  out  against  mine  adversary  for  the  force  of  his 
blow.  England  has,  unquestionably,  as  good  a  right  to  con- 
quer us  as  we  have  to  conquer  Canada ;  the  same  right  that  we 
have  to  conquer  England,  and  with  about  as  good  prospect  of 
success.  But  let  not  her  orators  declaim  against  the  enormity 
of  French  principles  when  she  permits  herself  to  arm  and 
discipline  our  slaves,  and  to  lead  them  into  the  field  against 
their  masters,  in  the  hope  of  exciting  by  the  example  a  general 
insurrection,  and  thus  render  Virginia  another  St.  Domingo. 
And  does  she  talk  of  Jacobinism?  What  is  this  but  Jacobin- 
ism? and  of  the  vilest  stamp?  Is  this  the  country  that  has 
abolished  the  slave  trade?  that  has  made  that  infamous,  in- 
human traffic  a  felony  ?  that  feeds  with  the  bread  of  life  all  who 
hunger  after  it,  and  even  those  who,  but  for  her,  would  never 
have  known  their  perishing  condition  ?  Drunk  with  the  cup  of 
the  abomination  of  Moloch,  they  have  been  roused  from  the 
sleep  of  death,  like  some  benighted  traveller  perishing  in  the 
snows,  and  warmed  into  life  by  the  beams  of  the  only  true 
religion.  Is  this  the  country  of  Wilberforce  and  Howard  ?  It 
is;  but,  like  my  own,  my  native  land,  it  has  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  evil  men,  who  pour  out  its  treasure  and  its  blood  at 
the  shrine  of  their  own  guilty  ambition.     And  this  impious 


724  Appendix 

sacrifice  they  celebrate  amidst  the  applauses  of  the  deluded 
people,  and  even  of  the  victims  themselves. 

There  is  a  proneness  in  mankind  to  throw  the  blame  of  their 
sufferings  on  any  one  but  themselves.  In  this  manner,  Vir- 
ginia, is  regarded  by  some  of  her  sister  States ;  not  adverting 
to  the  fact  that  all  (Connecticut  and  Delaware  excepted)  are 
responsible  for  the  measures  that  have  involved  us  in  our 
present  difficulties.  Did  we  partition  your  State  into  those 
unequal  and  monstrous  districts  which  have  given  birth  to  a 
new  word  in  your  language,  of  uncouth  sound,  calling  up  the 
most  odious  associations?  Did  we  elect  the  Jacobins  whom 
you  sent  to  both  Houses  of  Congress,  the  Bidwells,  and  Gan- 
netts,  and  Skinners,  to  spur  on  the  more  moderate  men  from 
Virginia  to  excesses  which  they  reluctantly  gave  into  at  the 
time,  and  have  since  been  ashamed  of?  Who  hurried  the  bill 
suspending  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  HABEAS  CORPUS 
through  a  trembling  servile  Senate,  in  consequence,  as  he  did 
not  blush  to  state,  of  a  verbal  communication  from  the  Presi- 
dent? A  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  and  professor  in  her 
venerable  university.  In  short,  have  not  your  first  statesmen 
(such  I  believe  was  the  reputation  of  the  gentleman  in  question 
at  the  time),  your  richest  merchants,  and  the  majority  of  your 
delegation  in  Congress  vied  in  support  of  the  men  and  the 
measures  that  have  led  to  our  present  suffering  and  humiliated 
condition? 

If  you  wished  to  separate  yourselves  from  us,  you  had  ample 
provocation,  in  time  of  peace,  in  an  embargo,  the  most  uncon- 
stitutional and  oppressive;  an  engine  of  tyranny,  fraud,  and 
favoritism.  Then  was  the  time  to  resist  (we  did  not  desert 
England  in  a  time  of  war) ,  but  you  were  then  under  the  domin- 
ion of  a  faction  among  yourselves,  yet  a  formidable  minority, 
exhibiting  no  signs  of  diminution ;  and  it  is  not  the  least  of  my 
apprehensions,  from  certain  proceedings  to  the  eastward,  that 
they  may  be  made  the  means  of  consigning  you  again,  and  for 
ever,  to  the  same  low,  insolent  domination.  The  reaction 
of  your  Jacobins  upon  us  (for  although  we  have  some  in  Vir- 
ginia, they  are  few  and  insignificant)  through  the  men  at 
Washington  ('who  must  conciliate  good  republicans,')  is  dread- 
ful.    Pause,  I  beseech  you,  pause !    You  tread  on  the  brink  of 


Appendix  725 

destruction.  Of  all  the  Atlantic  States,  you  have  the  least 
cause  to  complain.  Your  manufactures,  and  the  trade  which 
the  enemy  has  allowed  you,  have  drained  us  of  our  last  dollar. 
How  then  can  we  carry  on  the  war?  With  men  and  steel, 
stout  hearts  and  willing  hands,  and  these  from  the  days  of 
Darius  and  Xerxes,  in  defence  of  the  household  gods  of  freedom 
have  proved  a  match  for  gold.  Can  they  not  now  encounter 
paper?  We  shall  suffer  much  from  this  contest;  it  will  cut 
deep;  but,  dismissing  its  authors  from  our  confidence  and 
councils  for  ever  (I  speak  of  a  few  leaders  and  their  immediate 
tools,  not  of  the  deluded,  as  well  in  as  out  of  authority),  we 
shall  pass,  if  it  be  the  good  pleasure  of  Him,  whose  curses  are 
tempered  with  mercies,  through  an  agony  and  bloody  sweat,  to 
peace  and  salvation ;  to  that  peace  which  is  only  to  be  found  in 
a  reconciliation  with  Him.  '  Atheists  and  madmen  have  been 
our  lawgivers,'  and  when  I  think  on  our  past  conduct  I  shudder 
at  the  chastisement  that  may  await  us.  How  has  not  Europe 
suffered  for  her  sins !  Will  England  not  consider,  that,  like  the 
man  who  but  yesterday  bestrode  the  narrow  world,  she  is  but 
an  instrument  in  his  hands  who  breaketh  the  weapons  of  his 
chastisement,  when  the  measure  of  his  people's  punishment  is 
full? 

When  I  exhort  to  further  patience ;  to  resort  to  constitutional 
means  of  redress  only,  I  know  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
tyranny  as  well  as  oppression;  and  that  there  is  no  government, 
however  restricted  in  its  power,  that  may  not,  by  abuse,  under 
pretext  of  exercise  of  its  constitutional  authority,  drive  its 
unhappy  subjects  to  desperation.  Our  situation  is  indeed 
awful.  The  members  of  the  Union  in  juxtaposition,  held  to- 
gether by  no  common  authority,  to  which  men  can  look  up 
with  confidence  and  respect.  Smitten  by  the  charms  of 
Upper  Canada,  our  President  has  abandoned  the  several 
States,  to  shift  for  themselves  as  they  can.  Congress  isfelo  de 
se.  In  practice,  there  is  found  little  difference  between  a 
government  of  requisitions  on  the  States,  which  these  disregard, 
or  a  government  of  requisitions  on  the  people,  which  the 
governors  are  afraid  to  make,  until  the  public  faith  is  irretriev- 
ably ruined.  Congress  seems  barred  by  their  own  favorite  act 
of  limitations  from  raising  supplies.     Prescription  runs  against 


726  Appendix 

them,  but  let  us  not  despair  of  the  Commonwealth.  Some 
master-spirit  may  be  kindled  by  the  collision  of  the  times  who 
will  breathe  his  own  soul  into  the  councils  and  armies  of  the 
Republic.  And  here,  indeed,  is  our  chiefest  danger.  The 
man,  who  is  credulous  enough  to  believe  that  a  constitution, 
with  the  skeleton  of  an  establishment  of  10,000  men,  not  2,000 
strong  (such  was  our  army  three  years  ago)  is  the  same  as  with 
an  army  of  60,000  men,  may  be  a  very  amiable  neighbor,  but  is 
utterly  unfit  for  a  statesmen.  Already  our  government  is  in 
fact  changed.  We  are  become  a  military  people,  of  whom 
more  than  of  any  other  it  might  have  been  said  j 'or tunatos  suasi 
bona  norint.  If,  under  such  circumstances,  you  ask  me  what 
you  are  to  do,  should  a  conscription  of  the  model  of  Bona- 
parte be  attempted,  I  will  refer  you  to  its  reputed  projector, 
Colonel  Monroe.  Ask  him  what  he  would  have  done,  whilst 
Governor  of  Virginia,  and  preparing  to  resist  Federal  usur- 
pation, had  such  an  attempt  been  made  by  Mr.  Adams 
and  his  ministers;  especially  in  1800.  He  can  give  you  the 
answer. 

But,  when  you  complain  of  the  representation  of  three-fifths 
of  our  slaves,  I  reply  that  it  is  one  of  the  articles  of  that  com- 
pact which  you  submitted  to  us  for  acceptance,  and  to  which 
we  reluctantly  acceded.  Our  Constitution  is  an  affair  of 
compromise  between  the  States,  and  this  is  the  master-key 
which  unlocks  all  its  difficulties.  If  any  of  the  parties  to  the 
compact  are  dissatisfied  with  their  share  of  influence,  it  is  an 
affair  of  amicable  discussion  in  the  mode  pointed  out  by  the 
constitution  itself,  but  no  cause  for  dissolving  the  Confederacy. 
And,  when  I  read  and  hear  the  vile  stuff  against  my  country 
printed  and  uttered  on  this  subject,  by  fire-brands,  who  ought 
to  be  quenched  forever,  I  would  remind,  not  these  editors  of 
journals  and  declaimers  at  clubs,  but  their  deluded  followers 
that  every  word  of  these  libels  on  the  planters  of  Virginia 
is  as  applicable  to  the  Father  of  his  Country  as  to  any 
one  among  us;  that  in  the  same  sense  [that]  we  are  'slave- 
holders' and  'negro  drivers'  and  'dealers  in  human  flesh'  (I 
must  be  pardoned  for  culling  a  few  of  their  rhetorical  flow- 
ers) so  was  he;  and,  whilst  they  upbraid  Virginia  with  her 
Jeffersons  and  her  Madisons,  they  will  not  always  remem- 


Appendix  727 

ber  to  forget  that  to  Virginia   they   were  indebted  for  a 
Washington. 

I  am,  with  the  highest  respect  and  regard,  dear  sir,  your 
obedient  servant, 

John  Randolph  of  Roanoke." 


Notes 


729 


NOTES 
Volume  I 

P.  3  (a) 

"There  are  along  the  river  [the  James]  the  ruins  of  many  houses,  which 
I  was  told  had  been  accidentally  burnt  by  the  negroes  whose  carelessness 
is  productive  of  infinite  mischief. "  Notes  on  a  Journey  in  America,  by 
Morris  Birkbeck  (3rd  Ed.),  1818,  14.  Three  of  the  Southside  Virginia 
houses  which  sheltered  Randolph  during  the  different  stages  of  his  existence 
— Cawsons,  Matoax  and  Bizarre — were  consumed  by  fire,  and  so  also,  in 
1879,  was  the  frame  dwelling  which  was  one  of  the  two  buildings  in  which 
he  lived  at  Roanoke,  after  it  had  become  the  home  of  the  Hon.  Wood  Boul- 
din,  an  upright  and  able  judge,  whose  memory  is  still  cherished  in  Virginia. 

P.  14  (a) 

Among  the  painful  things  in  that  clever,  but  repulsive,  book,  The  Educa- 
tion of  Henry  Adams,  is  the  detraction  to  which  Adams  subjects  the  intel- 
lectual character  of  General  William  Henry  Fitzhugh,  or  "Roony, "  Lee, 
who  was  one  of  his  classmates  at  Harvard  on  the  eve  of  the  Civil  War. 
He  was  not  a  scholar,  he  had  no  mental  training,  he  was  very  simple  in 
character,  no  one  knew  enough  to  know  how  ignorant  he  was — these  are 
some  of  the  kindly  observations  that  Adams  had  to  make,  after  the  mel- 
lowing lapse  of  forty-seven  years,  on  a  college  comrade,  for  whom  he  says 
that  he  entertained  an  unbroken  and  even  warm  friendship.  It  was  such 
friendship  as  this,  we  imagine,  that  first  provoked  the  question:  "What 
is  friendship  but  a  name?"  Indeed,  so  confidential  does  Adams  become 
with  his  readers  that  he  even  tells  them  that,  when  Gen.  Winfield  Scott 
offered  young  Lee  a  military  commission,  the  latter  asked  Adams  to  write 
his  letter  of  acceptance  for  him.  This  confidence,  however,  we  confess 
is  not  highly  enough  appreciated  by  us,  at  any  rate,  to  make  us  forget  the 
observation  of  Henry  S.  Randall,  the  biographer  of  Jefferson  (v.  2,  p.  210) 
that  under  such  circumstances  the  well  settled  rule  among  gentlemen  is 
that  the  publication  of  the  authorship  should  depend  entirely  upon  the 
will  of  the  ostensible  author.  Altogether,  as  the  result  of  his  "momentary 
contact"  with  Lee  and  two  other  Virginians  in  his  class,  whom,  with  Lee, 
he  likens  to  Sioux  Indians,  out  of  place,  Adams  declares  that  his  self-esteem 
as  a  Yankee  was  flattered  by  gaining  the  slow  conviction  that  the  South- 
erner, with  his  slave-holding  limitations,  was  as  little  fit  to  succeed  in  the 
struggle  of  modern  life  as  though  he  were  still  a  maker  of  stone  axes,  living 
in  caves,  and  hunting  the  bos  primigenius.    If  Lee  did  not  shine  as  a  scholar 

731 


732  Notes 

at  Harvard,  it  is  hard  to  see  why  such  a  common  occurrence  should  be  used 
in  such  a  malignant  manner  for  the  purpose  of  disparaging  not  only  him 
but  a  whole  people,  especially  as  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  outside  of  the 
Lee  family  to  find  two  persons  who  did  excel  in  academic  competition; 
namely,  Robert  E.  Lee,  who  stood  second  in  his  class  at  West  Point,  and 
George  Washington  Custis  Lee,  his  son,  who  stood  first  in  his  at  the  same 
institution — facts  the  importance  of  which  it  would  be  much  easier  to 
exaggerate,  if,  like  "Roony  "  Lee  at  Harvard,  Ulysses  S.  Grant  and  "Stone- 
wall" Jackson  had  not  had  but  a  poor  scholastic  standing  at  West  Point. 
It  must  be  admitted,  of  course,  that  "Roony"  Lee  lacked  the  literary 
capacity — to  say  nothing  of  the  unwholesome  nature  and  dreary  views 
both  of  this  world  and  the  next  necessary  for  the  composition  of  such  a  book 
as  The  Education  of  Henry  Adams;  which  was  but  the  last  convulsive  twitch 
that  its  author  gave  to  the  dull  ear  of  public  attention  when  he  had  all 
but  relinquished  in  despair  the  hope  of  ever  acquiring  a  solid  fame  like 
that  of  his  three  immediate  ancestors.  It  is  certain,  too,  that  "Roony" 
Lee  lacked  the  inclination,  whether  he  lacked  the  ability  or  not,  to  fill  such 
a  post  as  Adams  filled  abroad  during  the  Civil  War,  when  "the  sweet 
clarion's  breath  "  was  stirring  "the  soldier's  scorn  of  death, "  and  thousands 
of  gallant  young  men,  such  as  his  brother,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  the 
younger,  and  "Roony"  Lee,  were  sealing  their  faith  with  their  blood  on 
the  battlefields  of  Virginia.  But  if  "Roony"  Lee  could  not  have  written 
The  Education  of  Henry  Adams,  could  Henry  Adams  have  successfully 
commanded  a  brigade  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  or  in  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac?  The  question,  of  couise,  cannot  be  put  without  a  smile;  and, 
if  Adams  could  not,  then  until  human  ideas  about  the  relative  merit  of 
academic  writers  and  men  of  action  shall  undergo  a  profounder  change 
than  they  have  yet  undergone,  the  public  judgment  will  be  slow  to  consign 
"Roony"  Lee  to  the  humble  place  in  the  scale  of  intellectual  superiority 
to  which  Adams  consigns  him,  and  will  readily  find  a  sufficient  compensa- 
tion for  any  scholastic  deficiencies  that  may  have  been  justly  attributed 
to  him  at  Harvard  in  the  description  which  Henry  Adams  himself  gives  of 
him  in  other  respects:  "Tall,  largely  built,  handsome,  genial,  with  liberal 
Virginian  openness  towards  all  he  liked,  he  had  also  the  Virginian  habit  of 
command,  and  took  leadership  as  his  natural  habit."  Nor  will  the  fact  be 
overlooked  that  two  much  more  remarkable  men  than  either  Henry  Adams 
or  "Roony"  Lee — Robert  E.  Lee  and  Ulysses  S.  Grant — did  not  disdain 
in  their  military  careers  to  avail  themselves  freely  of  the  literary  facility  of 
Col.  Charles  Marshall  and  General  Adam  Badeau,  respectively.  ' '  Roony" 
Lee  was  a  gallant  and  skillful  officer  and  an  indefatigable  and  useful  member 
of  Congress,  and  it  can  be  truly  said  that  in  private  life  his  sterling 
virtues,  amiable  traits,  and  manners  as  bland  and  gentle  as  his  heart  was 
brave  and  inspiring  to  the  hearts  of  others  endeared  him  to  all  who  knew  him. 

P.  15  (a) 

It  would  be  easy  to  mention  not  a  few  living  descendants  of  William 
Randolph  of  Turkey  Island,  who  are  successfully  sustaining  the  prestige 


Notes  733 

of  his  name  today;  such  as  Isham  Randolph,  of  Chicago,  the  celebrated 
engineer;  John  Randolph  Bland,  of  Baltimore,  the  founder  and  President 
of  the  United  States  Fidelity  and  Guaranty  Co.,  one  of  the  great  guaranty 
and  fidelity  companies  of  the  world;  Harold  Randolph,  of  Baltimore,  the 
Director  of  the  Peabody  Conservatory  of  Music,  and  John  Skelton  Wil- 
liams, Comptroller  of  the  Currency,  under  the  administration  of  Woodrow 
Wilson.  At  one  time  in  the  present  century,  a  majority  of  the  Virginia 
Supreme  Court  of  Appeals,  Judges  James  Keith,  George  M.  Harrison,  and 
Stafford  G.  Whittle,  were  descendants  of  William  Randolph.  Some  Law- 
yers in  Colonial  Va.,  by  Armistead  C.  Gordon. 

P.  16  (b) 

"I  know  one  of  my  ancestors  was  a  gentleman,"  declared  Randolph, 
"for  he  was  a  king. "     Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

P.  17  («) 

In  his  John  Randolph,  published  in  1882,  Henry  Adams  states  that  not 
an  acre  of  this  land  then  belonged  to  a  Randolph,  but  that  the  Randolphs 
or  anyone  else  might  have  bought  back  the  whole  of  it  for  a  song  at  any 
time  within  half  a  century.  But  it  can  at  least  be  said  that  an  abandoned 
farm,  a  thing  that  has  been  by  no  means  uncommon  even  in  such  an  indus- 
trious and  thrifty  community  as  New  England,  is  a  phenomenon  which 
has  never  been  known  to  Southside  Virginia.  In  1890,  the  Lower  Quarter 
of  the  Roanoke  estate  owned  by  John  Randolph,  which  contained  1,027 
acres,  was  sold  for  $20,000,  or,  at  the  rate  of  about  $20.00  an  acre.  Mul- 
tiply the  40,000  acres  of  Richard  Randolph  of  Curies  by  $20.00,  and  the 
product  will  be  $800,000 — a  sum  which  may  have  been  a  song  to  Henry 
Adams,  but  would  have  been  more  like  a  grand  crash  of  orchestral  harmony 
to  a  Southside  Virginian  in  1882.  However,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
$20.00  an  acre  was  a  liberal  price  for  the  Lower  Quarter  in  1890. 

P.  18  (a) 

In  his  John  Randolph,  Henry  Adams  states  that  Richard  Randolph  of 
Curies  disposed  by  will  in  1742  of  40,000  acres  of  land,  including  Matoax. 
(P.  j)  The  will  of  Richard  Randolph  was  executed  on  Nov.  18,  1747 
(Henrico  Co.,  Va.,  Deed  and  Will  Book  for  1748-50,  Va.  State  Libr.),  and 
he  never  owned  Matoax  at  all.  It  was  purchased  by  his  son,  John,  the 
father  of  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  many  years  after  the  death  of  Rich- 
ard.    (Will  Book  2,  p.  328,  Chesterfield  Co.,  Va.,  Clerk's  Office.) 

P.  25  (a) 

For  this  politeness  the  British  made  him  a  poor  return.  When  Phillips 
and  Arnold  invaded  Southside  Virginia  in  178 1,  Phillips  in  express  requital 
for  it  issued  an  order  that  no  part  of  the  property  of  Col.  Theodorick  Bland, 
Sr.,  at  Cawsons,  should  receive  any  injury  from  His  Majesty's  troops.  But 
they  chose  to  construe  the  order  literally,  raided  the  home  of  Col.  Theodorick 
Bland,  Jr.,  at  Farmingdale,  broke  his  furniture  to  pieces,  pounded  up  his 
china-ware,  destroyed  his  crops  and  live-stock  and  carried  off  his  negroes. 
HiJ.  of  the  Colony,  etc.,  of  Va.,  by  Chas.  Campbell,    721. 


734  Notes 

P.  30  (a) 

"Among  New  Englanders,  Chief  Justice  Parsons  was  the  model  of 
judicial,  social,  and  religious  propriety;  yet  Parsons  in  1808  presented  to  a 
lady  a  copy  of  Tom  Jones  with  a  letter  calling  attention  to  the  adventures 
of  Molly  Seagrim,  and  the  usefulness  of  describing  vice. "  Hist,  of  the  U. 
S.,  hy  Henry  Adams,  v.  I,   48. 

P.  31  (a) 

In  one  of  his  letters,  Randolph  said  that  there  were  times  when  the  chaos 
of  his  mind  could  be  compared  with  nothing  but  the  state  that  poor  Cowper 
was  in  before  he  found  peace,  or  rather  after  the  death  of  Mrs.  Unwin. 
Garland,  v.  2,  107. 

P.  32  (a) 
His  land  adjoined  Matoax. 

P.  45  (a) 

It  is  stated  by  Garland  that  Randolph  was  not  inclined  to  the  atheltic 
outdoor  sports  of  which  boys  are  so  fond.  v.  1,  13.  This  assertion  is 
supported  by  no  evidence  to  our  knowledge.  From  an  early  age  we  find 
him  engaging  in  all  the  healthy  open-air  pastimes  which  belonged  to  the 
life  of  Southside  Virginia;  such  as  trapping,  fishing,  hunting,  and  riding. 
His  brother,  Beverley  Tucker,  tells  us  that,  when  a  boy,  he  was  not  only 
remarkable  for  personal  beauty,  but  for  "fondness  for  athletic  sports.'' 
The  Hist.  Mag.  (185 q),  v.  3,  187.  He  even  took  his  gun  with  him  to 
Philadelphia,  when  he  went  to  that  City  in  his  youth,  and  often  shot  over 
the  ground  between  the  upper  ferry  and  the  Falls  of  the  Schuylkill.  Let- 
ters to  a  Y.  R.,  7Q. 

P.  59  (<0 

A  description  of  Grigsby  by  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  deserves 
transcription,  though  written  in  rather  an  elliptical  way:    "I  have  met 

here  an  original.     is  a  Yale  man,  about  as  deaf  as . 

He  has  an  office  built  in  the  yard  lined  with  glazed  cases,  wherein  2,000 
volumes.  As  much  of  litterateur  as  I  ever  saw.  Was  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  Convention  in  1830.  Thorough  scholar  in  Greek,  Latin  and 
French.  Perfect  health  and  athletic  vigor.  A  boxer  in  all  the  forms;  as 
to  diet  and  bathing  almost  a  Cornaro.  He  has  not  eaten  warm  bread  for 
ten  years.  Shaves  in  his  shirt  in  a  cold  room  in  winter.  A  pedestrian, 
has  walked  all  over  Canada  and  several  times  over  New  England.  The 
last  day  of  his  return  from  Canada  to  Norfolk  he  walked  55  miles,  and  then 
was  at  office  business  on  his  feet  till  10  at  night.  For  this  journey  he 
trained  on  Captain  Barclay's  scheme,  two  meals  a  day  of  rate  beef  and 
Madeira  and  stale  bread ,  this  for  three  weeks.  He  has  every  sort  of  gym- 
nastical  contrivance,  always  stands  at  study  with  legs  wide  apart,  and  no 
support.  His  chest  is  like  the  keel  of  a  boat.  He  is  an  intimate  friend  of 
Upshur,  Judge  B.  Tucker  and  other  ultra  States-Rights  men,  to  which 


Notes  735 

party  he  belongs.  I  have  met  with  nothing  like  him  for  knowledge  of 
history,  biography,  heraldry  and  the  like.  He  is  an  eloquent  talker." 
Forty  Years*  Familiar  Letters,  vol.  i,  352.   March  21 ,  1842. 

P.  68  (a) 

"I  am  now  with  my  friend,  Col.  Mercer,  of  Fredericksburg.  Tomorrow 
I  set  off  for  Richmond,  and  from  thence  almost  immediately  to  Williams- 
burg to  see  Cabell,  who  has  lately  married  one  of  the  finest  and  richest 
girls  in  Virginia. "  Letter  from  Washington  Irving  to  Mtss  Mary  Fairlie, 
May  13,  1807,  Irving  by  Irving,  v.  1,  190. 

P.  79  (a) 

Every  now  and  then  the  old  slander  shows  some  signs  of  animation ,  but 
for  all  practical  purposes  it  has  been  dead  ever  since  1856,  when  The  Vindi- 
cation was  republished  by  Peter  V.  Daniel,  supported  by  letters  from  Chief 
Justice  Roger  B.  Taney,  George  Bancroft,  and  others,  expressing  their 
confidence  in  the  entire  innocence  of  Randolph.  "His  argument  (I  mean 
Randolph's),"  declares  Taney,  after  a  merciless  dissection  of  the  case 
which  very  justly  did  not  spare  even  Washington,  "is  conclusive. "  Edmund 
Randolph,  by  Moncure  D.  Conway,  349-353.  The  departure  of  Washington, 
in  the  Fauchet  case,  from  the  habitual  principles  of  rigid  justice,  which  all 
but  invariably  governed  his  conduct,  may  well  be  compared  to 

"A  spot  upon  a  vestal's  robe, 
The  worse  for  what  it  soils. " 

Edmund  Randolph  was  not  only  an  honorable  man,  but,  in  many  regards, 
a  very  amiable  one.  "To  respect,  nay,  to  love  Mr.  Randolph, "  Benjamin 
H.  Latrobe  says  in  his  Diary,  "it  is  only  necessary  to  see  him  at  his  fireside 
— the  father,  the  husband  and  the  friend. "  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  and  His 
Times,  by  John  E.  Semmes. 

P.  91  (a) 

"We  are  now  little  better  than  the  trustees  of  slave  labor  for  the  nabobs 
of  the  East,  and  of  the  North  (if  there  be  any  such  persons  in  our  country) 
and  to  the  speculators  of  the  West.  They  regulate  our  labor.  Are  we  to 
have  two  masters?  When  every  vein  has  been  sluiced — when  our  whole 
system  presents  nothing  but  one  pitiful  enchymosis — are  we  to  be  patted 
and  tapped  to  find  yet  another  vein  to  breathe  not  for  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment but  for  our  own?"  Speech  of  J.  R.  on  the  Basis  of  Representation  in 
the  Va.  Conv.,  of  182Q-30.     Debates,  318. 

P.  94  (<0 

Many  years  afterwards  he  stated  in  the  House  that  he  had  spent  almost 
every  day  in  attendance  upon  the  sittings  of  the  first  Congress. 

P.  95  (a) 

"Mr.  James  Innes,  the  Attorney  General  of  the  State,  (also  a  Colonel) 
lanks,  I  think,  first  in  genius,  in  force  of  thought  and  power  of  expression. 


736  Notes 

and  in  effect  of  voice  and  manner.  He  is  at  the  same  time  a  man  of  the 
most  amiable  and  benevolent  disposition,  open,  generous  and  unreserved; 
more  I  think  of  the  character  of  Charles  Fox  than  any  other  man  I  ever 
knew.  His  only  fault  is  indolence. "  Diary  of  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe,  John 
H.  B.  Latrobe  and  His  Times,  by  John  E.  Semmes,  7. 

Side  by  ^ide  with  the  testimony  of  this  discriminating  critic,  we  might 
as  well  place  the  "coarse  praise"  which  Latrobe  tells  us  was  bestowed  upon 
Innes  by  one  of  his  rustic  auditors :  "  He  has  his  belly  full  of  words  and  they 
come  pouring  along  like  a  great  fresh. "    Id.,  8. 

P.  no  (a) 

After  reading  the  names  of  these  Justices,  we  can  readily  understand 
why  Chief  Justice  Marshall  and  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh  should  have 
been  such  earnest  upholders  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1 829-30  of  a  judi- 
cial system  that  commanded  the  gratuitous  services  of  the  class  in  Virginia 
most  conspicuous  for  wealth,  intelligence  and  social  prominence.  To  the 
old  County  Courts  and  the  freehold  suffrage,  which  withstood  the  levelling 
influence  of  Jefferson  until  1851,  was  unquestionably  due  the  extraordinary 
capacity  exhibited  by  Virginia  for  filling  the  highest  public  places  with  the 
men  worthiest,  in  point  of  character  and  talent,  to  fill  them.  Marshall 
thought  that  the  fact  that  in  no  part  of  America  was  there  less  disquiet, 
or  less  ill-feeling  between  man  and  man  than  in  Virginia,  was  mainly  refer- 
able to  its  County  Courts.  Debates,  505.  And  in  speaking  of  the  success 
with  which  they  had  performed  their  judicial  and  other  duties,  Leigh  said : 
"'There  is  a  purity,  an  easy  unassuming,  unconscious  dignity,  and,  above 
all,  an  impress  of  neighborly  kindness  seen  and  felt  in  the  administration 
of  all  their  powers,  which  has  endeared  these  tribunals  to  the  people  and 
procured  for  them  universal  respect. "     Debates,  514. 

P.  124  (a) 

"Each,"  Hugh  Blair  Grigsby  tells  us  in  his  Discourse  on  Tazewell,  "was 
a  supreme  master  of  reasoning  in  his  respective  department,  and,  if  we  look 
along  their  entire  course  at  the  bar,  it  is  hard  to  say  which  of  the  two  won 
the  most  verdicts.  Perhaps,  though  both  of  these  able  men  wielded  at 
times  an  almost  omnipotent  sway  over  juries  and  over  the  Bench,  yet  it 
may  be  said  that  the  style  of  Tazewell  was  more  decisive  with  the  Court, 
and  that  of  Taylor  with  the  jury. "  (P.  36)  Taylor  was  also  famous  for 
his  colloquial  powers.  So.  Lit.  Mess.,  v.  18,  101.  Tazewell  is  the  Sidney, 
and  Taylor  the  Herbert,  in  the  sketches  of  the  two  by  William  Wirt  in 
The  Old  Bachelor. 

P.  129  (a) 

Garland  states  that  Mrs.  Dudley's  husband  had  died  when  she  came  to 
Bizarre,  (v.  1,63)  but  this  was  not  the  case.  On  Feb.  12,  1808,  Randolph 
wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley,  her  son:  "I  have  heard  nothing  from  your 
father  or  mother  since  I  left  home. "    Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  46. 


Notes  737 

P.  130  (a) 

If  Thompson  had  not  died  early  in  life,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that, 
with  the  sobering  influence  of  time,  he  would  have  fully  redeemed  his 
promise.  He  was  a  college  mate  of  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell  at  William 
and  Mary,  and  by  Tazewell  he  was  pronounced  the  most  wonderful  young 
man  that  he  had  ever  seen.     Discourse  on  Tazewell,  by  Grigsby,  13. 

P.  141  (a) 

Creed  Taylor  has  suffered  the  last  indignity  to  which  an  once  celebrated 
American  can  be  subjected — that  of  being  wholly  omitted  from  our  popu- 
lous cyclopaedias  of  American  biography.  He  is  nothing;  not  even  an 
academician;  yet  in  his  time  he  was  a  vigorous  and  learned  lawyer,  the 
founder  of  an  useful  law  school,  a  Virginia  Chancellor,  and  a  highly  in- 
influential  politician;  not  to  speak  of  the  aristocratic  bearing  and  elegant 
manners  which  set  off  his  intellectual  and  social  gifts  to  great  advantage. 
With  the  decline  of  his  health  in  his  later  years,  his  temper  is  said  to  have 
become  so  hasty  and  arbitrary  that,  on  one  occasion,  when  Peachy  Gilmer, 
a  member  of  the  Bar,  reminded  him  that  the  clock  wanted  three-quarters 
of  an  hour  of  twelve  o'clock,  the  hour  that  he  had  fixed  for  the  reas- 
sembling of  the  court,  he  exclaimed  passionately  "Gentlemen,  I  will 
have  you  in  future  to  know  that  when  /  take  my  seat  on  the  bench  it  is 
12  o'clock ! ' '    Sketches  of  Lynchburg,  by  the  oldest  inhabitant.  (Mrs.  Cabell)  38. 

P.  142  (a) 

Randolph  does  not  seem  to  have  added  the  words  "of  Roanoke"  to  his 
signature  before  the  year  18 10.  The  first  instance  of  his  doing  so,  was,  we 
believe,  at  the  foot  of  a  letter  written  by  him  to  Dr.  George  Logan,  on  Jan. 
24,  1 8 10.  He  adopted  the  words,  there  is  little  reason  to  doubt,  to  distin- 
guish him  from  a  kinsman,  John  Randolph,  one  of  the  brothers  of  Judith 
and  Nancy  Randolph,  who  resided  at  no  great  distance  from  Bizarre.  This 
man  was  described  by  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  as  a  person  of  infamous 
character,  and  a  homeless  vagabond,  in  a  letter  dated  Roanoke,  May  27, 
181 1,  which  was  written  to  James  M.  Garnett  (/.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.) 
shortly  after  the  other  John  Randolph  had  made  a  murderous  assault  upon 
the  writer,  which  might  have  cost  him  his  life;  and  all  because  the  subject 
of  the  assault  had  been  guilty  of  the  outrage  of  seeking  to  collect  from  him 
the  sum  of  £14  due  by  him  for  service  to  his  mare  by  a  stallion  at  Bizarre: 
"I  have  every  reason  to  suppose,"  said  Randolph,  incensed  by  the  rabid 
animosity  of  his  political  enemies,  "that  this  fellow  with  whom  I  never 
had  any  intercourse  further  than  to  speak  when  we  met,  was  instigated 
probably  hired,  (for  he  is  needy  and  desperate),  to  commit  the  deed.  I  was 
wholly  unarmed,  yet  he  drew  a  knife  upon  me,  and  would  have  stabbed 
me,  if  it  had  not  closed  as  he  struck.  He  did  cut  my  coat.  I  gave  him  the 
lash,  and  afterwards  the  butt  end,  of  Leigh's  whip,  leaving  a  mark  upon  him 
that  he  will  not  soon  lose."  The  assailant,  who  bore  the  nickname  "  Pos- 
sum," according  to  Randolph's  Diary,  was  further  described  by  Randolph 
vol.  11 — 47 


738  Notes 

in  his  letter  as  a  man  of  great  strength  and  a  professed  bully,  and  was  armed 
with  a  pistol,  loaded  with  saddler's  tacks,  as  well  as  with  the  knife;  but,  with 
the  exception  of  a  slightly  lacerated  eye  Randolph  issued  from  the  fracas 
without  injury.  With  true  refinement  of  feeling,  he  endeavored  to  keep  the 
knowledge  of  this  disgraceful  affair  from  Judith;  but  she  heard  of  it,  and 
wrote  to  him  in  these  terms,  stern  enough  to  have  befitted  the  story  of  that 
other  Judith  and  Holof ernes :  "I  have  heard  since  I  saw  you  of  the  ruffian- 
like  assault  which  has  been  made  upon  you.  In  justice  to  my  own  feelings, 
I  must  declare  my  utter  abhorrence  of  it.  Since  his  marriage,  I  have  never 
seen  the  object  who  has  been  guilty  of  this  cowardly  action,  and  I  now 
sincerely  hope  I  never  may."  /.  R.  to  James  M.  Garnett,  June  23,  181 1, 
J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  143  (a) 
Joel  Watkins,  it  is  believed. 

P.  147  (a) 

"He  spake  as  never  man  spake";  "In  eloquence  his  deceit  was  deeper 
than  the  bottom  of  the  sea  " ;  "  The  united  powers  of  painting  and  eloquence 
could  alone  give  a  faint  idea  of  the  character  of  Henry";  are  other  utter- 
ances about  Henry  imputed  to  Randolph. 

P.  153  (a) 

To  this  may  be  added  a  sentence  or  so  from  the  abstract  of  Randolph's 
career  by  his  brother,  Beverley  Tucker,  published  in  the  Historical  Maga- 
zine, 1859,  v.  3,  187:  "Candidate  for  Congress  in  '99.  Unknown  to  the 
people.  Boy  in  appearance.  No  family  influence  or  connection  in  District ; 
elected  by  the  power  of  his  eloquence." 

P.  165  (a) 

"I  have  never  been  insensible  to  my  numerous  failures  as  a  public 
speaker;  on  the  contrary,  I  believe  not  one  of  the  audience  has  been  so 
deeply  impressed  with  the  sense  of  them  as  myself.  I  have  a  perception 
equally  clear  to  my  more  fortunate  and  happy  efforts,  perhaps  the  best  of 
these  (certainly  not  inferior  to  any)  was  my  effort  against  the  Bankrupt 
Bill  about  two  years  ago.  It  never  appeared  but  fell  still  born  from  my  lips 
— nay  I  doubt  if  ten  persons  in  the  country  ever  knew  that  I  had  spoken  at 
all ;  and  this  has  been  the  uniform  fate  of  my  best  performances  in  this  way 
— The  Connecticut  Reserve,  the  first  Yazoo  debate,  and  some  others."  J. 
R.  to  James  M.  Garnett,  Jan.  14,  1824,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  165  (b) 

"The  skeleton  of  the  speech  has  been  mounted  by  some  bungler,  who 
knows  nothing  of  political  osteology,"  he  wrote  to  Theodore  Dudley  on  one 
occasion.  "  I  feel  ashamed  of  myself — not  only  stripped  of  my  muscle,  but 
my  very  bones  disjointed."     Feb.  XI,  1813,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  13/. 

P.  167  (a) 

In  a  letter  to  James  M.  Garnett,  dated  March  22,  1820,  Randolph  said: 


Notes  739 

"I  want  to  have  Spencer  Roane  for  President.  'En  dat  Virginia  quartum,' 
and  if  we  can't  get  him,  I  want  a  Roanoke  planter  from  the  North  State." 
J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  A  few  months  after  these  words  were  written, 
John  Quincy  Adams  entered  the  following  observations  on  Macon  in  his 
Memoirs:  "Macon  is  a  stern  Republican,  who  has  been  about  25  years 
without  interruption  in  Congress — a  man  of  small  parts  and  mean  edu- 
cation; but  of  rigid  integrity,  and  a  blunt,  though  not  offensive,  deport- 
ment. He  was  several  years  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
is  now  one  of  the  most  influential  members  of  the  Senate.  His  integrity, 
his  indefatigable  attention  to  business,  and  his  long  experience  give  him  a 
weight  of  character  and  consideration  which  few  men  of  far  superior  minds 
can  acquire."     v.  5,  205,  Nov.  21,  1830. 

P.  185  (a) 

In  narrating  the  history  of  the  Yazoo  fraud,  we  wish  to  acknowledge  our 
indebtedness  to  Albert  J.  Beveridge,  the  author  of  the  widely  read  Life  of 
John  Marshall,  for  the  assistance  derived  by  us  from  his  thorough  investi- 
gation of  the  authorities  relating  to  that  monstrous  transaction;  and  also 
to  make  a  similar  acknowledgment,  in  connection  with  the  subsequent 
portions  of  the  present  work,  which  bear  upon  the  Chase  trial,  and  the 
character  of  the  City  of  Washington  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

P.  203  (a) 

"Harper  is  diffuse,  but  methodical  and  clear.  He  argues  with  consider- 
able warmth,  and  seems  to  depend  upon  the  deliberate  suggestions  of  his 
mind.  I  incline  to  think  that  he  studies  his  causes  with  great  diligence,  and 
is  to  be  considered  as  in  some  degree  artificial."  Jos.  Story  to  Sam'l  P.  P. 
Fay,  Feb.  16,  1808,  Story,  by  Story,  v.  1,  162. 

P.  204  (a) 

In  a  letter  from  Joseph  Story,  to  Sam'l  P.  P.  Fay,  dated  Washington, 
Feb.  1 6,  1 808,  Lee  is  presented  to  the  eye  of  our  time  in  this  spectral  fashion : 
"Lee,  of  Virginia,  is  a  thin,  spare,  short  man.  You  cannot  believe  that  he 
was  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States.  I  heard  him  speak  for  a  few 
minutes,  but  the  impression  is  so  faint  that  I  cannot  analyze  it."  Story,  by 
Story,  v.  1,  163. 

P.  205  (a) 

As  Judge  Chase  was  no  more  bigoted  in  his  hatred  of  Democrats,  than 
Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  was  in  his  hatred  of  American  Whigs,  it  is  but  fair  to 
say  that  no  less  a  person  than  Joseph  Story  was  of  the  opinion  that  he  also 
possessed  some  of  the  strong  points  of  Dr.  Johnson:  "In  person,  in 
manners,  in  un wieldly  strength,  in  severity  of  reproof,  in  real  tenderness  of 
heart,  and,  above  all,  in  intellect,  he  was  the  living,  I  had  almost  said,the 
exact,  image  of  Samuel  Johnson."  Letter  to  Fay,  Feb.  25,  1808,  Story,  by 
Story,  v.  j,  168. 


74o  Notes 

P,  207  (a) 

By  a  proeMf  of  laborious  inflation,  Fedei alist  writer*,  in  their  desire  to 
traduce  Jeffcwon  and  John  Randolph,  have  puffed  up  the  figure  of  Luther 
Martin  to  a  degree  of  detention  that  i*  quite  artificial.    If  the  distempered 

'I' -■"., ,.„,„  ,.,-,.■„    I,y    Join,   'li,,,,  y    A.|;,»,r.  of    |.|„.   |,m;,I     .,„■,-,  I,  of    |<;„„|ol|,l, 

in  the  Chase  caM  if  to  be  accepted,  what  value  are  we  to  assign  to  the  great 
volume  of  testimony  to  the  pergonal  and  profeMional  defect*  of  Martin, 

W\U,  -n,  .  l,M,,„ly   I,-,,,,,.,!,  |,y  ,„„.  „f   ,,„.  V,,,;,,,,;,    M,  „  ,  ,   .,  ",|„  Tin,  Ml,-.  of 

the  law"?  Blsnmrhassett  Papers,  %f%,  " Martin/'  declareH  Blennerhafwtt 
in  connection  with  one  of  Martin'*  forensic  effort*  in  the  Burr  trial,  "at  last 
concluded  with  the  adjournment  thi*  evening.  Want  of  arrangement, 
verbosity  and  eternal  repetition*  have  more  than  sated  the  malice  of  hi* 
enemie*,"  Blennerhassett  Journal,  Oct,  14, 1807,  Blennerhassett  Papers,  45$. 
Describing  Martin  a  little  later,  Jo*eph  Story  say*:  "  Nothing  in  hi*  voice, 
hi*  action,  hi*  language  impresses.  Of  all  men  he  is  the  most  desultory, 
wandering  and  inaccurate.  Error*  in  grammar,  and  indeed  an  unexampled 
laxity  of  *pe*ch  mark  him  every  wi..-„..  aii  n.-.i,.,.-  ,,iy  •.„„■!  Mi,.n.ioi.  1.0  i,m 
argument,  if  indeed  it  can  be  called  one,  You  might  hear  him  for  three 
hours,  and  he  would  neither  enlighten  nor  amuse  you,  but,  amid  the  abun- 
dance of  chaff,  is  excellent  wheat,  and,  if  you  can  find  it,  the  quality  is  of  the 
first  order.  In  the  case  to  which  I  have  alluded  (a  case  in  the  Supreme 
Court)  he  •pole*  three  day*,  I  heard  him  a*  much  a*  I  could,  but  I  was 
fatigued  almo*t  to  death."  Letter  to  Sam'l  P.  P.  Fay,  Washington,  Fob.  16 
1H0H,  Story,  by  Story,  v,  1, 164. 

P,  ail  (a) 

"'    '""l   ""■■'    '"'"•''   mm-m.Ih-.      I,;,    .    rv.-.y   .l.,yl,M,I„-,|lo|ol,n!<m„lol,,), 
W'1'1'    '«"""    "I    |.l«-;.M.ir   III  •.,,,h,mIi.,i,    lo    |)m     „„.,„,.  I.,    Lolly    |  ),.,.,.  „, .,!■...! 
■      I    m;I. mhI'"        /  „„„//M,    /',,/.;■,,,,,.    In    Kufus    A'////;,     I J  V./, /„,;/„„,      fan.     //, 
I  Haft,  Lift  of  A  my,  hy  A  ///;-,  v     /,   y/f, 

''l,m  '/<  ;n    l;ii«  i,  I  I. .11,,, in.  I  M;i<  -mi  iviol,,  1.0  J.,..  |,l,  11    I  ;,,  |„,|  ,„,       <"pjM. 

Fed*  wem  to  be  In  k<     1  Ipktta.    They  pay  more  attention  1,, i,,,,-i 

IKllfMlf.lplll   ll.;.l|    Irvr.       .,". ,H.  of    „„.„,„,  y    | ,,  ;,  „  y    ,„.,„    -         ,.,  ,„       ;>    ,.:,,, 

Nulml  .,,,,    M.\\   (    /.,/„      <   ,,„;. 

P.  an  (b) 

"  I'  •'  "  "'I',  I"  '  11  H.'MIkIiI.  I  Ii.iI.  I.Im-  l»ioKni|ilin  !.l,o,,l<l  I...  ••<•  .,  ,  ,  ,1.,,!. 
•,"""1"1  "'  f  '"  •■•«'  ■.ympnUiy,  ..i  I'.r.i,  will,  ll,<  ■.,,!,,,,  i  ,,|  h,  .  w,,,|  |>,,i  i|„- 
l""'1"  ■"■■  •'"•■"•'I  "'  ""•  A.I;,,,,..  I.m,mIv  |.,i  I*.m„U,,I,  w;r.„,M,„,-„l.!y 
"•ii'.i.l.-ir.l  ii  Im'II.i-i  (|ii/ilil,rnllon  wli.-i,  I  Inn  v  A.l.mr.  wj,  ,»•!<•.  I c«|  In  writ.. 
,,,,J,,«'  W.ll.r.u.  |,  r.;,|, ..fn.  Hondo,  .  A.l.mr. ,  |„|r|  I,  ovi-l  MiimIi  ,,  lipl.ioi.ol 
K""«lol|,|,  |,o.,owr,|  |,o,n  Dvi.r-i  ,|.  ...plion  o|  Knvy  l.l.al  in  In.  /„/,„ 
Knmlol/.h  \w  lur.l.-ir,  lo,,,,,  ll„  I  wo  In,.-.  ,,„„|,.,|  |,y  |„  .  y ,  .,,,.11, 1 1,,,  will, 
,,ll,r  """«'  '"••"  "„•  ,.m.  <onl,  i  npuilly  >l.  roK„io,v  (/'  v„)  In 
•m"""'1  I'1'"  "'  ••'/».  Ik  ...  M... I  ",l  w:r.,,ol  |o,  .,,,  ,,,  I....I  in,;,,- mr.|  o, 
""•"■"ll1'1'-   "'"••  '•"!"'    "I    Hi"    Viii.k.M     I'm    pl.ni      (|o|,„   A.la.n:.  ,u..|    |ol.n 


Notes  74i 

Ouiiu-v    Adams)   <'v«'i'  entertained   any   other  feeling   than  enntcmpl  "   f.»r 

Randolph.    If  Adami  had  no  proper  lenie  of  delicacy  to  tell  him  that  iuch 
an  exhibition  of  family  ipleen  ai  this  could  not  fail  to  diiguit  all  fair-minded 

,,„.„,  |M.,„iKhl  ..l   least,  one  would  llnnk,  have  had  m  snll.cienl   sen  ml   line 
|jt,.,nn    ,     ,„,[,....  \    In  avoid     ...  h  ..   vmlatmn  nl   I uoKt a  1  >lneul  dnrti.  ^        In 

Quotini  in    two  linei  from  the  Metamorphoien,  John  Quincy  Adama 
..mvjinantai.iN  ... i, led  an  A«lM  after  "macks"  in  the  fell  line,  and  ...,,. <  to  1 

an  inlet  a  •(•nine  line, 

"Nusquam  recta  acies,  livent  rubi^ine  denies" 

,|r  niu.|,l   have  qimled  ll.e  Inst   hall  nl   llns  line  In,,,  lm    Ka. i, I, .Iph ':.  v  i   mil 
,..,v.   I. ......  meat  dealnl  l.m.hleat  limes;  Mil  .ml  I  he  seem.,!,  lm  Uandnlph':; 

l((  M,  were  lanllles  I>   <  lean  and  white 

P.  a  19  (a) 

The  I  >i  irv  "I  H>»  Randolph  emilains  Ihe  following  Ml  nl  p>'    <l'  '»  "  >  •" * ' 

I,.!.:,,.,:,,   nn',1    the   char,,-    made    Uy    J«m.".   Tl .p:,.n    Callan.let    thai 

|dTrI,,in,lil(|heen«n,ne,|.M,.nf.hellnnsen.ae,-,.a,nMam.    Walke.lo, 

wn.mc.a.nvel In  Ms  wile:  "<  o. '    M    <■ 

fan,     -. •       When    a     , ..-n.,,n    w.e.    emnn.eneed    ,,/    <om,,,on      ,„,    ... 

(nnn.vl.,i,llHrnl.l,hi,,.„  M,    J  ,  M-  wr.Me  M  <  nanc.e.  n.nf.Jn.hali y>u<\ 

miImi sled  1  ettain  papi 

wary    Yankee   ref 

.,„,(!„,!  |,y  the  IV  and  he.  .n-  "'    .  ImiI  In  ...    pinpns. 

M„    ,„    ,   ,,,,,„,,  i,.,,,,!  ley  Mr.  M  n,  an.l,  what  .sol  mm.    mm I,  I 

Ml,      m  „    |„.  boasts  thai    he  will  relam  Ms  place  nndei    the  new    I' 

.,.]|(.    |)inn    ,,,.',,    ,   .,,,      ,  1  ,  „,|„,(     Mwil    when   Jnlm    Marshall,   as   I  lie   M 

K„ipli«-r..f  Wa'.h.ne.lon,  | ee.le.l   |.o  examine  ll.e  lal  le. 's  eo, . .     , le.l. 

which  had  heen  entrusted  l»v  Ihisl.rod  Washington  loTolaas  I  .....  Hm-  pi 

, ',,,  ,,,,  I.,,,  -I  W..  I  ....;■  I....,  ..II  lh<-  lelt.Tflltnm  Jelleismi  In  \\  "asMl  \\\  I < 
WIM,  |nlIndlnh.«..».-.-.>t.K,.''...l.th.nt:;aennne,l,nnl;elw.,-..ll...la,l(...dll 
,  „,  n,,,,  I.,,,,  |m.l  nMaiimd  frmn  JehVrson  an  honorable  and  Innate 
appninim.  nl,  win.  I.  In      t  .11  held  l.y  im  preeario.is  i 


mi  lel.iinu:  i"  Mm.  W '»  affair,  which  the 

In    etve    ll|».       Me    was    all.  tnal.  ly     Mm  lilt  '"  d    ■""' 

I     iilllmili'll  he  >     I". 


in 


p       ....,!    M) 

I  ),.,  „|,.,|ly   petty   wa:.  Hi.'  nl.her  form  in  win.  Ii   Mir  <  hae.tin  "I    Randolph 
,  v,.,    ,|„.    H     nil    -,l    III.     «    ha-..     Iil.il    Wie.   i     Inlaled      that    nl    etldeavorillK    In 
"„,,,vrI1,    ,|„    ,     ,,rn  •   ■   ....... tvd   l.y    |.t dK-    I   I".'.,     in   M'e   p.nd.i.l.m.  ..I    In-. 

,,,,,„■    ,      |,<,n.lM.nr.  paulont.ol  I  |,e  M,  le.alT. ......  v 

P.  a,v>  (a) 

,in,    |<nl„|,,|ph  .     | need   im  dtlli.nllv   in     "I.,..  Iiiih    IMIw.  II   I n 

ditinnfm    .he  pm  poses  „f  pail, '...my, .si ■.»!...«   I--'       ^ ,.  lim, 

"AMI,    - ra, Li,,. Ma-,,,. d.     I»,lw.l,,whnhad 

i.i.,.,     ,  ■,.  ill    Ian*   .    "I  "  '"  '   'Hi:.. In,  mid   had  iiiiih  lied  nil    l.hillu-i    ... 


Ivame  nl  ll.e  <  .mini 


,1 ,   I'me.r.n   Kelalim.    .  fj, .'"•"    '  '  "    appmpil 


742  Notes 

ated  towards  (not  in  full  of)  'any  extraordinary  expense  which  might  be 
incurred  in  the  intercourse  between  the  United  States  and  foreign  nations'; 
in  other  words,  to  buy  off  at  Paris  Spanish  aggressions  at  home. "  A .  of  C. , 
1811-12,  v.  1,  445. 

P.  252  (a) 

Nathaniel  Macon  to  Joseph  H.  Nicholson,  Wash.,  Jan.  6, 1807.  Nicholson 
MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

P.252(&) 

Hist,  of  U.  S.,  by  Adams,  viii,  167.  But  did  Jefferson  have  anything  to 
do  with  this  matter?  Nicholson  was  also  offered  the  collectorship  of  the 
Port  of  Baltimore  by  Jefferson;  but  declined  it.  Jos.  Bryan  to  J.  R.t  Dec. 
28, 1806,  Bryan  MSS. 

P.  255  (a) 

"His  method  of  attack  was  always  the  same:  to  spring  suddenly,  vio- 
lently, straight  at  the  face  of  his  opponent,  was  his  invariable  rule;  and  in 
this  sort  of  rough-and-tumble  he  had  no  equal. "  John  Randolph,  by  Henry 
Adams,  172. 

P.  257  (a) 

Indeed  Sloan — for  the  worm  will  turn — drew  quite  a  vivid  picture  of 
Randolph,  when,  with  his  back  to  the  wall,  Randolph  was  warding  off  the 
blows  of  his  enemies  with  almost  frenzied  violence:  "Has  he  been  so 
enamoured  with  the  conduct  of  the  once  patriotic  statesman,  but  afterward 
apostate  Burke,  as  to  induce  him  to  make  a  puerile  attempt  to  exhibit  on  the 
floor  of  that  House  his  impressive  and  energetic  mode  of  delivery  by  exerting 
his  weak  nerves  and  feeble  arm  to  cause  the  pens,  the  papers,  the  books  and 
the  hats  to  fly  in  every  direction,  in  so  much  that,  if  they  had  been  musket 
balls,  instead  of  those  light  materials,  the  American  patriot  would  soon 
have  been  left  to  exhibit  the  remainder  of  his  superlative  eloquence  within 
empty  walls."    A.  of  C,  1805-07,  mo. 

P.  265  (a) 

No  book  with  which  we  are  acquainted  that  is  worth  reading  at  all  is 
such  a  mass  of  errors  as  Sawyer's  biography.  They  are  scattered  over  its 
pages  as  thickly  as  the  pits  over  a  badly  pock-marked  face;  and  it  would  be 
a  waste  of  time  to  point  out  even  a  tithe  of  them.  He  says,  for  instance, 
that  Randolph  spoke  only  once  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829-30; 
(P.  1  jo)  when  a  cursory  examination  of  the  printed  Debates  of  the  Con- 
vention would  have  shown  that  Randolph  spoke  in  it  over  and  over  again. 
He  also  says  that  Randolph  "did  not  attend  during  the  Congressional 
Session  of  181 8,  being  detained  at  home  by  indisposition"  (P.  73)  when  his 
own  presence  as  a  member  in  the  House  of  181 8,  if  nothing  else,  should  have 
reminded  him  that  Randolph  was  not  even  a  member  of  the  House  in  181 8. 

P.  269  (a) 

Testifying  in  the  Randolph  Will  Litigation,  Captain  William  Smith,  a 
tavern  keeper  at  Charlotte  Court  House,  with  whom  Randolph  was  in  the 


Notes  743 


habit  of  stopping,  when  he  was  at  that  place,  said:  " During  the  whole  of 
the  period  between  1820  and  1829,  he  [Randolph]  was  the  most  clear-headed 
and  sensible  man  I  ever  saw  or  knew." 

P.  269  (b) 

"Whatever  may  have  been  his  (Randolph's)  shortcomings,  by  reason  of 
bad  health  and  other  deficiencies  more  or  less  beyond  his  control,  in  making 
his  exertions  effective,  the  political  doctrines  and  principles  which  he 
advocated  were  well  adapted  to  the  support  of  a  system  like  ours — indeed 
those  only  by  which  we  can  hope  to  uphold  it  in  its  integrity"  Autobiog.  of 
Martin  Van  Buren,  428. 

P.  275  (a) 

Speaking  of  the  position  of  Randolph  in  the  House  just  after  the  nego- 
tiation of  the  Treaty  for  the  Purchase  of  Louisiana,  Henry  Adams  says 
" His  influence  in  the  House  became  irresistible."     John  Randolph,  85. 

P.  281  (a) 

The  idea  of  Henry  Adams  that  Randolph  went  back  to  Bizarre  in  April, 
1806,  a  "ruined  statesman, "  and  never  again  represented  anybody  but  him- 
self, or  had  any  but  mere  rags  and  tatters  of  political  principles  {John 
Randolph,  194, 195),  is  not  only  entirely  foreign  to  the  true  facts  of  the  case, 
but  hopelessly  at  war  with  his  own  observations,  in  his  John  Randolph  and 
History  of  the  United  States,  in  which  he  repeatedly  certifies  in  the  strongest 
terms  to  the  extraordinary  influence  exerted  by  Randolph  in  many  respects 
in  opposition.  The  feelings  entertained  for  Randolph  by  his  constituents 
and  thousands  of  other  citizens  of  the  United  States  during  the  later  stages 
of  his  Congressional  career  were  enthusiastically  voiced  by  E.  W.  Duval  in  a 
letter,  dated  March  31,  1828  {Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.):  "I  was,  as 
you  are  well  aware,  even  in  my  boyish  days,  a  warm  and  decided  admirer 
not  only  of  the  peculiar  and  splendid  talents,  but  of  the  political  course  and 
character,  of  Mr.  Randolph.  In  all  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  in 
men  and  measures  within  my  recollection,  I  have  never  been  able  to  dis- 
cover in  him  any  departure  from  the  principles  of  his  early  life.  This  and 
his  great  and  felicitous  endowments,  together  with  the  fearless  independ- 
ence, which  disdains  to  'feign  a  feeling  or  to  conceal  a  truth,'  by  which  the 
whole  history  of  his  career  is  so  strikingly  characterized,  place  him,  in  my 
estimation,  on  a  more  enviable  and  exalted  eminence  than  is  occupied  by 
any  other  public  man  of  the  present  day.  I  would  not,  in  solemn  serious- 
ness,— I  declare  it — exchange,  could  I  possess  his  natural  gifts,  learning  and 
acquirements,  his  present  standing  and  prospects  of  future  fame  for  those  of 
the  numerous  aspirants  to  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people." 

P.  284  (a) 

"You  are  as  well  known,  and  have  as  high  a  reputation  in  England  as 
Monroe  himself."     Jos.  Bryan  to  J.  R.,  March  8t  1807.  Bryan  MSS. 


744  Notes 

p.  284  (b) 

In  these  observations  Randolph's  arguments  against  Gregg's  Resolution 
are  justly  termed  "very  powerful  and  eloquent."    P.  8. 

P.  292  (a) 

On  another  occasion,  he  assailed  the  Senate  in  these  words:  " I  am  free 
to  declare  that  when  a  measure,  tending  to  impose  a  burden  on  the  people, 
or  to  detract  from  the  privileges  of  the  citizen,  comes  fiom  that  quarter,  I 
shall  always  view  it  with  jealousy.  The  inequality  of  the  representation  in 
that  branch,  the  long  tenure  of  office,  and  the  custom  with  which  they  are 
so  familiar  of  conducting  their  proceedings  in  conclave  .  .  .  render  all  their 
proceedings  touching  the  public  burdens  or  the  liberties  of  the  people 
highly  suspicious."    A.  of  C,  1805-07;  v.  2,  417. 

P.  294  (a) 

After  telling  us  that  Randolph  said  in  1 817  that  he  had  voted  in  favor  of 
the  bill  to  prohibit  trade  with  San  Domingo,  which  came  up  in  the  House  in 
1806,  Henry  Adams  says:  "He  was  mistaken.  He  did  not  vote  at  all." 
{John  Randolph,  188.)  If  Randolph  said  in  1817  that  he  voted  in  favor  of 
this  bill,  he  said  no  more  than  he  said  on  May  6,  1 8 1 2,  too.  (A.of  C,  18 11- 
12;  v.  2, 1404.)  Why  should  the  journal  of  a  Legislative  body  be  accepted 
as  infallible,  when  twice  contradicted  by  the  memory  of  an  irreproachably 
truthful  member? 

P.  296  (a) 

"The  present  Grand  Jury  (the  most  enlightened,  perhaps,  that  was  ever 
assembled  in  this  country)  will  be  discharged."  Letter  from  Washington 
Irving  to  Mrs.  Hoffman,  Richmond,  June  4,  1807,  Life,  &c,  of  W.  I.,  by 
Irving,  v.  1,  IQ2. 

P.  300  (a) 

There  are  several  descriptions  of  Richmond  as  it  was  at  or  about  the  time 
of  the  Burr  trial,  which  were  written  by  persons  whose  judgment  could  not 
be  colored  by  birth  or  residence  in  Virginia.  "I  am  absolutely  enchanted 
with  Richmond,"  Washington  Irving  declared  in  one  of  his  letters  from 
that  City,  written  during  the  pendency  of  the  Burr  trial,  "and  like  it  more 
and  more  every  day.  The  society  is  polished,  sociable  and  extremely  hospi- 
table." Irving,  by  Irving,  v.  1,  196.  In  the  succeeding  year,  Edward 
Hooker  gives  us  this  highly  effective  little  picture  of  Richmond  in  his  Diary: 
"Richmond  appears  beautifully  as  you  approach,  and  view  it  from  the  hills, 
a  mile  distant.  The  Capitol  towers  pre-eminent,  and  appears  gigantic 
indeed  among  the  other  buildings.  The  side  of  the  hill  from  the  river  up  to 
the  top  seems  covered  with  clusters  of  buildings.  Remote  from  the  center, 
on  the  right  and  left,  a  mile  or  two,  and  at  a  still  greater  distance,  handsome 
seats  crown  the  top  and  sides  of  the  mountain,  scattered  here  and  there. 
Above  you  hear  the  roaring  of  the  waters,  and  see  its  white  sheet  here  and 
there  between  the  rocks  and  islands.     Below  a  calmer  scene  invites  you  to 


Notes  745 

look  at  the  shipping,  which  lies  clustered  in  a  basin  or  bend  of  the  river.  As 
you  come  up,  you  pass  through  Manchester,  a  separate  corporation  on  this 
side  of  the  river;  then,  crossing  the  very  long,  tall  bridge,  at  the  foot  of  the 
falls,  you  enter  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  on  the  continent.  Richmond, 
as  I  viewed  it  a  mile  or  two  off,  appears  more  like  some  of  the  drafts  of 
European  cities,  particularly  those  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  than  any  I 
had  ever  seen.  Walked  up  a  very  steep  hill  indeed,  and  visited  the  Capitol 
soon  after  my  arrival.  The  House  of  Delegates  had  just  met,  and  chosen 
Mr.  Hugh  Nelson,  of  Albermarle,  their  Speaker,  and  were  proceeding  to 
business.  It  seemed  the  most  dignified  body  I  ever  beheld.  The  room 
was  spacious  and  very  elegant.  The  members  in  elliptical  seats,  and 
around  the  Speaker's  chair.  All,  with  very  few  exceptions,  were  well 
dressed  and  easy  and  graceful  in  deportment.  Many  young,  mostly  middle- 
aged,  and  few  or  none  are  quite  old.  Many  spoke  shortly,  and  with  ease, 
grace  and  composure  on  the  returns  of  elections  from  Amherst  County." 
j8q6  Report  of  Amer.  Hist.  Assoc,  v.  I,  917. 

What  Hooker  says  about  the  manner  in  which  the  members  of  the 
Virginia  Legislature  were  dressed  does  not  accord  with  the  ideas  that 
Joseph  Story  expressed  on  the  same  subject  in  a  letter  to  Sam'l  P.  P.  Fay, 
dated  May  30,  1 807 :  "You  know  Virginians  have  some  pi ide  in  appearing 
in  simple  habiliments,  and  are  willing  to  rest  their  claim  to  attention  upon 
their  force  of  mind  and  suavity  of  manners."     Story  by  Story,  v.  1,  151. 

To  the  eye  of  John  Melish,  an  English  traveller,  who  passed  through 
Richmond  in  1806,  it  was  "a  large  elegant  city,  consisting  of  more  than  one 
thousand  houses,"  and  containing  "about  eight  thousand  inhabitants." 
The  ladies  in  Richmond,  too,  "appeared  veiy  handsome";  nor  did  he  fail  to 
note  that  the  town  already  had  the  manufacturing  bent  which  has  always 
given  it  a  distinctive  place  of  its  own  among  Southern  Cities.  Travels 
Through  the  U.  S.  in  1806 ,  &c,  160. 

Richmond  also  early  acquired  a  reputation  for  good  cheer  worthy  of  a 
State  that  might  well  be  termed  the  mother  of  cook-books  as  well  as 
Presidents.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Nicholson,  Randolph  declared  that  good 
eating  and  drinking  were  as  well  understood  and  practiced  upon  there  as  at 
Capua  itself.     Richmond,  June  6,  18 10,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

P.  317  (a) 

"Almost  every  respectable  officer  of  the  old  service  regarded  Wilkinson 
with  antipathy  or  contempt."  Hist,  of  U.  S.f  by  Henry  Adams,  v.  7,  1/4. 
By  Albert  J.  Beveridge  he  has  been  recently  pronounced  not  only  a  corrupt 
pensioner  of  Spain  but  a  "fecund  liar."  Life  of  John  Marshall,  v.  3,  354 
{note  2). 

P.  324  (a) 

It  was  in  this  same  year  that  Joseph  Story  wrote  to  Joseph  White  a  letter 
in  which  he  termed  Randolph  a  speaker  in  the  House  of  the  first  class. 
Feb.  3,  1808,  Story  by  Story,  v.  J,  161. 


74^  Notes 

p.  325  (a) 

John  Randolph  was  suspected  of  writing  for  the  press  above  the  name 
"One  of  the  Protesters,"  and,  in  a  letter  to  Dabney  Carr,  dated  May  11, 
1808,  Wm.  Wirt  said:  "When  I  said  in  the  Enquirer  that  I  should  be  glad 
to  receive  the  promised  respects  of  'one  of  the  Protesters,'  I  made  sure  that 
John  Randolph  was  coming  out.  I  would  have  engaged  with  Achilles,  but 
I  do  not  relish  a  combat  with  one  of  his  myrmidons. ' '  Life  of  William  Wirt, 
by  Kennedy,  v.  1,  231.  There  is  still  another  reference  to  Randolph  by 
Wirt.  "John  Randolph,"  he  wrote  to  the  same  correspondent,  "has  not 
gone  on  (to  Washington),  and  to  hear  him  speak  was  the  ptimum  mobile  of 
Peter's  project  and  mind.  I  am  very  anxious  to  hear  John  Randolph. 
They  tell  me  that  he  is  an  orator,  and  I  am  curious  to  hear  one;  for  I  never 
yet  heard  a  man  who  answered  the  idea  I  have  formed  of  an  orator.  He  has 
ever  been  ambitious,  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  from  the  time  he  was  seven- 
teen years  old  he  has  been  training  himself  most  assiduously  for  public 
speaking."     Id.,  v.  1,  253. 

P.  327  (a) 

"Some  men  are  born  for  the  public.  Nature,  by  fitting  them  for  the 
service  of  the  human  race  on  a  broad  scale,  has  stamped  them  with  the 
evidences  of  her  destination  and  their  duty."  Jefferson  to  Monroe,  Jan.  13, 
1803,  Works  of  T.  J.,v.  4,  455. 

P.  343  (a) 

This  was  the  second  occasion  on  which  Randolph  visited  Monroe  in 
Albemarle  County.  In  1809,  he  made  an  equestrian  excursion  to  the 
Valley  of  Virginia,  visiting  his  brother  Henry  at  Winchester,  and  his  sister 
near  Staunton,  and  then  stopping  on  his  way  to  Bizarre  at  the  home  of 
Monroe,  whom  he  describes  as  being  at  that  time  "almost  as  recluse  as  a 
hermit,"  though  busily  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  a  good  estate  of  2800 
acres  and  the  management  of  about  20  hands.  /.  R.  to  James  M.  Garnett, 
July  31,  1809;  J-  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  On  his  second  visit  to  Monroe, 
only  a  change  in  his  original  itinerary  saved  him  from  an  awkward  rencontre 
there  with  the  Jeffersons — the  royal  family  as  Randolph  calls  them — who 
had  just  paid  a  visit  to  Monroe.  /.  R.  to  J.  M.  G.t  Oct.  jo,  1810,  J.  M.  Gar- 
nett, Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  345  (a) 

The  correspondence  between  John  Randolph  and  James  M.  Garnett 
establishes  the  fact  that,  when  the  opportunity  was  held  out  to  Monroe 
by  Madison  of  renewing  his  party  connection  with  Jefferson  and  his  friends, 
he  was  very  desirous  before  doing  so  of  obtaining  the  approval  of  his  own 
"Old  Republican"  friends,  including  John  Randolph,  and  of  taking  them 
back  into  the  party  fold  with  him;  and  that,  with  a  view  to  accomplishing 
these  objects,  he  sounded  certainly  John  Taylor  of  Caroline,  Benjamin 
Watkins  Leigh  and  Randolph.  Taylor,  from  a  high-minded  desire  to  pro- 
mote through  Monroe  the  political  principles,  to  which  he  was  so  religiously 


Notes  747 


devoted,  favored  the  re-establishment  of  cordial  relations  between  Monroe 
and  the  Jeffersonians ;  but  Randolph  did  not,  though  he  declined  to  advise 
Monroe  whether  he  should  become  Secretary  of  State  in  Madison's  cabinet 
or  not,  when  Monroe  solicited  his  advice  on  that  subject.  James  M.  Gar- 
nett to  J.  R.,  Feb.  19,  181  J,  J.  M.  Gamett,  Jr..  MSS;  J.  R.  to  James  M. 
Garnett,  Apr.  11,  181 1,  Id.  There  could  be  no  better  proof  of  Randolph's 
political  disinterestedness,  for  he  wrote  to  Garnett  three  days  afterwards: 

"What  think  you  of S.  of  S.?     I  believe  it  will  be  so.     Glamis  and 

Cawdor — the  greatest  is  behind."  March  19,  181 1,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr., 
MSS. 

P.  348  (a) 

The  worst  thing  that  Monroe  is  reported  to  have  said  of  Randolph,  after 
the  estrangement  between  them,  was  this  to  Judge  Watson:  "Mr.  Ran- 
dolph is,  I  think,  a  capital  hand  to  pull  down,  but  I  am  not  aware  that  he 
has  ever  exhibited  much  skill  as  a  builder."  James  Monroe,  by  Daniel  C. 
Gilman,  Amer.  Statesmen  Series,  190. 

P.  348  (b) 

Only  a  short  time  before  Monroe  accepted  the  post  of  Secretary  of  State 
under  the  Madison  administration,  he  wrote  to  Tazewell  in  these  terms: 
"I  fear,  if  the  system  of  policy  which  has  been  so  long  persevered  in,  after 
so  many  proofs  of  its  dangerous  tendency,  is  still  adhered  to,  that  a  crisis 
will  arise,  the  dangers  of  which  will  require  all  the  virtue,  firmness  and 
talent  of  our  country  to  avert ;  and  that  it  will  be  persevered  in  seems  too 
probable  while  the  present  men  remain  in  power.  .  .  .  And,  if  the  blame 
of  improvident  and  injudicious  measures  is  ever  to  attach  to  them  among 
the  people,  it  must  be  by  leaving  to  the  authors  of  those  measures  the  entire 
responsibility  belonging  to  them."     Feb.  6.  181 1,  Monroe  MSS. 

P.  349  (<*) 

Nor  probably  was  this  Randolph's  cooler  or  more  habitual  view  of  the 
matter.     That  was  rather  of  the  nature  of  the  one  expressed  by  him  in  a 

letter  to  James  M.  Garnett,  dated  Feb  17,1811:     "I  pity from  the  very 

bottom  of  my  soul.  I  am  persuaded  that  he  has  been  more  weak  than 
wicked ;  that  he  is  habitually  and  incurably  ambitious ;  that  he  cannot  live 
without  office;  the  stimulus  of  public  consideration  having  become  necessary 
to  his  existence.  The  resources  of  his  own  mind  and  estate  cannot  support 
him.  He  is  not  naturally  flagitious.  He  has  sacrificed  no  more  of  principle, 
and  his  friends  no  farther,  than  was  absolutely  indispensable  to  the  attain- 
ment of  his  object."    /.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

Chief  Justice  Marshall  or  Chancellor  Kent  could  not  have  shaded  justice 
with  nicer  precision.  James  M.  Garnett  and  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh 
thought  that,  even  if  Monroe  did  go  over,  at  least  "a  personal  intercourse 
and  a  reciprocity  of  friendly  offices"  might  still  subsist  between  Monroe 
and  Randolph.     But  neither  John  Randolph  nor  John  Mercer  could  see 


748  Notes 

the  matter  in  that  light.  /.  M.  G.  to  J.  R.,  Feb.  26,  181 1;  J.  R.  to  J.  M. 
G.,  March  13,  181 1;  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

Even  if  Monroe  backslid  a  little  after  he  got  into  office,  he  might  yet  do 
some  good  to  the  cause,  was  Garnett's  idea.  "For,"  said  Garnett  em- 
phatically, "he  will  always  be  in  office."  Letter  to  J.  R.,  Feb.  26,  181 1, 
J.  M.  G.,  Jr.,  MSS. 

It  is  obvious  that  Randolph  was  the  real  obstacle  to  Monroe's  desire  to 
return  to  Federal  office  with  a  comforting  and  imposing  queue  of  Tertium 
Quids  behind  him  to  keep  him  in  countenance  and  strengthen  his  hands. 
But  the  renewal  of  homage  by  Monroe  to  the  party  influences,  with  which 
he  had  been  hardly  less  deeply  disaffected  than  Randolph,  could  not  fail 
to  excite  a  certain  amount  of  derisive  contempt  in  other  breasts  than 
Randolph's.  "What  do  you  think,"  wrote  Randolph  to  Garnett,  on  Feb. 
4,  181 1 ,  "of  the  emissary  [George  Hay],  who  was  dispatched  to  me  on  a  late 
occasion,  'having  signalized  himself  a  few  days  ago  at  a  public  dinner  by 

hanging  on  the  skirts  of  Mr.  G s  [Giles],  who  repelled  him  with  great 

dignity  until  the  wine  placed  all  the  company  on  a  level.'  So  reads  one 
of  my  late  letters,  and  the  writer  adds  that  the  most  profound  contempt 
is  pouring  on  him  from  every  quarter.'  Hear  another  of  my  correspond- 
ents on  the  same  subject:  'I  am  well  informed  that  at  a  dinner  given  by 
certain  members  of  the  Assembly  to  the  late  Governor  T.,  which  was  meant 
in  reality  as  a  State  Dinner,  in  honor  of  the  reunion  (as  it  is  called)  of  the 

Republicans,  that  person  fastened  himself  upon  G s  in  spite  of  visible 

efforts  in  the  latter  (who  is  not  at  all  pleased,  as  you  may  suppose  at  the 
reunion)  to  shake  him  off;  sat  by  him  at  dinner,  in  spite  of  his  teeth,  insisting 
on  waiting  on  him,  changing  his  plate,  filling  his  wine  and  the  like  menial 
offices;  in  short,  courted  him  throughout  the  day  with  an  assiduity  which  no 
coyness  could  avoid,  no  coldness  repel,  until  at  last  the  Great  Man,  warmed 
with  wine  and  softened  by  submission  and  penitence,  did  condescend  to 
bestow  some  little  notice  upon  him.'"  J.  M.  G.,  Jr.,  MSS.  The  whole 
attitude  of  Randolph  towards  Monroe  and  Hay,  when  they  were 
seeking  by  personal  interviews  to  induce  him  to  "rat"  too,  was  one  of 
contemptuous  amusement.     "Yesterday,"  he  said  in  a  letter  to  Garnett, 

" called  upon  me,  and  in  the  afternoon  his  envoy.     Both  seemed 

disposed  that  I  should  forget  late  transactions,  and  there  was  a  visible 
effort  to  forget  it  themselves,  which,  like  an  effort  to  go  to  sleep,  served  only 
to  make  the  matter  worse."  Richm.,  Mar.  16, 181 1,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  354  (<*) 

The  newspaper  communications  signed  "Mucius,"  and  "One  of  the 
Protesters,"  respectively,  which  were  published  during  the  long  running  fire 
of  hostility,  kept  up  by  Randolph  and  his  friends  with  Jefferson  and  his 
friends,  have  been  ascribed  to  Randolph;  but  he  was  the  author  of  neither. 
Beverley  Tucker  was  the  reputed  author  of  the  latter.  J.  R.  to  James  M. 
Garnett,  May  27,  and  July  24,  1808,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  Aside 
from  the  "Decius"  letters,  we  know  of  none,  either  anonymous  or 
pseudonymous,  written  by  Randolph  for  the  press.     It  is  very  much  to  be 


Notes  749 

regretted  that  he  never  apparently  completed  his  reminiscences,  which  he 
certainly  commenced.  Letter  to  J.  M.  Garnett,  Aug.  31, 180/,  J.  M.  Garnett, 
Jr.,  MSS.  Except  for  the  purpose  of  writing  letters,  which  he  threw  off 
in  showers,  he  was,  as  he  said  of  himself  in  a  letter  to  Garnett,  "  but  a  poor 
scribe."  June  19,  1806,  J.  M.  Garnett,  MSS.  And  this  has  been  true 
of  many  another  orator,  whose  tongue  was  too  fluent  to  render  the  friction 
of  pen  and  paper  otherwise  than  insufferably  irksome  to  him. 

P.  358  (a) 

On  just  what  grounds  Federalist  writers,  like  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  and 
Henry  Adams,  have  reached  the  conclusion  that  William  B.  Giles  was  an 
unworthy  man,  in  point  of  character,  is  not  very  clear.  Perhaps,  if  his 
remarkable  powers  as  a  debater  had  not  been  so  successful  in  exposing  the 
privileged  and  prescriptive  side  of  Federalism,  his  moral  standing  with 
them  might  be  higher.  "Giles,  of  Virginia,  whom  no  man  ever  trusted 
without  regret,"  is  a  phrase  in  the  John  Randolph  of  Henry  Adams.  (P.  142)- 
But  how  can  such  purely  academic  extravagance  or  partisan  strabismus 
impose  upon  anyone  when  it  is  recollected  that  the  people  of  Virginia,  aside 
from  the  occasional  remissions  of  popularity  which  are  inseparable  from  a 
political  career,  trusted  him  from  his  youth  until  he  could  no  longer  move 
or  stand  without  the  aid  of  his  crutches,  and  never  trusted  him  with  any 
regret,  whether  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  or  of  the 
United  States  Senate,  or  as  Governor  of  Virginia,  or  as  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  Convention  of  1829-30,  that  has  not  long  ago  been  swallowed  up  in 
the  lasting  recollection  of  his  remarkable  talents  and  eminent  services. 
There  is  nothing  in  his  life  to  suggest  any  uncommon  elevation  of  character 
or  refinement  of  feeling,  but  we  know  nothing  tending  to  show  that  he  did 
not  comply  faithfully  with  all  his  private  as  well  as  official  duties.  When  he 
is  judged  by  the  standards  of  his  own  time  and  place,  the  mind  submits 
impatiently  for  a  moment  to  the  apparent  insensibility  exhibited  by  him  to 
the  menaces  of  John  Randolph  on  several  occasions;  but  it  is  manifest  on 
the  whole  that  he  was  simply  disposed  to  make  the  fullest  allowance  for 
Randolph's  heady  temper,  and  that  there  was  a  point  of  endurance  beyond 
which  he  was  firmly  prepared  to  hold  Randolph  to  account  on  the  duelling 
field. 

P.  367  (a) 

"I  look  upon  him  (Crawford)  as  the  ablest  man  in  our  councils.  He 
certainly  possesses  more  of  my  confidence  than  any  other  man  in  Congress. 
There  is  a  singleness  of  heart  about  him,  a  plain  manly  good  sense,  and  a 
certain  fairness  of  character  that  wins  my  regard  and  esteem.  There  is  no 
trash  in  his  understanding,  no  crooked  double-dealing  in  his  conduct."  /. 
R.  to  J.  H.  Nicholson,  Jan.  17,  18 13,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

P.  385  (a) 

Randolph  wrote  to  James  M.  Garnett  on  one  occasion  that  a  newspaper 
article  signed  "  No  Time-Server, "  if  he  had  any  skill  in  such  matters,  would 


750  Notes 

make  certain  gentry  wince  like  a  thin-skinned  horse  beset  with  May  flies 
in  their  pine  woods;  but  the  larger  fly,  commonly  known  as  "the  horse-fly," 
is  a  greater  nuisance  even  than  the  May  fly. 

P.  400  (a) 

"  This  war,  my  old  comrade,  has  been  in  most  of  its  features  a  civil  war — 
as  such  at  least  it  has  proved  to  me.  It  has  rent  the  nation  in  twain,  it  has 
dissolved  the  oldest  friendships,  it  has  severed  the  ties  of  blood."  /.  R. 
to  Richard  Stanford,  April  g,  18 14,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  426  (a) 

It  seemed  so  probable  that,  if  John  Randolph  were  beaten  in  181 5,  in  his 
own  District,  he  would  be  elected  to  the  house  from  another  Congressional 
District  in  Virginia,  that  the  Jeffersonian  Republicans  brought  in  a  Bill  in 
the  Virginia  Legislature  which  sought  to  prohibit  the  election  of  anyone  to 
the  House  outside  of  his  own  District.  Life  of  Jefferson,  by  Randall,  v. 
3,  40i. 

P.  426  (6) 

The  absences  of  Randolph  from  his  seat  during  the  two  sessions  preceding 
the  Congressional  Election  in  181 1  were  among  the  things  that  cut  down 
his  majority  in  his  District  at  that  election.  J.  R.  to  J.  M.  Garnett,  April 
16, 1811,  and  April  20, 1811,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  Ill  health,  considered 
in  connection  with  the  long  exposure  of  a  winter  journey  over  frightful  roads 
from  Roanoke  to  Washington,  was  doubtless  usually  the  cause  of  his 
occasional  tardiness  in  leaving  Roanoke  at  the  beginning  of  the  Congress- 
ional session, 

P.  451  (a) 

"On  one  occasion,  when  Mr.  Clay,  speaking  in  his  not  unusual  personal 
and  self-sufficient  strain,  declared,  among  other  things,  that  his  parents  had 
left  him  nothing  but  indigence  and  ignorance,  Randolph,  turning  to  Mr. 
Seaton,  said  in  a  stage  whisper  to  be  heard  by  the  House :  "  The  gentleman 
might  continue  the  alliteration,  and  add  insolence."  Wm.  Winston  Seaton, 
A  Biographical  Sketch,  152. 

P.  453  (<*) 

Describing  Randolph  as  he  was  at  the  time  of  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
Goodrich  says:  "As  he  uttered  the  words  'Mr.  Speaker,'  every  member 
turned  in  his  seat,  and,  facing  him,  gazed  as  if  some  portent  had  suddenly 
appeared  before  them.  'Mr.  Speaker,'  said  he  in  a  shrill  voice,  which, 
however,  pierced  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  hall,  'I  have  but  one  word 
to  say;  one  word,  Sir,  and  that  is  to  state  a  fact.  The  measure  to  which 
the  gentleman  has  just  alluded  originated  in  a  dirty  trick."  Recollections  of 
S.  G.  Goodrich,  744. 


Notes  75i 

P.  454  (a) 

The  distance  that  Randolph  maintained  between  himself  and  President 
Monroe  also  kept  him  aloof  from  William  Wirt  when  the  latter  became  a 
member  of  President  Monroe's  Cabinet.  To  this  he  refers  in  a  letter  to 
Francis  W.  Gilmer.  Feb.  6, 1822,  Bryan  MSS.  But,  long  before  Monroe 
became  President,  Randolph  had  expressed  in  singularly  pointed  terms  his 
distaste  for  the  meretricious  finery  in  which  that  gifted  and  charming  man 
sometimes  tricked  out  his  arguments  in  early  life.  Describing  a  speech  by 
Wirt  in  a  case  involving  the  will  of  Abner  Osborne,  which  he  had  recently 
heard  at  Powhatan  Court  House,  he  says:     "At  Powhatan  C.  H.  I  heard 

the  great  Mr. make  a  speech  of  9  hours;  mark  me  I  heard  only  the  last 

half  and  it  would  have  been  thought  bad  even  in  Congress.  It  was  a  tangled 
tissue  of  faded  metaphors  and  languid  figures  and  bore  evident  marks  of  the 
Green  Room,  the  Property  Man,  and  the  Prompter  about  it."  Letter  to 
James  M.  Garnett,  May  27,  1811,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  524  (a) 

The  reconciliation  between  Clay  and  Randolph  was  too  dramatic,  how- 
ever, to  last,  and,  after  the  duel,  Clay  very  sensibly  allowed  his  challenge  to 
it  to  suffice  as  a  salve  to  his  wounded  honor  on  subsequent  occasions  also, 
when  the  hostility  of  his  friends  to  Randolph  had  drawn  from  Randolph 
language  about  Clay  as  opprobrious  as  that  which  had  provoked  the  duel. 
In  his  Speech  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform  in  the  House,  in  1828,  Ran- 
dolph, after  charging  point-blank  that  there  had  been  a  "collusion  and  a 
corrupt  collusion"  between  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Clay,  added:  "He 
had  taken  office  under  Mr.  Adams  and  that  very  office,  too,  which  had  been 
declared  to  be  in  the  line  of  safe  precedents — that  very  office  which  decided 
his  preference  of  Mr.  Adams.  Sir,  are  we  children?  Are  we  babies?  Can't 
we  make  out  apple-pie  without  spelling  and  putting  the  letters  together — a 
— p,  ap,  p — 1 — e,  pie,  apple,  p — i — e,  pie,  apple-pie?  "     Bouldin,  289. 

P.  536  (a) 

Randolph's  failure  of, re-election  to  the  United  States  Senate  was  partly 
due  to  the  pride  of  character  which  made  it  difficult  for  him  to  consult  the 
little  arts  of  political  conciliation.  Writing  to  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell 
from  Washington  on  Feb.  15,  1826,  just  after  his  election  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  he  said  of  the  Virginia  Legislature:  "Of  the  24  Senators,  I 
knew  4;  of  the  216  Delegates,  I  knew  14  (8  of  them  from  my  late  District) ; 
of  the  rest,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  I  had  never  seen  but  one, 
M n  and  B h."     L.  W.  Tazewell,  Jr.  MSS,. 

P.  538  (a) 

The  loss  of  influence  which  Randolph  suffered  from  his  extravagance  in 
the  Senate  was  all  the  more  to  be  deplored  in  view  of  the  fact  that  in  one  of 
his  letters  to  Dr.  John  Brockenbrough  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  a  seat 
in  the  Senate  was  certainly  to  be  preferred  to  any  other  position  in  the 
Government.     Feb.  11,  1827,  Garland,  v.  2,  284. 


752  Notes 

P.  544  (a) 

Randolph  derived  no  little  gratification  from  the  fact  that  20  years  after 
his  deposition  from  the  Chairmanship  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means  of  the  House  he  was  again  made  a  member  of  that  Committee. 
Reg.  of  Deb.,  1827-28,  v.  4,  Part  1,  1040. 

P.  544  (b) 

"What  business,"  he  said  in  a  note  to  this  speech,  when  referring  to  the 
judges  who  so  far  forgot  their  function  as  to  take  a  prominent  part  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  Convention  held  at  Richmond  for  the  purpose  of  promo- 
ting the  re-election  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  "have  these  'most  forcible  Feeb- 
les'  in  the  van  of  election  battles?  Who  gave  them  the  right  or  the  power  to 
call  conventions,  forsooth,  and  excommunicate  and  anathematize  their 
betters,  in  every  point  of  view  that  gives  value  to  the  character  of  man? 
Let  them  stick  to  their  dull,  heavy,  yet  light,  long-winded  opinions  in  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  where  to  our  sorrow  and  to  our  cost  they  may  play  '  Sir 
Oracle' — where,  when  they  ope  their  lips  no  dog  must  bark — but  what 
they  say  must  be  received  as  law  in  the  last  resort — without  appeal.  No 
bill  of  exceptions  can  be  tendered  to  their  honors.  Yes,  let  them  keep  to 
their  privileged  sanctuary.  For  if  these  men,  who  are  great  by  title  and 
office  only,  shall  attempt  to  interfere  with  men  at  arms,  let  me  tell  them  that 
their  judicial  astrology  will  stand  them  in  little  stead:  'There  is  no  Royal 
road  to  the  Mathematics' :  and  these  ex  officio  champions  will  fare  like  the 
delicate  patrician  troops  of  Pompey  at  the  battle  of  Pharsalia.  The  Tenth 
Legion  will  aim  at  their  faces — and  our  fair-weather  knights  must  expect 
to  meet  with  cracked  crowns  and  bloody  noses,  and  to  staunch  them  as  they 
may. 

But  have  you  no  respect  for  the  ermine?  Yes,  as  I  have  for  the  lion's 
skin,  but  none  at  all  for  the  ass  beneath  it.  I  was  bred  in  a  respect  for 
the  ermine,  for  I  lived  when  Pendleton,  Blair,  and  Wythe  composed  the 
'High  Court  of  Chancery'  in  Virginia.  Yes,  I  respect  the  pure  ermine  of 
justice,  when  it  is  worn  as  it  ought  to  be — and  as  it  is  by  the  illustrous  judge 
who  presides  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  with  modest 
dignity  and  unpretending  grace.  I  was  bred  in  a  reSpect  for  it  approaching 
to  religious  reverence.  But  it  is  the  unpolluted  ermine  that  I  was  taught  to 
venerate.  Draggled  in  the  vile  mire  of  an  election — reeking  in  the  fumes 
of  whiskey  and  tobacco — it  is  an  object,  not  of  reverence,  but  of  loathing 
and  disgust.  'A  parson  may  not'  (say  the  canons  of  many  churches)  'use 
himself  as  a  layman. '  And  a  judge  is,  so  to  speak,  a  lay  parson.  He  should 
keep  himself  emphatically  'unspotted  from  the  world. ' "     Bouldin,  312. 

P.  560  (a) 

The  acoustics  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  House  were  chronic  causes 
of  irritation  to  Randolph.  "We  meet  in  a  room,"  he  declared  on  one 
occasion,  "in  which  we  can  neither  hear  nor  see."  A.  of  C,  1819-20,  v.  1, 
1066.  In  a  letter  to  James  M.  Garnett,  he  termed  the  House  "Pandemon- 
ium where  it  is  impossible  to  hear  what  is  said  or  to  read  what  is  printed." 


Notes  753 

Jan.  n,  1820,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Brock- 
enbrough,  he  told  him  that  the  atmosphere  of  the  House  was  visible  and 
palpable,  and  that  one  might  take  it  between  his  fingers  like  ill-ground  meal. 
Apr.  io,  1828,  Mrs.  Gilbert  S.  Meem,  MSS.  Long  before  that  time  he  had 
wiitten  to  St.  George  Tucker  that  he  could  compare  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives to  nothing  but  the  famous  Dog  Hole  near  Naples.  March  13, 
1810,  Lucas  MSS. 

P.  569  (a) 

Seaton,  the  editor  of  the  National  Intelligencer,  was  of  the  opinion  that 
the  fear  in  which  the  tongue  of  Randolph  was  held  in  the  House  was  an 
influence  that  counted  not  a  little  in  the  preservation  of  order  in  the  House. 
John  Quincy  Adams  took  a  very  different  view  of  the  matter.  Randolph, 
he  thought,  could  no  more  keep  order  than  he  could  keep  silence.  Memoirs, 
v.  4,532. 

P.  575  (a) 

The  close  intercourse  between  man  and  pig  disclosed  by  this  narrative 
deprives  one  of  Randolph's  observations  (made  doubtless  to  an  Irishman) 
of  some  of  its  humor:  "Our  pigs  have  not  had  the  advantage  of  being 
reared  as  one  of  the  family  circle."     Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

P.  576  (a) 

Nor  was  this  the  only  thrifty  territory  between  Washington  and  Rich- 
mond. "  The  surrounding  country  (at  Fredericksburg)  is  in  a  high  state  of 
cultivation,  and  exceeded  by  none  in  fertility  or  beauty."  Sketches  of  Hist., 
&c,  in  the  U.  S.,  by  a  Traveller,  118  (1826).  And  whatever  else  might  be 
asserted  of  stage  travel  between  Washington  and  Richmond,  the  vehicles 
and  horses  were  capital.  On  May  18,  1826,  Randolph  said  in  the  Senate: 
"I  have  never  seen  such  fine  teams,  such  good  carriages  in  my  life  as  on  that 
road."     Niles  Reg.,  July  1,  1826  v.  6  {3rd  series),  326. 

P.  579  (a) 

u  Provisions  are  most  abundant  and  cheap  in  Virginia.  .  .  .  The  dinner 
this  day,  the  16th  of  February,  was  in  all  respects  equal  to  Major  Lomax' 
anticipations;  consisting  of  roast  turkey,  a  whple  ham.  roast  beef,  canvass 
back  ducks,  a  pie  of  game,  potatoes,  hominy,  etc."  Three  Years  in  North 
America,  by  James  Stuart  (1833),  v.  2,  50. 

P.  582  (a) 

One  accident  is  thus  described  in  a  letter  from  Randolph  to  James  M. 
Garnett :  "I  was  not  in  the  least  hurt.  Just  on  this  side  of  R .  Kenna's  my 
horse  made  a  sudden  stait.  The  shaft,  which  was  cracked  before,  as  it 
appeared,  cracked  loudly.  He  attempted  to  run  off  and  tried  to  kick,  but 
I  held  him  too  closely.  He  had  not  got  50  yards  when  first  one  shaft  and 
then  the  other  gave  way,  and  I  tumbled  into  the  road  nolding  the  reins,  and 
stopped  the  horse,  who  turned  round  and  looked  at  the  miscxiief  he  had  done 
vol.  n — 48 


754  Notes 


with  little  apparent  alarm  and  no  concern."     Dec.  27,  1827,  J.  M.  Garnett, 
Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  583  (a) 

"Major  Lomax  bought  some  canvass  backs  from  the  Hotel  keeper  at 
Occoquan,  at  a  shilling,  sterling,  apiece."  Three  Years  in  North  America, 
by  Jas.  Stuart  (1833),  v-  2>  49- 

P.  592  (a) 

The  plan  on  which  the  still-hunt  pursued  by  Eppes  in  181 1  was  conducted 
was  described  by  Randolph  with  his  usual  perspicacity  in  a  letter  to  James 
M.  Garnett,  dated  March  19,  181 1:  "My  enemies,  I  find,  have  been 
playing  a  deep  game,. and  have  played  it  too  with  great  skill  and  address. 
An  emissary  (P.  C.)  [Peter  Carr]  from  the  'Old  Man  of  the  Mountain' 
[Jefferson]  has  been  slyly  moving  about  the  country,  visiting  Yancey 
'Judge'  Johnson,  etc.  All  the  initiated  have  been  busily  at  work  like 
moles  underground,  and  this  has  been  and  is  their  plan  of  operation;  to 
assail  me  by  every  species  of  calumny  and  whisper,  but  Parthian-like  never 
to  show  their  faces  or  give  battle  on  fixed  ground;  moving  about  from 
individual  to  individual  and  securing  them  man  by  man.  On  the  day  of 
election,  a  poll  will  be  held  for  Mr.  Eppes.  This  saves  him  the  moi  tification 
of  a  defeat,  while  it  secures  him  more  votes  than  if  he  were  to  offer  and  have 
his  pretensions  fairly  canvassed.  It  will  operate  as  an  irresistible  invita- 
tion to  the  proffer  of  his  future  services  at  a  subsequent  election  and  serve 
as  a  standard  by  which  to  measure  the  probabilities  of  his  success."  J.  M. 
Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  "  I  should  hate  even  the  appearance  of  yielding  to  the 
Great  Bashaw  (Jefferson) ,  but  really  I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  be  at  so 
great  expense  of  exertion  and  feeling  when  no  adequate  good  can  be  ob- 
tained. In  the  long  run,  I  suppose,  the  Government  and  the  presses  must 
break  down  any  individual.  I  am  sensible,  too,  that  I  subject  my  friends  to 
persecution  and  proscription,  and  this  consideration  hurts  me  more  than 
any  other.  It  is  a  cruel  thing  to  see  men  of  merit  overlooked  and  even 
oppressed  because  of  their  support  of  me."  Apr.  16,  1811,  J.  M.  Garnett, 
Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  593  («) 

In  181 1  Eppes  obtained  a  majority  of  one  over  Randolph  in  Buckingham 
County;  but,  as  Randolph  obtained  a  decisive  majority  over  him  in  the 
whole  District,  the  one  vote  did  not  make  out  a  case  for  the  application  of 
Nathaniel  Macon's  saying  that  a  majority  of  one  is  the  best  majority  in  the 
world.  Sawyer,  41.  A  good  story  is  told  of  a  Maryland  Judge  who  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  two:  "Your  majority  was  very  small,"  remarked 
one  of  his  friends.  "Small ! "  he  answered  warmly.  "If  one  is  a  majority 
a  majority  twice  as  large  is  a  hell  of  a  majority! " 

P.  597  (a) 

"I  remember  Mr.  Eppes,  it  is  true,"  says  the  Rev.  Wm.  S.  Lacy,  when 
recalling  a  joint  discussion  between  Eppes  and  Randolph  to  which  he  had 


Notes  755 


listened  when  he  was  10  or  n  years  old,  "and  was  struck  with  his  appear- 
ance as  a  polished  gentleman,  who  fingered  a  gold-headed  cane — the  first  that 
my  childish  eyes  had  ever  beheld;  but  his  speech  made  no  impression  on 
me,  or,  if  it  did,  has  long  since  been  entirely  forgotten.  Mr.  Randolph  was 
the  man  I  went  to  see;  and  I  saw  him,  and  heard  him  too.  Much  of  his 
speech  I  remember  to  this  day,  though  it  has  been  more  than  45  years 
ago."  Early  Recollections  of  John  Randolph,  So.  Lit.  Mess.,  June,  18 $9, 
pp.  461-466. 

P.  601  (a) 

As  candidates,  Carrington  and  Bruce  were  doubtless  very  much  handi- 
capped by  the  fact  that  they  had  been  political  friends  of  John  Quincy 
Adams. 

P.  609  (a) 

"The  franchise  of  suffrage  in  Virginia  was  confined  to  the  freeholders, 
thus  obviating  in  the  public  men  the  necessity  of  mingling  with  and  courting 
the  opinion  of  the  multitude.  The  system,  too,  of  electioneering  was  to 
address  from  the  hustings  the  voters;  to  declare  publicly  the  opinions  of 
candidates,  and  the  policy  they  proposed  supporting.  The  vote  was  given 
viva  voce.  All  concurred  to  make  representative  and  constituent  frank  and 
honest.  While  this  system  existed,  Virginia  ruled  the  nation.  These 
means  secured  the  services  of  the  first  intellects  and  the  first  characters  of 
her  people.  The  system  was  a  training  for  debate  and  public  display. 
Eloquence  became  the  first  requisite  to  the  candidate,  and  was  the  most 
powerful  means  of  influence  and  efficiency  in  the  representative."  The 
Memories  of  50  Years,  by  W.  H.  Sparks,  236. 

P.  610  (a) 

"Giles  exhibits  in  his  appearance  no  marks  of  greatness.  He  has  a  dark 
complexion  and  retreating  eyes,  black  hair  and  robust  form.  His  dress  is 
remarkably  plain,  and  in  the  style  of  Virginia  carelessness.  Having  broken 
his  leg  a  year  or  two  since,  he  uses  a  crutch,  and  perhaps  this  adds  somewhat 
to  the  indifference  or  doubt  with  which  you  contemplate  him.  But,  when 
he  speaks,  your  opinion  immediately  changes;  not  that  he  is  an  orator,  for 
he  has  neither  action  nor  grace,  nor  that  he  abounds  in  rhetoric  or  metaphor, 
but  a  clear,  nervous  impression,  a  well-digested  and  powerful  condensation 
of  language,  give  to  the  continual  flow  of  his  thoughts  an  uninterrupted 
expression.  He  holds  his  subject  always  before  him  and  surveys  it  with 
untiring  eyes.  He  points  his  objections  with  calculated  force,  and  sustains 
his  position  with  penetrating  and  wary  argument.  He  certainly  possesses 
great  natural  strength  of  mind,  and,  if  he  reason  on  false  principles,  or  with 
sophistic  evasions,  he  always  brings  to  his  subject  a  weight  of  thought  which 
can  be  shaken  or  disturbed  only  by  the  attack  of  superior  wisdom.  I  heard 
him  a  day  or  two  since  in  support  of  a  bill  to  define  treason  reported  by 
himself.  Never  did  I  hear  such  all  unhinging  and  terrible  doctrine.  He  laid 
the  axe  at  the  root  of  judicial  power,  and  every  stroke  might  be  distinctly 


756  Notes 


felt.  .  .  .  He  attacked  Chief  Justice  Marshall  with  insidious  warmth. 
Among  other  things,  he  said :  '  I  have  learned  that  judicial  opinions  on 
this  subject  are  like  changeable  silks,  which  vary  their  colors  as  they  are 
held  up  in  political  sunshine.'"  Jos.  Story  to  Sam" I  P.P.  Fay,  Feb.  13, 
1808,  Story,  by  Story,  v.  1,  158. 

P.  611  (a) 

In  his  sketches  of  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829-30,  Hugh  R.  Pleasants 
besides  telling  us  that  Robert  Barraud  Taylor  was  remarkable  for  his  grace- 
ful manner,  fine  person  and  finished  style  of  speaking,  gives  this  description 
of  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh :  "  The  man  who  of  all  others,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  John  Randolph,  attracted  the  largest  share  of  attention  in  that 
assembly  was  perhaps  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh.  .  .  .  Mr.  Leigh  was  at 
that  time  in  the  prime  of  life,  being  about  48  years  old.  His  faculties  natur- 
ally very  powerful,  improved  by  continual  study,  rendered  available  by 
constant  exercise  at  the  Bar,  have  reached  their  highest  point  of  perfection. 
An  impassive  disposition  and  a  sanguine  temper  which  never  allowed  him  to 
despair,  gave  full  force  to  an  energy  which  apparently  sought  out  difficul- 
ties for  the  mere  love  of  the  excitement  produced  by  overcoming  them.  He 
was  known  to  the  public  as  a  profound  lawyer  who  had  no  superior  at  the 
Virginia  Bar,  and  from  his  having  been  selected  to  compile  the  Code  of  1 819 
was  believed  to  be  better  acquainted  with  the  history  of  Virginia  legislation 
from  the  foundation  of  the  Colony  than  any  other  person  in  the  Convention. 
He  was  a  small  man,  uncommonly  well  made,  very  graceful,  with  a  hand 
that  would  have  formed  a  study  for  Kneller;  eyes  of  uncommon  brilliancy;  a 
forehead  of  striking  beauty;  hair  as  black  as  the  wings  of  a  raven,  and  glossy 
and  fine  as  a  lady's;  and  features  which  but  for  a  nose  somewhat  too  short 
would  have  been  classically  handsome.  We  heard  it  frequently  remarked 
at  this  period  of  his  life  that  his  face  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  the 
prints  of  Shakespeare,  and  we  have  ourselves  been  struck  with  the  likeness. 
Mr.  Leigh  wore  a  thick-soled  shoe  on  one  foot;  his  leg  having  been  broken 
many  years  before  and  never  having  recovered  its  proper  length.  This 
defect,  instead  of  impairing  the  ease  and  grace  of  his  general  carriage,  rather 
heightened  their  effect  and  contributed  to  render  him  what  he  undoubt- 
edly was  at  that  time  a  man  of  uncommonly  striking  appearance."  So. 
Lit.  Mess.,  v.  17,  148,  149. 

P.  622  (a) 

These  words  remind  us  of  an  attack  of  unparalleled  violence  made  by 
Randolph  upon  the  judge  who  acted  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Convention  held 
at  Richmond  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  re-election  of  John  Quincy 
Adams:  "  But  what  shall  we  say — not  of  the  Secretary — no,  it  is  needless 
to  say  anything  of  him,"  Randolph  declared  in  one  of  the  notes  to  a  reprint 
of  his  speech  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform  in  the  House  in  1828.  "His 
name,  associated  with  that  of  Chapman  Johnson,  must  be  grateful  to  that 
distinguished  luminary  of  the  Bar  and  of  Virginia.  In  our  part  of  the 
country,  we  still  retain  the  old-fashioned  prejudice  against  the  three  degrees 


Notes  757 

of  borrowing,  begging  and  stealing.  We  still  believe  in  Charlotte  and 
Prince  Edward  that  every  honest  man  pays  his  just  debts.  If  I  were  to 
go  to  Oakland  (where  I  hope  soon  to  be)  and  were  to  steal  one  of  my  friend 
Wm.  R.  Johnson's  plow  horses,  value  perhaps  #60.00,  I  should  subject 
myself  to  the  penitentiary.  But  would  he  not  rather  be  robbed  of  a  work 
horse  than  that  any  man  should  buy  Medley  or  Sallie  Walker  of  him  for 
some  thousands  of  dollars  and  never  pay  him?  Suum  cuique  tribuito  is 
still  held  in  respect  with  us,  and  we  pay  small  deference  to  the  opinions  of 
judges  even  in  the  last  resort  whose  creditors  cry  aloud  in  vain  for  justice 
against  the  dispensers  of  justice — a  judge  who  finally  and  conclusively 
determines  between  meum  and  tuum  who  possesses  nothing  suum." 
Bouldin,  jii. 

P.  635  (a) 

In  his  Autobiography,  Martin  Van  Buren  says  that  the  appointment  of 
Randolph  to  the  Russian  Mission  was  made  by  Jackson  at  his  instance. 
He  told  Jackson,  he  informs  us,  that  he  had  a  suggestion  to  make  to  him 
which  would  surprise  him,  and  that  his  astonishment  would  probably  be 
much  increased  when  he  assured  him  in  advance  that  the  step  he  was  about 
to  propose  was  one  which  he  would  neither  take  himself,  if  he  were  in  his 
place,  nor  recommend  to  any  other  President,  but  that  he  thought  that 
Jackson  might  take ;  although  not  without  hazard.  As  to  the  reasons  for  this 
conclusion  which  Van  Buren  then  gave  to  Jackson,  the  Autobiography  adds: 
"They  referred  to  the  high  estimation  in  which  Mr.  Randolph  was  held  by 
the  masses  of  the  Old  Republicans  in  Virginia,  to  his  identification  with  that 
party  from  its  commencement  and  his  abiding  attachment  to  it  growing 
out  of  his  active  participation  in  its  early  contests,  to  the  imposing  manner 
in  which  he  had  discharged  his  duties  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Ways  and  Means  during  Mr.  Jefferson's  first  term,  and  finally  to  his  quarrel 
with  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe  and  Adams,  which  would,  if  he  died 
without  some  further  opportunity  to  exert  beneficially  the  remarkable 
capacities,  intelligence,  sagacity  and  knowledge  of  men  which  he  possessed 
leave  the  world  in  the  opinion  that  he  had  been  an  impracticable  and 
unprofitable  man."    P.  418. 

P.  646  (a) 

A  little  later  Van  Buren  wrote  to  Thomas  Ritchie,  the  Editor  of  The 
Enquirer,  as  follows:  "I  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  information 
in  regard  to  Mr.  Randolph's  conduct  at  St.  Petersburg  has  the  slightest 
foundation  in  truth.  I  believe  them,  on  the  contrary,  to  be  sheer  mis- 
representations. I  regret,  however,  to  inform  you  that  Mr.  Randolph's 
health  on  his  arrival  at  St.  Petersburg  was  so  very  bad  as  to  render  his 
immediate  return  to  the  South  of  France  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  his  life.  This  he  was  authorized  to  do  if  the  state  of  his 
health  required  it,  and  the  affairs  of  the  mission  would  admit  of  it  without 
prejudice  to  the  public  service.  In  the  exercise  of  this  discretion  he  left 
St.  Petersburg.  ...     I  have  no  doubt  that  his  health  is  much  worse 


758  Notes 

than  it  has  been  at  any  previous  period,  and  that  the  severity  of  the  climate 
of  St.  Petersburg  was  found  to  be  insupportable  by  him."  Nov.  5,  1830, 
Van  Buren  Papers,  Libr.  Cong. 

P.  648  (a) 

Nor  is  the  idea  which  Bouldin  (P.  70)  attributes  to  W.  B.  Green,  that  a 
part  of  the  Russian  salary  and  outfit  was  used  in  the  purchase  of  Randolph's 
Bushy  Forest  estate  any  better  sustained  by  the  facts,  for  this  estate  was 
purchased  long  before  Randolph  went  to  Russia. 

P.  655  (a) 

We  are  told  by  Martin  Van  Buren  in  his  Autobiography  that  his  reason 
for  recommending  the  Russian  Mission  as  a  proper  post  for  Randolph, 
under  the  circumstances,  was  that  our  relations  with  the  Government  of 
Russia  were  "simple  and  friendly."    P.  41 p. 

Volume  II 
P.  5  (a) 

The  attacks  made  by  Randolph  on  Judge  Bouldin  and  Dr.  Crump  at 
this  meeting  are  especially  to  be  regretted,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Judge 
Bouldin  had  been  one  of  his  intimate  friends,  as  Randolph's  Diary  and 
journals  show;  and  Dr.  Crump  such  a  fiery  partisan  of  his  that  when  he  met 
Samuel  McDowell  Moore,  after  the  scurrilous  speech  which  the  latter  had 
made  against  the  re-election  of  Randolph  to  the  United  States  Senate,  he 
came  to  blows  with  him  over  the  matter.  "Watkins  Leigh,"  Randolph 
once  wrote  to  Dudley,  "is  well,  much  fattened  and  inspirited  by  matrimony. 
Bouldin,  too,  is  here;  a  heavy  draft  from  our  country  of  abilities  and 
integrity."  Jan.  24,  1814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  151.  Strange  to  say,  it  was 
when  Judge  Bouldin  was  announcing  the  death  of  Randolph,  that  he 
dropped  dead  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives.    Letters  and  Times  of  the  Tylers,  by  Tyler,  v.  1.  507. 

P.  5  (b) 

William  M.  Watkins  voted  against  Randolph  in  1813,  and  Randolph, 
perhaps,  never  entirely  forgot  the  fact;  though  their  relations,  on  the  whole, 
remained  those  of  good  friends.  On  one  occasion,  Randolph  expressed  the 
conviction  that  but  for  Watkins'  propensity  to  drink,  he  might  have  been, 
and  ought  to  have  been,  and  would  have  been,  the  first  man  in  Charlotte 
County  and  Randolph's  District,  and  (as  far  as  Randolph  knew)  South 
of  James  River.  Letter  from  J.  R.  to  H.  A.  Watkins,  Jan.  24,  1832, 
Randolph  Will  Litigation  at  Petersburg. 

P.  6  (a) 

Even  were  no  allowance  to  be  made  for  Randolph's  intensive  habits  of 
speech,  what  he  says  about  this  tavern  would  hardly  deserve  the  significance 
which  sectional  writers  like  Henry  Adams  and  James  Parton  have  hastened 
to  impart  to  it :     "  The  taverns  along  the  road  (from  Boston  to  Washington) 


Notes  759 

were  of  a  very  indifferent  description  even  for  that  day,  when  the  best  city 
hostelries  were  the  horror  of  civilized  travellers."  Life  of  Quincy,  72.  In 
other  words,  there  were  few  good  taverns  or  inns  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the 
United  States  in  Randolph's  time;  and  besides  it  is  only  fair  to  the  poorer 
Virginia  taverns  and  inns  of  that  period  to  admit  that  their  sorry  quality 
was  due  to  some  extent  to  the  generous  habits  of  private  hospitality  which 
prevailed  in  Virginia.  "  The  truth  is,"  we  are  told  by  Dr.  James  Waddell 
Alexander,  "'comfort'  in  Virginia  is  not  at  public  but  private  houses;  the 
case  being  reversed  in  Northern  cities. "    40  Yrs. '  Letters,  v.  2,  213. 

P.  10  (a) 

John  Randolph  Bryan  was  told  by  Mrs.  Wyatt  Cardwell  that,  once  when 
Randolph  was  under  her  husband's  roof  at  Charlotte  Court  House  at  this 
time,  he  declared  that  he  saw  devils  going  up  and  down  a  stairway  that 
landed  in  his  room;  and  that  she  had  had  his  bedstead  moved  around  so  that 
his  back  might  be  turned  to  the  stairway;  whereupon,  after  a  time,  he 
looked  revived,  and  told  her  that  she  had  changed  his  polarity,  and,  by  doing 
so,  saved  his  life.     /.  R.  B.  to  Mr.  Robertson,  March  2/,  1878,  Bryan  MSS. 

P.  11  (a) 

"  The  interest  which  you  express  in  my  well  being  and  the  anxiety  which 
you  have  manifested  for  my  safety  demand  every  acknowledgment  at  my 
hands.  I  am  not  careless  of  life.  I  am  perhaps  more  than  sufficiently  at- 
tached to  it;  but  I  do  not,  I  cannot,  value  it  so  highly  as  to  wish  to  hold  it 
with  dishonor."  J.  R.  to  J.  M.  Garnett,  July  5 ;  1806,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr., MSS. 

P.  14  (a) 

The  observations  of  Van  Buren,  in  his  Autobiography,  on  Randolph  are 
deeply  tinged  by  his  knowledge  of  a  confidential  letter,  which  he  says  was 
written  to  Jackson  by  Randolph  in  an  effort  to  create  discord  between 
Jackson  and  Van  Buren,  and  especially  by  a  series  of  letters,  of  which  this 
may  have  been  one,  in  which,  Van  Buren  says,  Randolph  labored  to 
divert  Jackson  from  the  purpose  of  making  Van  Buren  his  successor  in  the 
Presidency;  and  also,  to  some  extent,  by  the  chagrin  resulting  from  the 
partisan  clamor  excited  by  the  departure  of  Randolph  from  St.  Petersburg. 
Pp.  12  and  420.  But  the  Autobiography  pays  more  than  one  striking 
tribute  to  Randolph's  intellectual  and  social  endowments.  In  one  place 
Van  Buren  speaks  of  the  "sparkling  clearness"  of  his  perceptions;  in 
another  place  he  tells  us  that,  though  Randolph  was  occasionally  melan- 
choly and  irritable,  he  was  generally  lively,  and,  at  times,  remarkably 
fascinating.  Pp.  428,  430.  And  in  still  another  place  he  more  than  confirms 
what  Sawyer  has  told  us  about  Randolph's  conversational  characteristics 
and  powers:  "He  avoided  as  a  general  rule  the  subjects  under  discussion 
in  Congress,  apparently  glad  to  drop  them  and  to  recreate  his  mind  in  fresh 
fields.  Except  when  something  of  unusual  piquancy  was  afoot,  and  when 
left  to  himself,  Virginia,  her  public  men  of  earlier  days,  her  people  and  her 
ast  condition,  the  character,  the  life,  of  his  deceased  brother,  Richard, 


760  Notes 

with  England  and  the  English,  were  commonly  the  themes  on  which  he 
talked  better  than  I  ever  heard  another  man  talk."  P.  4ji.  The  general 
estimate  that  Van  Buren  formed  of  Randolph's  abilities  and  attainments  is 
expressed  in  the  Autobiography  in  these  words:  "That  he  was  a  man  of 
extraordinary  intelligence,  well  educated,  well  informed  on  most  subjects, 
thoroughly  grounded  in  the  history  and  rationale  of  the  Constitution  and  of 
the  Government  that  was  formed  under  it,  eloquent  in  debate,  and  wielding  a 
power  of  invective  superior  to  that  of  any  man  of  his  day,  is  unquestionable; 
but  with  all  these  liberal  endowments  he  lacked  a  balance  wheel  to  regulate 
his  passions  and  to  guide  his  judgment."  P.  427. 

P.  15  («) 

Notwithstanding  the  coincidence  of  opinion  which  existed  between 
Randolph  and  Calhoun  in  some  respects,  their  relations  were  never  thor- 
oughly cordial;  though  there  was  a  time  when  Calhoun  spared  no  effort  to 
conciliate  the  support  of  Randolph  in  his  Presidential  aspirations.  "He 
is  full  of  zeal,  and  almost  makes  love  to  Mr.  M.  (Macon)  and  another  gent 
you  wot  of,"  Randolph  wrote  to  Tazewell.  "He  thinks  that  he  will  use  us 
for  his  ends.  Quant  &  moi  I  shall  go  along  with  him  very  cheerfully  un- 
til I  come  to  the  'fork  of  the  roads'  that  leads  to  my  house,  when,  if  he 
will  go  home  with  me,  well!  and  welcome!  If  not,  I  shall  go  home." 
Feb.  28,  1826,  L.  W.  Tazewell,  Jr.,  MSS.  In  the  first  instance,  Randolph 
was  kept  from  forming  any  intimacy  with  Calhoun  by  their  wide  diver- 
gence on  the  subject  of  the  War  of  18 12,  and  afterwards  by  the  feud 
between  Calhoun  and  Andrew  Jackson.  Evidence  is  not  wanting,  however, 
that  Randolph  had  an  underlying  admiration  for  Calhoun,  such  as  was 
indicated  by  his  remark  on  one  occasion  that  Calhoun  was  a  strong  man 
armed  in  mail.     Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

P.  19  (a) 

A  member  of  Mr.  Seaton's  family,  writing  from  Virginia,  early  in  1833, 
says :  "Mr.  Randolph  has  been  staying  with  us,  but  so  feeble  that  he  could 
not  leave  his  room.  He  talks  as  much  and  as  wonderfully  as  usual,  and  is,  if 
possible,  more  witty  and  eccentric  than  ever.  Cousin  J.  remarked  to  him 
that  he  was  surprised  to  see  him  persist  in  the  exploded  fashion  of  wearing 
round-toed  shoes.  'Oh,'  replied  Mr.  Randolph,  'I  am  like  Ritchie — I 
neither  track  the  one  way  nor  the  other.'"  William  Winston  Seaton,  A 
Biographical  Sketch,  152. 

P.  21  (a) 

In  a  letter  to  James  M.  Garnett  written  before  this  speech  was  made, 
Randolph,  after  saying  that  it  was  very  plain  to  him  that,  if  "Count  Tariff  " 
carried  his  project,  the  slave  States  would  be  better  off  as  English  colonies 
than  nominal  allies  to  his  Countship ,  observed :  "At  this  time  I  would  not 
give  one  farthing  for  all  the  benefit  that  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  get 
from  the  General  Government.  The  burthens  which  the  British  Parlia- 
ment would  have  imposed  upon  us  were  feathers  compared  with  brother 


Notes  761 


Jonathan's  exactions;  and  a  word  in  your  ear — I  had  just  as  lief  trust  the 
one  as  the  other;  neither  having  the  indispensable  qualification  of  a  common 
interest  and  common  feeling  with  us."  Roanoke,  Nov.  1,  1823,  J.  M.  Gar- 
nett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  28  (a) 

Of  these  resolutions,  Martin  Van  Buren  says  in  his  Autobiography:  "I 
do  not  believe  that  it  was  in  the  power  of  any  one  of  our  public  men  then  on 
the  stage  of  action  to  set  forth  the  principles  theiein  advocated  in  a  manner 
so  precise,  lucid  and  statesmanlike  as  distinguished  those  resolutions."  424. 

P.  29  (a) 

At  a  meeting  held  at  Buckingham  C.  H.  a  week  later  than  this  meeting, 
that  is  on  Feb.  11,  1833,  the  suggestion  that  Randolph  should  become  a 
candidate  for  Congress  was  "received  with  a  deafening  burst  of  applause." 
Richm.  Enquirer,  Feb.  28,  1833. 

P.  3i  («) 

"At  Richmond,  he  made  a  long  speech,  sitting  in  his  chair,  praising  Wat- 
kins  Leigh  and  denouncing  Thomas  Ritchie  and  Daniel  Webster. "  Auto- 
biog.  of  Martin  Van  Buten,  42$. 

P.  46  (a) 

Henry  Adams,  following  Garland  (v.  2,  375),  sequaciously  over  the  fence, 
says:     "June  24,  1833  ";  {John  Randolph,  305)  but  this  is  an  error. 

P.  46  (b) 

In  his  Reminiscences,  which  passed  into  the  possession  of  Dr.  Philip 
Slaughter,  of  Culpeper  County,  Va.,  Dr.  Francis  West  said:  "His  face, 
after  death  had  closed  his  penetrative  dark-brown  eyes,  resembled  much  that 
of  an  old  woman." 

P.  48  (a) 

"I  would  not  die  in  Washington,"  Randolph  declared,  "be  eulogized  by 
men  I  despise  and  buried  in  the  Congressional  Burying  Ground.     The  idea. 

of  lying  by  the  side  of !    Ah,  that  adds  a  new  horror  to  death." 

Figure*  of  the  Past,  by  Josiah  Quincy,  216. 

P.  62  (a) 

To  all  this  might  be  added  the  declaration  of  Tristam  Burges,  of  Rhode 
Island,  in  the  House:  "  Genius  he  certainly  has;  for  he  is  original  and  un- 
like all  other  men.  If  you  please,  he  is  eloquent,  but,  if  so,  the  eloquence  is 
like  himself— sui  generis.'1    Reg.  of  Deb.,  1830-31,  v.  7  494. 

P.  63  (a) 

"No  collection  of  American  speeches,  however,  has  been  deemed  com- 
plete without  some  of  them  [Randolph's  speeches];  though  pronounced,  as 


762  Notes 

to  the  most  part,  inaccurate  by  him;  and  imperfectly  as  they  have  come  to 
us  the  impress  of  genius  is  upon  them  all."  National  Portrait  Gallety,  v.  4, 
Title,  Randolph,  p.  j. 

P.  65  (a) 

In  a  letter  to  David  K.  Este,  a  distinguished  lawyer  and  citizen  of 
Cincinnati,  dated  Washington,  Feb.  15,  1916,  John  McLean,  after  dwelling 
with  some  pungency  upon  the  length  and  discursiveness  of  Randolph's 
speeches  in  the  House  at  that  time,  nevertheless  concludes:  "And  yet, 
this  extraordinary  man  generally  commands  attention.  He  speaks  with 
great  fluency,  and  his  elocution  is  never  perhaps  surpassed.  In  invective  he 
stands  certainly  unrivalled."     Louise  E.  Bruce  MSS. 

P.  79  (a) 

Evidence  of  the  fact  that  Randolph  lacked  the  egotism  to  be  intolerant 
of  criticism  conceived  in  a  proper  spiiit  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  patient 
manner  with  which  he  accepted  the  harsher  part  of  Gilmer's  sketch  of 
himself  as  an  orator,  in  which  Gilmer  even  stated  that  someone  who  had 
lately  heard  Randolph  in  the  House  had  compared  him  to  an  exhausted 
crater.  The  letter  from  Randolph  to  Gilmer  which  touched  upon  this 
subject  is  one  of  the  best  that  he  ever  wrote.     Century  Mag.,  v.  29,  714. 

P.  99  (a) 

"How  every  idle  word  I  utter  flies  abroad  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  I 
know  not."  J.  R.  to  Dr.  John  Brockenbrough,  Dec.  21,  182/,  Garland,  v. 
2,  295. 

P.  10 1  (a) 

"Who  is  that?  "  inquired  Mr.  Randolph  [at  an  election].  "Mr.  Beasley," 
responded  someone  in  the  crowd.  "Ah,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Randolph,  "the 
old  one-eyed  sleigh-maker,  who  lives  on  Sandy  Creek. "  Century  Magazine, 
v.  29,  1895-96,  718. 

P.  107  (a) 

Another  version  of  this  story  is:  "John,  when  you  go  down  into  the 
world,  if  you  hear  anyone  say  there  is  no  God,  tell  him  that  I  say  he  is  a  liar." 
Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

P.  112  (a) 

The  contrast  between  the  thrifty  face  of  the  earth  in  the  Free  States  and 
the  conditions  bred  by  the  listless  and  benumbing  spirit  of  slave  labor  was 
very  fully  presented  in  a  Quaker  Memorial  laid  before  the  Delaware  Legis- 
lature in  1826;  (Gazetteer  of  the  U.  S.,  April  16  1826) ;  but  by  no  one  was  the 
contrast  ever  more  lucidly  and  pointedly  stated  than  by  Robert  Goodloe 
Harper,  whose  life  was  passed  in  Virginia,  South  Carolina  and  Maryland  : 
"In  population,  in  the  general  diffusion  of  wealth  and  comfort,  in  public 
and  private  improvement,  in  the  education,  manners  and  mode  of  life  of 


Notes  763 


the  middle  and  laboring  classes,  in  the  face  of  the  country,  in  roads,  bridges 
and  inns,  in  schools  and  churches,  in  the  general  advancement  of  improve- 
ment and  prosperity,  there  is  no  comparison.  The  change  is  seen  the 
instant  you  cross  the  line  that  separates  the  country  where  there  are  slaves 
from  that  where  there  are  none.  Whence  does  this  arise?  I  answer  from 
this — that  in  one  division  of  the  country  the  land  is  cultivated  by  freemen 
for  their  own  benefit,  and  in  the  other  almost  entirely  by  slaves  for  the 
benefit  of  their  masters."    A.  of  C,  1819-20,  v.  2,  14.28. 

Returning  from  Virginia  to  Philadelphia  in  18 15,  Randolph  said:  "We 
are  not  only  centuries  behind  our  Northern  neighbors,  but  at  least  40  years 
behind  ourselves."  Letter  to  James  M.  Garnett,  Feb.  10,  18 is,  J.  M.  Gar- 
nett,  Jr.,  MSS.  It  was  only  from  local  pride,  political  policy  or  other 
similar  reasons  that  he  was  not  always  willing  to  admit  that  slavery  was  the 
true  cause  for  this  fact.  Sometimes,  when  the  term  "slave-holder"  was 
used  reproachfully  in  the  House,  he  would  refer  pointedly  to  one  of  his 
colleagues  as  "my  fellow-slaveholder";  and,  when  the  London  consignees 
of  his  tobacco  and  slave-factors  of  his  father  urged  him  to  liberate  his  slaves, 
he  silenced  them  by  saying:  "Yes,  you  buy  and  set  free  to  the  amount  of 
the  money  you  have  received  from  my  father  and  his  estate  for  these  slaves, 
and  I  will  set  free  an  equal  number."  30  Years'  View  by  Benton,  (1864), 
475- 

P.  117(a) 

After  recalling  these  friendly  observations  upon  the  Southern  people, 
it  is  gratifying  to  remember  that  sensible  and  fair-minded  men  were  not 
lacking  at  the  South  either  to  bear  cordial  testimony  to  the  merits  of  New 
England.  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice  visited  it  in  1822  and  he  was  deeply  im- 
pressed by  the  religious  zeal,  the  intellectual  enlightenment,  the  public 
spirit  and  the  order  and  decorum  of  its  inhabitants.  Among  other  agreeable 
experiences  of  a  social  nature,  he  was  much  pleased  with  "the  frank,  easy 
and  graceful"  manners  of  the  people  of  Hartford,  and  the  hospitality  of 

Col.  J.  C.  T k,  of  Springfield,  he  said,  falling  back  upon  his  Virginia 

standards,  would  have  done  honor  to  a  Southern  planter.  Memoir  of  Dr. 
John  Holt  Rice,  by  Maxwell,  214,  et  seq. 

Writing  to  Dr.  Hall  from  Charlotte  Court  House  in  1840,  Dr.  James 
Waddell  Alexander  said  of  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh:  "I  heard  him  pro- 
nounce a  most  cordial,  discriminating  and  copious  eulogy  on  the  people  of 
Massachusetts. "     Forty  Yrs.'  Familiar  Letters;  v.  1.  J14. 

The  father  of  the  author  was  a  student  at  Harvard  a  little  later,  and,  while 
a  thorough-going  Virginia  planter  in  all  his  social  characteristics  and  poli- 
tical convictions,  often  descanted  in  the  presence  of  his  children  until  his 
death  in  1896  upon  the  admirable  virtues  of  the  New  England  character. 

P.  118  (a) 

In  1828  Randolph  stated  in  the  House  that  $5,000  would  build  what  was 
considered  a  first  rate  house  in  his  part  of  the  country. 


764  Notes 

P.  121  (a) 

In  his  letters  to  Theodore  Dudley,  Randolph  mentions  two  cases  in  which 
James  Bruce,  when  in  Richmond  on  business,  became  so  absorbingly  en- 
gaged in  the  task  of  loading  his  wagons,  or  otherwise,  as  quite  to  forget 
engagements  to  dine;  once  with  Dr.  Brockenbrough  and  once  with  a  Mr.T., 
another  host  of  Randolph.  "But,"  concludes  Randolph  in  telling  the 
incidents,  "lam  growing  scandalous. ' '     Nov.  18, 1815 ,  Letters  toaY.R.,171. 

P.  125  (a) 

"Once  a  wife,  always  a  wife,  except  in  very  severe  cases  where  the  Legis- 
lature did  sometimes,  but  rarely,  grant  a  divorce,"  was  declared  by  Ran- 
dolph on  one  occasion  in  the  House  to  be  the  matrimonial  rule  in  Virginia. 
A.ofC,  1816-17,  v.  2,  806. 

P.  127  (a) 

Of  certain  of  the  non-freeholding  whites  in  his  District,  Randolph  is  said 
to  have  once  declai ed  in  the  Senate :  "If  you  take  the  upper  classes  of  the 
blacks,  and  the  lower  classes  of  the  whites,  the  former  is  the  most  moral, 
virtuous  and  intelligent  man.  I  mean  to  confine  myself  to  the  slaves  and 
not  to  the  free  blacks."  Niles  Register,  Aug.  26,  1828,  454.  But  these 
words  were  part  of  an  unrevised  text  which  was  given  to  the  world  by  the 
National  Intelligencer  and  Niles  undsr  circumstances  that  strongly  suggest 
malicious  garbling.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that,  even  if  they  were 
spoken  as  written,  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  the  pride  of  the  large 
Southern  slaveholder  to  laud  unduly  the  virtues  of  his  negroes  and  to 
emphasize  unduly  the  shortcomings  of  the  indigent  whites,  towards  whom 
his  negioes  were  as  arrogant  as  they  were  obsequious  to  him.  "The  best 
slaves  that  I  have  ever  seen,"  Randolph  once  wrote  to  James  M.  Garnett, 
"are  the  Catholic  negroes  of  Maryland,  who  are  like  the  Irish  peasant 
implicitly  guided  by  the  priest."    Nov.,  24,  1832,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  137  (a) 

Some  months  after  Randolph  had  been  elected  in  181 1,  he  entered  in  his 
Diary  these  words :    "Heard  Dr.  Hoge  from  Luke  XXIV,  42.    Very  great. " 

P.  147  (a) 

The  fact  that  Southside  Virginia  was,  in  Randolph's  time  still,  in  some 
respects,  a  frontier  country,  is  brought  to  our  notice  veiy  characteristically 
when  we  read  a  letter  in  which  he  told  Theodore  Dudley  that  Barksdale 
on  his  way  home  from  Petersburg  had  been  soused  in  Skinny  Creek,  and 
had  nearly  perished  from  cold.     Jan.  17,  1822,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  235. 

P.  148  (a) 

Two  exceptions  springing  from  two  of  the  most  conspicuous  families  of 
Virginia  are  mentioned  by  Anburey  and  John  Randolph,  respectively. 
P.  385,  and  Letter  from  J.  R.  to  Dr.  John  Brockenbrough,  Feb.  10,  1826, 
J.  C.  Grinnan  MSS. 


Notes  765 

p.  158  (*) 

But  it  is  a  mistake  to  think  of  the  climate  of  Southside  Virginia  as  being 
always  more  or  less  moderate  in  winter.  In  1829,  Randolph  wrote  to  Dr. 
Brockenbrough  from  Oakland,  the  home  of  his  friend  Wm.  R.  Johnson,  in 
Chesterfield  County,  Va.,  that  cattle  were  perishing  from  the  bitter  weather. 
March  26,  1829,  Mo.  Hist.  Soc.  "I  see  through  the  window  the  ox  that 
draws  our  filing  wood,"  diaiizes  Richard  N.  Venable,  on  Jan.  12,  1792. 
"See  how  he  holds  down  his  head  to  the  weather,  and,  as  he  slowly  moves 
through  the  snow  with  silent  gravity  and  humility,  joins  all  nature  in 
acknowledging  that  it  is  winter."  Not  an  ineffective  touch  for  a  diarist 
who  was  neither  painter  nor  poet,  but  simply  a  vagrant  country  lawyer. 

P.  164  (a) 

"  Tobacco,  situated  as  we  are,  is  the  best  crop  that  we  can  cultivate.  Too 
far  from  market  for  wheat, — no  range  for  stock — it  is  that  precise  point 
where  the  plant  can  thrive  to  advantage."  July  24,  181 3,  J.  R.  to  J.  M. 
Garnett,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  Among  Randolph's  letters  to  Garnett 
is  another  addressed  to  him  as  "Corn-planter,"  in  which  he  gives  him  quite 
detailed  instructions  as  to  the  best  methods  of  tobacco  culture.  This  letter 
is  a  capital  illustration  of  the  firm  grasp  which  Randolph  had  upon  the 
practical  side  of  every  subject  that  interested  him. 

P.  167  (a) 

In  Randolph's  time  the  wheat  was  separated  from  the  husk  at  Roanoke 
by  the  primitive  process  of  treading.     Diary  of  J.  R. 

P.  173  (a) 

The  conditions  were  no  better  at  Yale  and  Princeton  in  the  first  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  Describing  a  Fourth  of  July  dinner  at  Yale,  John 
Marsh,  who  entered  that  institution  in  1800,  says:  "The  result  was  Io 
Bacche — the  triumph  of  Bacchus."  Temperance  Progress  of  the  Century, 
by  Wooley  and  Johnson,  46.  "We  have  dozens  of  young  men  in  and  about 
Princeton,"  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  wrote  to  Dr.  Hall  on  March  31, 
1840,  "who  are  drunk  every  little  while,  and  always  on  wine."  v.  1,  299. 
If  anything,  dissipation  was  still  more  rampant  at  the  University  of  Virginia. 
Hist,  of  U.  of  Va.,  by  Philip  A.  Bruce,  v.  2.  279,  et  seq.  Indeed  Gaillard 
Hunt  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
"  Indulgence  in  strong  drink  was  the  curse  of  every  class  and  every  section." 
Life  in  America  100  Years  Ago,  104. 

P.  190  (a) 

The  well-known  Presbyterian  divine  of  Scotch  origin  who  was  at  one 
time  the  President  of  Davidson  College  in  North  Carolina,  and  afterwards, 
from  1866  to  1885,  the  professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  at  the  present  Wash- 
ington &  Lee  University,  at  Lexington,  Va.  He  was  also  at  one  stage  of  his 
career  a  Moderator  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church. 


766  Notes 

P.  197  (a) 

The  idea  has  obtained  currency  that  Randolph  used  this  simile  in  regard 
to  Henry  Clay,  but  there  is,  we  believe,  no  real  authority  for  it. 


P.  200  (a) 

The  real  motive,  which  impelled  Randolph  to  worry  Chapman  Johnson 
so  viciously  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1 829-30,  was  the  fact  that  John- 
son had  been  the  author  of  the  manifesto  of  the  Convention  held  in  Rich- 
mond for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  re-election  of  John  Quincy  Adams. 
Referring  in  his  speech  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform  in  the  House,  in  1828, 
to  the  extent  to  which  Adams  had  condoned  the  military  excesses  of  Andrew 
Jackson,  Randolph  said:  "What  shall  we  say  to  a  gentleman  .  .  .  filling 
a  large  space  in  the  eye  of  his  native  State,  who  should  with  all  the  adroit- 
ness of  a  practiced  advocate  gloss  over  the  acknowledged  encroachments  of 
the  men  in  power  upon  the  fair  construction  of  the  Constitution,  and  then 
present  the  appalling  picture,  glaring  and  flaming,  in  his  deepest  colors, 
of  a  bloody  military  tyrant — a  raw-head  and  bloody-bones — so  that  we 
cannot  sleep  in  our  beds;  who  should  conjure  up  all  the  images  that  can 
scare  children  or  frighten  old  women — I  mean  very  old  women,  Sir — and 
who  offers  this  wretched  caricature — this  vile  daub,  where  brick-dust  stands 
for  blood,  like  Peter  Porcupine's  Bloody  Buoy,  as  a  reason  for  his  and  our 
support  in  Virginia  of  a  man  in  whom  he  has  no  confidence,  whom  he  damns 
with  faint  praise — and  who  moreover — tell  it  not  in  Gath !  had  zealously  and 
elaborately  (I  cannot  say  ably)  justified  every  one  of  these  very  atrocious 
and  bloody  deeds?"  Bouldin,  2q6.  The  quotation  used  by  Randolph  in 
this  speech  from  some  undisclosed  source  at  least  suggests  one  substantial 
reason  why  Chapman  Johnson,  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers  ever  known  to 
Virginia,  and  a  powerful  figure  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829-30,  never 
acquired  more  prominence  in  the  field  of  politics.  "It  is  his  pride  and 
honest  and  honorable  pride,"  the  individual  quoted  by  Randolph  de- 
clared, "which  makes  him  delight  to  throw  himself  into  minorities,  because 
he  enjoys  more  self-gratification  from  manifesting  his  independence  of 
popular  opinion  than  he  could  derive  from  anything  in  the  gift  of  the 
people."  In  other  words,  in  the  cant  phrases  of  our  time,  he  was  "a  mug- 
wump," an  "intellectual." 

P.  202  (a) 

John  Hampden  Pleasants  was  the  son  of  James  Pleasants,  "the  unworthy 
son  of  a  worthy  sire,"  Randolph  dubbed  him,  {Nathan  Loughborough  MSS.) 
another  way  of  saying  that  he  was  the  Whig  son  of  a  Democratic  father. 
It  is  said  that,  meeting  Randolph  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  in  Washington, 
Pleasants  placed  himself  directly  in  front  of  him,  exclaiming  loudly  as  he 
did  so:  "I  don't  get  out  of  the  way  of  puppies."  Stepping  instantly 
aside,  Randolph  replied:  "I  always  do,  pass  on."  Recollections  of  a 
Long  Life,  by  Joseph  Packard,  no. 


Notes  767 

P.  203  (a) 

Two  clever  utterances  of  Randolph  have  been  preserved  for  us  in  the 
recently  published  Autobiography  of  Martin  Van  Buren.  At  one  time, 
Walter  Lowrie  was  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate.  His  reading  was  certainly 
not  of  the  best,  and  his  penmanship  was  egregious,  Van  Buren  tells  us;  but 
in  more  important  respects  he  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  with 
eminent  success.  Of  him,  Randolph  said,  that,  although  he  could  neither 
read  nor  write,  he  was  the  best  clerk  that  any  public  body  had  ever  been 
favored  with.  P.  238.  Once,  when  Van  Buren  referred  the  party  disloyalty 
of  John  Holmes,  of  Maine,  to  a  deadly  attack  made  by  John  Randolph 
upon  him,  Randolph  replied  vehemently:  "I  deny  that.  I  have  not 
diiven  him  away.  He  was  already  a  deserter  in  his  heart.  If  you  examine 
the  body,  you  will  find  that  the  wound  is  in  the  back."  P.  206. 

P.  208  (a) 

If,  foi  no  other  reason,  Randolph's  speeches  can  be  read  with  pleasure 
because  of  the  way  in  which  language  in  the  forge  of  his  exalted  moods  of 
glowing  improvisation  becomes  as  ductile  as  gold.  An  illustration  is  a 
paragraph  in  one  of  his  later  speeches:  "An  anathema,  Sir,  has  been 
issued  from  the  laboratory  of  the  modern  Vatican;  and  a  Nuncio  has  been 
dispatched  (I  believe  I  must  drop  the  metaphor,  or  it  will  drop  me).  Well, 
Sir,  an  agent  then,  has  been  dispatched."  Reg.  of  Debates,  1827-28,  v.  4, 
Part  I,  1040. 

P.  209  (a) 

Randolph  was  on  such  familiar  terms  with  his  constituents  that  he 
sometimes  singled  one  of  them  out  from  his  audience  and  addressed  a  ques- 
tion to  him:  "Captain  Price,"  he  once  called  out  to  one  of  his  venerable 
friends  from  the  rostrum,  "turn  round  a  moment?  How  many  acres  in 
that  old  field?  "  "Between  100  and  150, 1  presume,"  was  the  reply.  "Now 
tell  me  Nat.  Price,"  continued  Randolph,  "here  before  all  your  neighbors, 
can  you  enclose  that  old  field  with  10  panels  of  fence?  "  "No,  no  indeed," 
shouted  the  crowd.  "And  yet,"  said  Randolph,  "  I  am  to  be  turned  out  of 
office  because  I  will  not  waste  your  money  to  do  what  can  no  more  be  done 
than  Nat.  Price  can  enclose  this  old  field  with  ten  panels  of  fence."  Recol- 
lections of  Wm.  S.  Lacy,  So.  Lit.  Mess.,  June,  185Q,  461-466. 

P.  210  (o) 

"I  never  prepared  myself  to  speak,  but  on  two  questions — The  Con- 
necticut Reserve  and  the  first  discussion  of  the  Yazoo  claims. "  Letter  from 
J.  R.  to  Francis  W.  Gilmer,  Century  Mag.,  (1895-96),  v.  29,  713. 

P.  212  (a) 

This  was  Jacob  Crowninshield,  who  was  secretary  of  the  Navy  at  the  time 
while  Jefferson  was  President.  It  was  upon  the  head  of  his  brother,  Ben- 
jamin W.  Crowninshield,  who  filled  the  same  post  under  Madison  and 
Monroe,  that  Randolph  emptied  the  vials  of  his  wrath  in  a  note  to  his  speech 


768  Notes 

on  Retrenchment  and  Reform  in  1 828 :  "  Benjamin  W.  Crowninshield,  the 
Master  Slender— no  the  Master  Silence  of  Ministers  of  State.  Shakespeare 
himself  could  go  no  lower.  It  is  the  thorough  base  of  human  nature.  He 
seems  to  us  to  have  drawn  Robert  Shallow,  Esquire  and  his  cousin,  Slender 
as  the  comparative  and  superlative  degree  of  fatuity;  and,  when  we  believe 
that  he  has  sounded  his  lowest  note,  as  if  revelling  in  the  exuberance  of  his 
power,  he  produces  Silence,  as  the  Ne  plus  ultra  of  inanity  and  imbecility." 
Bouldin,  316. 

P.  213  (a) 

Another  good  example  of  Randolph's  clever  way  of  putting  things  is 
the  observations  drawn  from  him  in  1809  by  the  fact  that  Berent  Garden- 
ier,  a  Federalist,  had  pushed  his  defense  of  England  further  than  even  he 
could  approve  as  a  matter  of  good  tactics,  if  not  of  principle.  "  I  looked," 
he  said,  "at  the  gentleman  from  New  York  at  that  moment,  with  a  sort  of 
sensation  which  we  feel  in  beholding  a  sprightly  child  meddling  with  edge 
tools,  every  moment  expecting  what  actually  happened— that  he  would  cut 
his  fingers."    A.  of  C,  1808-09,  v.  3,  1464. 

P.  213  (6) 

Randolph's  clever  reply  to  his  critics  is  well  known:  "A  caterpillar  comes 
to  a  fence;  he  crawls  to  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  and  over  the  fence,  some  of 
his  hundred  feet  always  in  contact  with  the  subject  upon  which  he  moves. 
A  gallant  horseman  at  a  flying  leap  clears  both  ditch  and  fence.  "Stop," 
says  the  caterpillar,  "you  are  too  flighty,  you  want  connection  and  contin- 
uity. It  took  me  an  hour  to  get  over,  you  can't  be  as  sure  as  I  am,  who 
have  never  quitted  the  subject,  that  you  have  overcome  the  difficulty  and 
are  faiily  over  the  fence. "  "  Thou  miserable  reptile,"  replies  our  fox-hunter, 
"if  like  you,  I  crawled  over  the  earth  slowly  and  painfully  should  I  ever 
catch  a  fox  or  be  anything  more  than  a  wretched  caterpillar?  "  N.B.  He 
did  not  say  "of  the  law."    Bouldin,  310. 

P.  219  (a) 

"Yet  as  regards  the  interests  of  my  country — of  the  State  of  Virginia, " 
are  among  the  words  employed  by  Randolph  in  one  of  his  speeches  in  the 
House.     Reg.  of  Debates,  1827-28;  V.  4,  Part  1,  966. 

P.  226  (a) 

The  other  States  of  the  Union  undoubtedly  owe  much  to  New  England 
and  Virginia,  but  those  two  parts  of  the  Union  are  at  least  not  a  little  in- 
debted to  them  for  the  patience  with  which  they  have  borne  their  favorable 
opinions  of  themselves.  "O,  New  England,"  breaks  out  Noah  Webster 
in  his  Diary,  after  a  visit  to  Virginia,  "how  superior  are  thy  inhabitants  in 
morals,  literature,  civility  and  industry!"  Notes  on  the  Life  of  Noah 
Webster,  by  E.  E.  F.  Ford;  V.  1,  146  {note  3).  After  telling  Creed  Taylor 
that  he  had  seen  Lafayette,  Samuel  Taylor,  a  prominent  citizen  of  South- 
side  Virginia,  observes:  "In  his  manners  there  is  great  simplicity.    They 


Notes  769 


must  have  been  formed  by  the  manners  of  the  Virginia  gentlemen  with 
whom  he  associated  in  our  Revolutionary  War."  Oct.  31,  1824,  Creed 
Taylor  Papers. 

P.  227  (a) 

Perhaps,  however,  the  import  of  this  remark  was  misunderstood  by 
Quincy ;  for  Randolph  long  cherished  a  most  earnest  desire  to  make  a  tour 
of  New  England,  which  he  repeatedly  expressed  in  his  correspondence.  In 
a  letter  to  James  M.  Garnett  from  Richmond,  he  said:  "I  should  like 
to  'reside  here'  a  part  of  the  year;  but  then  I  should  like  still  better  an 
excursion  to  the  Eastern  States,  or  a  trip  to  Europe.  Both  are  denied  by 
my  situation."     May  14,  18 14,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  228  (a) 

"  The  history  of  that  period,  the  accounts  given  by  both  sides  are  replete 
with  evidence  of  the  efficient  part  taken  by  him  (Randolph)  in  the  contests 
of  the  day  and  the  sacrifices  to  which  he  was  exposed  from  their  violence." 
Autobiog.  of  Martin  Van  Bur  en,  42Q. 

P.  229  (a) 

"Varnum  has  much  against  my  wishes  removed  Randolph  from  the 
Ways  and  Means  and  appointed  Campbell  of  Tennessee.  It  was  improper 
as  related  to  the  public  business,  and  will  give  me  additional  labor." 
Gallatin,  by  Adams,  363. 

P.  232  (a) 

Perhaps,  however,  the  idea  may  have  originated  with  Jefferson;  for  on 
Dec.  13,  1803,  he  wrote  to  Gallatin:  "  In  order  to  be  able  to  meet  a  general 
combination  of  the  banks  against  us  in  a  critical  emergency,  could  we  not 
make  a  beginning  towards  an  independent  use  of  our  own  money,  towards 
holding  our  own  bank  in  all  the  deposits  where  it  is  received,  and  letting 
the  Treasurer  give  his  draft  or  note  for  payment  at  any  particular  place, 
which  in  a  well-conducted  government  ought  to  have  as  much  credit  as  any 
private  draft  or  bank-note  or  bill  and  would  give  us  the  same  facilities  which 
we  derive  from  the  banks?  "    Life  of  Jefferson,  by  Randall,  v.  3,  93. 

P.  240  (a) 

"The  deil  cam'  fiddling  through  the  town 
And  danced  awa  wi'  the  exciseman 
An  ilka  wife  cried  'Auld  Mahoun 
I  wish  you  luck  o'  the  prize  man'!" 

P.  241  (a) 

It  was  not  Randolph  extolling  Virginia,  but  Quincy  extolling  Massachu- 
setts, who  used  these  words:  "Sir,  I  confess  it,  the  first  public  love  of  my 
heart  is  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts;  there  is  my  fireside;  there 
are  the  tombs  of  my  ancestors. 

49 


770  Notes 

'Low  lies  the  land,  yet  blest  with  fruitful  stores 
Strong  are  her  sons,  though  rocky  are  her  shores, 
And  none  are!  none  so  lovely  to  my  sight, 
Of  all  the  lands  which  heaven  o'erspreads  with  light.' 

The  love  of  this  Union  rose  out  of  this  attachment  to  my  native  soil,  and  is 
rooted  in  it.  I  cherish  it  because  it  affords  the  best  external  hope  of  her 
peace,  her  prosperity,  her  independence."    A.  of  C,  1810-11  v.  3,  542. 

P.  246  (a) 

"  Northern  gentlemen  think  to  govern  us  by  our  black  slaves;  but  let  me 
tell  them  we  intend  to  govern  them  by  their  white  slaves."  These  words 
have  been  imputed  to  Randolph.  Life  of  Quincy,  by  Quincy,  66.  But, 
were  they  ever  really  spoken  by  him? 

P.  247  (a) 

There  is  a  reference  to  the  author  of  these  reminiscences  in  Dr.  James 
Waddell  Alexander's  Forty  Years  Familiar  Letters  to  Dr.  Hall.  "  The  Episco- 
pal Clergy  hereabouts,"  he  says,  "are  all  evangelical  and  hard  working  men. 
John  Clark,  who  preaches  nearest  here,  cannot  I  suppose  make  the  circuit 
of  his  preaching  places  without  riding  60  miles. "  V.  1,  272.  This  good  man 
was  the  son  of  Col.  John  Clark,  of  Mount  Lam  el,  Halifax  County,  Va., 
one  of  the  wealthiest  land  owners  in  that  part  of  Virginia ;  but  he  put  aside 
every  lure  of  wealth,  or  high  family  position  to  give  himself  up  to  the  sacred 
calling  which  took  him  over  such  an  extensive  territory.  On  one  occasion, 
when  he  was  to  preach  at  St.  Andrew's,  in  Mecklenburg  County,  Va.,  a  man 
on  his  way  from  the  other  side  of  the  river  to  hear  him  said  to  one  of  the 
Mecklenburg  Alexanders :  "I  made  up  my  mind  to  attend  and  take  dinner 
with  you,  for  I  wished  to  hear  a  man  preach  and  talk  who  made  a  market 
crop  of  150,000  pounds  of  tobacco  and  five  thousand  bushels  of  wheat." 
MSS.  Memoirs  of  Mark  Alexander,  Jr.,  owned  by  Mrs.  W.  Kennedy  Boone 
of  Baltimore,  Md. 

P.  253  (a) 

Yet  William  M.  Watkins,  who  was  one  of  Randolph's  neighbors  and 
friends,  testified  in  the  Randolph  Will  Litigation  with  no  little  truth :  "Mr 
Randolph  was  very  unforgiving  in  his  temper.  It  was  the  principal  fault  in 
his  charactei." 

P.  256  (a) 

Or,  as  Randolph  once  said  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Biockenbrough,  "never  could 
have  made  a  gin  horse."     Dec.  17,  1828,  Garland,  v.  2,  315. 

P.  260  (a) 

In  the  Randolph  Will  Litigation,  William  M.  Watkins,  who  knew  Ran- 
dolph intimately,  testified  that  he  would  never  have  attempted  to  shut  up 
Robert  Carrington  in  the  manner  he  did,  if  he  had  not  been  insane. 


Notes  771 


P.  262  (a) 

The  following  entries  taken  from  Randolph's  journal  of  1830  (Va.  Hist. 
Soc.)  show  that  the  relations  between  him  and  Robert  Carrington  shortly 
before  the  Russian  Mission  of  Randolph  were  very  neighborly  and  friendly : 

"Feb.  13,  1830.     Killed  beef,  fore  qr.  to  Robt.  Carrington." 

"May  21,  1830.     Robt.  C.  to  dinner." 

P.  269  (a) 

This  loan  remained  unpaid  when  the  time  came  for  the  reconveyance  to 
Randolph  of  a  tract  of  land  and  a  number  of  slaves,  which  Randolph  had 
conveyed  to  Beverley  Tucker  about  the  time  of  his  marriage  as  a  contri- 
bution towards  the  support  of  the  newly- wedded  couple ;  subject  to  the 
promise  that  they  would  be  so  reconveyed.  The  land  was  reconveyed,  but 
Beverley  declined  to  reconvey  the  slaves  on  the  ground  that  Judge  Coalter 
had  told  him  that  St.  George  Tucker  intended  the  slaves  to  be  retained  by 
Beverley  in  payment  of  the  debt  due  by  Randolph  to  him.  Testimony  of 
William  Leigh,  in  Coalter' s  Exor.  vs.  Randolph's  Exor.,  Clk's  Office,  Cir. 
Ct.,  Petersburg,  Va. 

P.  270  (a) 

This  inference  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  slaves  which  Theo- 
dorick  Bland  gave  to  Mrs.  Eaton,  Mrs.  Randolph's  sister,  he  secured  to  her 
and  her  children.  Testimony  of  Mrs.  Anna  Bland  Dudley  in  the  Ran- 
dolph Will  Litigation. 

P.  273  (a) 

In  a  letter  to  St.  George  Tucker,  Randolph  wrote:  "Of  Morris  I  will 
state  an  opinion  which  occurred  to  me  most  forcibly  whilst  he  was  speaking, 
that  a  fine  gentleman  has  destroyed  a  great  orator."  Jan.  15,  1802,  Lucas 
MSS. 

P.  282  (a) 

Herman  Blennerhassett  has  something  to  say  of  the  mistress  of  Presque 
Isle  in  his  journal,  under  date  of  Oct.  18,  1807:  "I  there  (at  Mrs.  Cheval- 
ier's) met  Mrs.  David  Randolph,  who  is  a  middle-aged  lady  and  very 
accomplished;  of  charming  manners  and  possessing  a  masculine  mind. 
From  this  lady,  the  near  relation  of  the  President,  and  whose  brother  is 
married  to  his  daughter,  I  heard  more  pungent  strictures  upon  Jefferson's 
head  and  heart,  because  they  were  better  founded,  than  any  I  had  ever 
heard  before,  and  she  certainly  uttered  more  treason  than  my  wife  ever 
dreamed  of,  for  she  ridiculed  the  experiment  of  a  republic  in  this  country, 
which  the  vices  and  inconstancy  of  parties  and  the  people  had  too  long 
shown  to  be  nothing  more  than  annual  series  of  essays  to  complete  a  work 
ill-begun,  and  which  appeared  to  be  nearly  worn  out  before  it  was  half- 
finished.  But  'she  always  was  disgusted  with  the  fairest  ideas  of  a  modern 
republic,  however  she  might  respect  those  of  antiquity.'  And  as  for  the 
treason  'she  cordially  hoped  whenever  Burr  or  anyone  else  again  attempted 


772  Notes 

to  do  anything  the  Atlantic  States  would  be  comprised  in  the  plan. '" 
The  Blennerhassett  Papers,  458. 

P.  292  (a) 

"Enclosed  is  a  draft  for  $300.  May  it  afford  every  pleasure  and  profit. 
I  wish  it  were  a  cipher  more."  /.  R.  to  Tudor  Randolph,  Richmond,  Dec. 
31,  1813,  J.  C.  Grinnan  MSS.,  Annual  Register,  1832,  33,  440. 

P.  295  (a) 

Whatever  Randolph  or  Ogden,  or  anyone  else  may  have  thought  of  Mr. 
Morris,  there  can  be  no  question  that  her  aged  husband  had  no  fault  to  find 
with  her.  Two  years  after  his  marriage  to  her,  he  wrote  to  his  intimate 
friend,  John  Parish,  then  at  Bath,  England :  "Perhaps  some  wind  may  yet 
waft  you  over  the  bosom  of  the  Atlantic,  and  then  you  shall  become  ac- 
quainted with  my  wife,  and  you  shall  see  that  fortune — fortune?  No !  the 
word  befits  not  a  sacred  theme — let  me  say  the  bounty  of  Him  who  has 
been  to  me  unsparingly  kind — gilds  with  a  celestial  beam  the  tranquil  even- 
ing of  my  day."  Some  18  months  after  the  date  of  Mrs.  Morris'  reply  to 
Randolph,  he  wrote  again  to  Parish  as  follows:  "I  lead  a  quiet,  and  more 
than  most  of  my  fellow-mortals,  a  happy,  life.  The  woman  to  whom  I  am 
married  has  much  genius,  has  been  well  educated,  and  possesses,  with  an 
affectionate  temper,  industry  and  love  of  order. ' '  Life  of  Gouvetneur  Morris, 
by  Tared  Sparks,  v.  1,  4Q4,  4Q$. 

P.  298  (a) 

In  a  letter  to  Joseph  C.  Cabell,  dated  Oct.  14,  1831,  Mrs.  Morris  said  that, 
if  she  held  out  until  her  son  was  of  age,  he  would  do  very  well,  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  fraud  and  falsehoods  of  David  Ogden  (a  grandnephew  of  her 
husband)  "whose  humble  tool  Jack  Randolph  became — a  man  who  cheated 
his  own  mother."  Univ.  of  Va.  Libr.  MSS.  We  know  of  no  evidence  to 
warrant  such  a  charge  against  Ogden,  but  the  testimony  of  William  Leigh 
in  the  Randolph  Will  Litigation  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  that  it  was 
Ogden  who  convinced  Randolph  that  Mrs.  Morris  was  leading  a  licentious 
life.  Leigh  deposed  that  in  1815  Randolph  had  read  to  him  some  of  the 
contents  of  a  letter  which  he  had  written  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris;  that  he 
asked  him  why  he  had  written  such  a  singular  letter,  and  that  Randolph 
said  that  he  had  been  persuaded  to  write  it  by  Ogden,  and  had  written  it 
because  Mr.  Morris  had  treated  Tudor  Randolph  with  great  kindness,  and 
that  he  thought  that  he  ought  to  inform  him  of  the  character  of  his  wife. 

P.  299  (a) 

Though  Mrs.  Morris  met  with  as  little  success  in  her  effort  to  utilize  the 
grudge  that  the  Cabell  brothers  had  against  Randolph  to  promote  her  own 
grudge  against  him  as  she  had  experienced  in  her  effort  to  avail  herself  of 
the  quarrel  between  Randolph  and  Giles  for  the  same  purpose,  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  she  had  a  promising  field  for  her  experiment;  for  the  langu- 
age employed  by  Randolph  in  one  of  the  notes  which  he  affixed  to  a  reprint 


Notes  773 

of  his  speech  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform  in  the  House  in  1828,  about 
William  H.  Cabell  was  as  belittling  as  any  that  even  his  scale  of  satirical 
diminuendo  could  supply.  "We  have  no  faith  on  the  Southside  of  James 
River,"  he  said,  "in  the  President  who  called  or  him  (William  H.  Cabell) 
who  presided  over  the  Richmond  Adams  Convention — the  successor  in  form 
of  Pendleton  and  Spencer  Roane.  Lichas  wielding  the  club  of  Hercules,  a 
man  who  does  not  endeavor  to  make  up  by  assiduity  and  study  for  the 
slenderness  of  his  capacity  and  his  utter  want  of  professional  learning  .  .  . 
Mr.  C.  is  as  strong  an  instance  of  this  (the  fortuitous  force  of  circumstances) 
as  Shakespeare  himself  could  have  adduced.  Hardly  a  second  rate  lawyer 
at  the  County  Court  Bar  of  Amherst  and  Buckingham,  sheer  accident 
made  him  Governor  of  Virginia;  happening  then  to  be  a  member  of  the 
Assembly  (when  a  very  obnoxious  character  was  held  up  for  the  office) ; 
possessing  good  temper  and  amiable  manners,  and  most  respectable  and 
powerful  connections — the  untying  of  a  member's  shoe  caused  him  to  be 
pitched  upon  to  keep  out  the  only  candidate.  With  that  exception  the 
office  was  going  a-begging.  Conducting  himself  most  unexceptionally  and 
inoffensively  as  Governor,  he  had  a  county,  and  one  of  the  finest  too  in  the 
State,  named  after  him  (if  it  had  been  called  after  his  uncle,  Old  Colonel 
Will  Cabell  of  Union  Hill,  all  would  have  cried  well  done!  Posterity  it  is 
to  be  hoped  will  know  no  better)  and  was  advanced  to  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
of  which  he  bids  fair  to  be  President ;  a  court  in  which  if  he  had  remained 
at  the  Bar  he  most  probably  would  never  have  obtained  a  brief."  Bouldin, 
312.  This,  of  course,  is  largely  caricature,  but  it  can  at  least  be  said  in 
defense  of  Randolph  that  the  Chairmanship  of  a  political  convention  was 
certainly  no  place  for  a  judge. 

P.  305  (•) 

This  was  not  the  only  occasion  on  which  the  hero  of  Tippecanoe  aroused 
Randolph's  sense  of  the  ludicrous.  "For  which  of  my  sins,"  he  wrote  to 
Theodore  Dudley,  "it  is  I  know  not  that  I  have  sustained  this  long  and 
heavy  persecution  (by  a  manoeuvring  lady)  more  hot  and  galling  than  the 
dreadful  fi re  which  killed  nine  of  General  Harrison's  mounted  rifleman." 
Jan.  24,  1 814,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  150. 

P.  313  (a) 

Randolph  had  more  than  one  prejudice  to  overcome  before  he  could 
become  truly  friendly  to  Pinkney.  When  the  latter  was  appointed  to 
supplement  Monroe  in  his  negotiations  with  the  British  Court,  Randolph 
wrote  to  James  M.  Garnett:  "I  hope  that  Mr.  Monroe  .  .  .  will  have 
concluded  all  matters  with  the  Couit  of  London  before  that  Federal  inter- 
loper, P.,  can  arrive  to  share  the  honor  which  does  not  belong  to  him." 
May  n,  1806,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  315  (<*) 

The  imprisonment  of  Aaron  Burr  in  Richmond  at  the  time  of  the  Burr 
Trial  elicited  this  tristful  observation  from  Randolph:  "He  was  last  night 


774  Notes 

lodged  in  the  common  town  jail  (we  have  no  State  prison  except  for  con- 
victs) where  I  dare  say  he  slept  sounder  than  I  did."  Richmond,  June  25, 
1807,  Letter  to  Jos.  H.  Nicholson,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong. 

P.  322  (a) 

Another  reference  by  Burges  to  the  same  subject — so  vague  as  to  suggest 
a  boy  who  has  loaded  a  gun  but  is  not  quite  certain  enough  of  himself  to  let 
it  off — is  supposed  by  his  enthusiastic  biographer  to  have  had  such  a  cowing 
effect  upon  Randolph  that  he  immediately  left  the  House  and  never  raised 
his  voice  in  it  again.  "Sir,  Divine  Providence  takes  care  of  his  own  Uni- 
verse. Moral  monsters  cannot  propagate  .  .  .  Impotent  of  everything 
but  malevolence  of  purpose,  they  can  no  otherwise  multiply  miseries  than 
by  blaspheming  all  that  is  pure  and  prosperous  and  happy.  Could  demon 
propagate  demon,  the  Universe  might  become  a  Pandemonium;  but  I  re- 
joice that  the  Father  of  Lies  can  never  become  the  Father  of  Liars.  One 
adversary  of  God  and  man  is  enough  for  one  Universe.  Too  much!  Oh! 
how  much  for  one  nation ! ' '  Memoir  of  Tristam  Burges,  by  Henry  L.  Bowen 
105. 

P.  331  («) 

There  is  much  additional  testimony  in  regard  to  the  extent  to  which 
Randolph  retained  his  brilliant  faculties  even  when  demented.  "He  spoke 
as  clearly  and  brilliantly  as  I  have  ever  heard  him,"  Wm.  M.  Watkins  testi- 
fied in  the  Randolph  Will  Litigation  as  to  the  conversation  of  Randolph  in 
the  early  part  of  1832.  According  to  William  B.  Banks,  of  Halifax  Co., 
Va.,  after  Randolph's  return  from  Russia,  he  was  "splendidly  mad." 
George  P.  Coleman,  MSS. 

P.  332  (a) 

A  part  of  the  testimony,  rendered  by  General  Winfield  Scott  in  the 
Randolph  Will  Litigation,  has  an  important  bearing  on  this  point.  Once, 
he  says,  Randolph  in  his  desire  to  let  him  realize  just  how  he  would  have 
answered  an  antagonist  in  the  House  (Daniel  Sheffey),  if  he  had  had  the  full 
chance  to  do  so,  asked  him  to  sit  as  Speaker  to  hear  his  reply.  Then  for 
thirty  minutes  or  more  Randolph  poured  forth  as  rich  a  volume  of  indignant 
and  yet  connected  eloquence  as  the  General  had  ever  heard  from  his  lips, 
but  soon  mistook  him  in  his  vehemence  for  his  antagonist  in  the  debate, 
with  the  result  that  the  General  had  some  difficulty  before  leaving  him  for 
the  night  to  disabuse  his  mind  of  its  impression. 

P.  344  (°) 

The  good  will  of  Randolph  for  the  people  of  Amelia  County  was  not  so 
far  won  by  the  kindness,  of  which  he  was  the  recipient  in  that  County,  that 
he  could  not  say  of  them  in  a  letter  to  Theodore  Dudley:  "Those  people 
dislike  business,  love  amusement,  and  the  issue  need  not  be  foretold." 
Jan.  17,  1822,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  236. 


Notes  775 

p.  344  m 

Writing  to  James  M.  Garnett  from  Roanoke,  on  Nov.  I, 1823,  Randolph 
said :  "I  am  embosomed  in  woods — oaks,  hickories,  elms,  pines,  black  gums, 
red  buds,  &c,  grapevine,  sweet  briars,  green  briars,  &c,  and  nothing  can  be 
more  charming  than  their  present  appearance.  One  thriving  young  oak 
'occludes'  (as  St.  Thomas  of  CanU'wgbury  would  say)  the  only  window  of 
my  bed  chamber  whose  shutters  are  unclosed  at  night,  and  the  effect  is  so 
grateful  that  when  I  sleep  abroad,  on  awaking  in  the  morning,  I  feel  as  if 
I  had  come  out  of  darkness  to  a  strong  artificial  light."  James  M.  Garnett, 
Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  352  (a) 

"After  dinner  I  sit  over  my  fruit  and  wine  without  the  company  even  of 
a  solitary  fly.  These,  although  I  can't  manage  their  Hessian  namesakes,  I 
have  nearly  extirpated  here."  J.  R.  to  James  M.  Garnett,  Roanoke,  Sept. 
10,  1823,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  353  (a) 

The  missing  element  in  the  Roanoke  larder  was  an  abundance  of  fish. 
At  that  time,  of  course,  fish  could  not  be  transported  for  any  great  distance, 
and,  apparently,  shad  and  other  sea  fish  were  unable  to  run  up  the  Roanoke 
higher  than  a  certain  plantation  just  above  Weldon,  where  they  were  caught 
in  vast  numbers ;  but  this  was  many  miles  below  Roanoke.  Reminiscences 
of  John  Randolph  Bryan,  Bryan  MSS.  The  Staunton  itself  is  usually 
very  muddy  and  is  stocked  mainly  with  the  fish  known  locally  as  the  "Red- 
eye," the  "River  Jack"  and  the  "Sorrel  Horse."  "This  climate,"  Ran- 
dolph once  wrote  to  James  M.  Garnett,  "has  avenged  the  wrongs  of  my  red 
ancestors  as  the  gullies,  old  fields  and  rivers  of  mud  (Ashless)  have  that 
of  the  African  slave  trade.  God  is  just!  Crime  insures  punishment!" 
March  4,  1826,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  Fish,  usually  a  single  one,  and 
once  a  "Red-eye"  a  foot  long,  are  mentioned  occasionally  in  Randolph's 
journals.  A  gift  of  a  fish,  which  a  man  whom  he  hardly  knew  had  sent  him 
from  a  point  8  miles  away,  was  received  by  him  gratefully  enough  to  be 
noted  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough.  Roanoke,  May  75,  1827, 
Garland,  v.  2,  2Qi. 

P.  354  (<*) 

"Immediately  after  the  adjournment  (of  Congress),"  Randolph  once 
wrote  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  "I  shall  travel — perhaps  take  a  sea  voyage, 
not  to  get  rid  of  duns  (although  the  wolf  will  be  at  my  door  in  the  shape 
of  the  man  I  bought  that  land  of)  but  to  take  the  only  chance  of  prolonging 
a  life  that  I  trust  is  now  not  altogether  useless."  Feb.  23,  1820,  Garland, 
v.  2,  132. 

P.  357  (a) 

Buck  Spring,  Macon's  home  in  North  Carolina,  presented  very  much  the 
same  glaring  incongruity  as  Roanoke.     Randolph's  idea  of  living  in  two 


776  Notes 


houses  was  improved  upon  to  such  an  extent  that  a  group  of  no  less  than  a 
half  dozen  log  structures  constituted  the  domestic  establishment  of  Macon; 
one  of  which  served  as  a  kitchen,  another  as  a  dining  room ;  and  so  on ;  but, 
crude  as  these  buildings  were,  he  is  said  to  have  possessed  a  large  quantity 
of  old  wine,  silver,  cut  glass  and  fine  linen;  and  a  stud  of  thoroughbreds  at 
which  even  Randolph  could  hardly  have  cavilled.  Life  of  Jefferson,  by 
Randall,  v.  2,  665,  {note  1).  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  a  more 
virtuous  man  than  Macon  ever  held  public  office  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  his  goodness  and  tenderness  of  heart,  not  unlike  that  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  together  with  his  native  wisdom  and  quaint  felicity  of 
speech,  was  due  the  fact  that  his  hold  upon  the  confidence  and  affection  of 
the  people  of  North  Carolina  was  so  tenacious.  That  such  a  man  should 
have  cherished  a  love  so  profound  for  Randolph  is  proof  enough  that, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  rind  of  Randolph's  character,  its  core  was 
essentially  sound.  To  James  M.  Garnett  Randolph  once  wrote  of  Macon: 
"His  innumerable,  nameless  little  attentions  and  kindnesses,  springing 
directly  from  the  heart,  shews  that  age  has  no  power  in  chilling  his  bene- 
volent feelings."  Dec.  31,  1822,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  And  Thomas 
H.  Benton  testified  in  the  Randolph  Will  Litigation  that,  when  Randolph's 
mind  was  unhinged,  the  fact  that  Macon  observed  it  was  manifest  only  "in 
an  increased  kindness  and  soothing  tenderness." 

P.  357  (b) 

It  is  manifest  that  the  total  value  of  Randolph's  estate  depends  not  a 
little  on  the  average  figure  that  is  employed  in  multiplying  the  whole  num- 
ber of  his  slaves.  The  prevailing  prices  for  negroes  in  Southside  Virginia  in 
1828  was,  say  $250.00  for  a  young  woman,  and  $300.00  to  $400.00  for  a 
young  man.  James  Bruce  to  M.  Brame,  Oct.  13,  1828,  Malcolm  G.  Bruce 
MSS.  But  in  1828  Randolph  declared  in  the  House  that,  when  cotton  had 
sold  at  $30.00  per  hundred  pounds,  he  had  known  a  common  field  hand  to 
bring  as  much  as  $1200.00.  Reg.  of  Debates,  1827-28,  v.  4  Part  1,  112Q 
In  one  of  his  answers  in  the  Randolph  Will  Litigation  Beverley  Tucker  re 
f erred  to  Randolph's  estate  as  a  "vast"  one. 

P.  359  (a) 

"Rain  all  around  us,"  "Fine  rain  last  night,  thanks  be  to  God! "  are  two 
entries  in  his  journals  that  reveal  the  suspense  of  a  severe  drought,  and  the 
devout  joy  awakened  by  its  cessation. 

P.  377  (a) 

Randolph  was  intimate  with  more  than  one  of  the  Mortons  of  Charlotte 
and  Prince  Edward  Counties,  and  he  is  said  to  have  entertained  a  peculiar 
respect  for  Major  James  Morton,  of  "  Willington,"  Prince  Edward  County. 
The  Major's  sobriquet  in  the  Revolutionary  Army  was  "Solid  Column" — 
a  name  which  had  its  origin  in  his  stocky  build.  He  was  well  known  to 
Lafayette  during  the  American  Revolution,  and,  when  he  advanced  to  pay 
his  respects  to  the  latter  at  a  reception  given  to  the  latter  at  Richmond. 


Notes  777 

during  one  of  his  post-Revolutionary  visits  to  the  United  States,  Lafayette 
at  once  recognized  him,  and,  stepping  forward,  held  out  both  hands  to  him 
cordially,  and  exclaimed:  "Vy  old  soleed  coluume.  I  am  'appy  to  see 
you."     Marion  Harland's  Autobiography,  17. 

P.  379  (a) 

"You  who  have  a  kindly  heart,"  is  the  casual  tribute  paid  on  one  occa- 
sion by  Joseph  Bryan  to  the  personal  character  of  Randolph.  July  16, 
1809,  Bryan  MSS. 

P.  381  (a) 

Although  a  devoted  equestrian,  I  fell  far  short  of  him  who  was  as  much 
at  home  on  horseback  as  an  Arab.     Autobiog.  of  Martin  Van  Bur  en,  429. 

P.  381  (b) 

To  the  same  effect  is  the  testimony  of  Nathan  Loughborough  in  the 
Randolph  Will  Litigation.  "On  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  he 
fought  with  Mr.  Clay,  I  saw  him  at  his  lodgings.  He  then  appeared  to  be 
very  cheerful,  not  at  all  excited,  made  some  remarks  on  'the  paper  system' 
and  its  probable  fate,  talked  of  blooded  horses,  and  upon  no  other  subject 
that  I  now  recollect." 

P.  384  (a) 

James  Schouler,  and  his  History  of  the  United  States  under  the  Con- 
stitution, are  to  be  credited  in  their  attempt  to  delineate  the  character  of 
Randolph  with  an  elaborate  conceit  worthy  of  the  age  of  Cowley  and 
Donne:  "In  a  few  vivid  passages  his  genius  gleamed  mischievously  out 
like  a  Lucifer  in  armor  passing  some  sunny  aperture  in  his  dark  and 
fathomless  descent."  v.  3,  368.  While  duplicity  was  entirely  foreign  to 
Randolph's  nature,  his  intense  pride  of  character  did  offer  at  times  an 
"inflexible  resistance  to  everything  like  attempts  to  read  his  motives  or 
thoughts."  Autobiog.  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  426.  In  Van  Buren's  case, 
this  occasional  inscrutability  was  perhaps  due  in  part  to  Randolph's 
knowledge  of  Van  Buren's  own  peculiarities.  He  is  said  to  have  once  told 
the  latter  that  he  could  look  at  nothing,  but  only  over  or  under  or  around  it. 
Nathan  Loughborough  MSS. 

P.  395  (*) 

Randolph  was  not  easily  outmatched  even  by  a  termagant  quean.  "My 
servants  here,"  he  wrote  on  one  occasion  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  "have  been 
corrupted  by  dealing  with  a  very  bad  woman  that  keeps  an  ordinary  near 
me.  Twenty  odd  years  ago  I  saw  her,  then  about  16,  come  into  Charlotte 
Court  to  choose  a  very  handsome  young  fellow  of  two  and  twenty  for  her 
guardian,  whom  she  married  that  night.  She  was  then  as  beautiful  a 
creature  as  ever  I  saw  (some  remains  yet  survive).  They  reminded  me  of 
Annette  and  Lubin.  But  alas!  Lubin  became  a  whiskey  sot,  and  Annette 
a  double  you.     Her  daughters  are  following  the  same  vocation,  and  her 


778  Notes 

house  is  a  public  nuisance.  I  have  been  obliged  to  go  there  and  lecture  her. 
At  first  she  was  fierce,  but  I  reminded  her  of  the  time  when  she  chose  her 
guardian,  extolled  her  beauty,  told  her  that  I  could  not  make  war  upon  a 
woman,  and  that  with  a  widow — that  if  she  wanted  anything  she  might 
command  much  more  from  me  as  a  gentleman  by  a  request  than  she  could 
make  by  trafficking  with  my  slaves.  She  burst  into  tears,  promised  to  do  so 
no  more  and  that  I  might,  in  case  of  a  repetition  of  her  offence,  'do  with 
her  as  I  pleased. '  Her  tears  disarmed  me  and  I  withdrew  my  threat  of 
depriving  her  of  her  license,  etc.,  etc.  Voila  un  reman.'"  Roanoke,  May 
30,  1828,  Garland,  v.  2,  308.  On  one  occasion  Randolph  is  said  to  have 
applied  his  fingers  to  his  nose  when  accosted  by  the  scurrilous  Mrs.  Anna 
Royall.  Boaldin,  77.  But  the  reader  should  not  pass  judgment  upon  this 
contumelious  gesture  until  he  has  read  Mrs.  Royall's  "Black  Book." 

P.  403  (a) 

"  Mrs.  Fitzhugh  too  is  one  of  my  old  and  greatly  admired  female  friends. 
So  is  'my  good  friend  Mrs.  H.'  You  never  mention  another  old  friend  of 
mine,  Mrs.  Carrington.  Should  you  see  her  make  my  best  respects  and 
regards."     To  Eliz.  T.  Coalter,  Feb.  10,  1823,  Bryan  MSS. 

P.  404  (a) 

Another  woman  who  was  very  much  admired  by  Randolph  was  Mrs. 
Rush  of  Philadelphia :  ' '  She  is  indeed  a  fine  woman, ' '  he  wrote  to  Theodore 
Dudley.  "One  for  whom  I  have  felt  a  true  regard  unmixed  with  the  foible 
of  another  passion.  Fortunately,  or  unfortunately  for  me,  when  I  knew  her 
'I  bore  a  charmed  heart. ' "     July  21,  1811,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  gj. 

P.  409  (a) 

"I  never  in  all  my  professional  practice  had  a  more  agreeable  sitter.  He 
sat  to  me  for  three  different  pictures."  Chester  Harding,  My  Egotisti- 
graphy,  145. 

P.  412  (a) 

In  the  course  of  his  remarkable  speech  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of 
1829-30,  on  the  basis  of  representation,  Mr.  Morris  said  that,  upon  the 
principle  of  the  Western  members,  the  Thirteen  Colonies,  if  they  had  been 
allowed  representation  by  England,  would  not  have  been  accorded  more 
than  twenty  or  twenty-five  representatives  in  the  British  Parliament;  thirty 
perhaps.  "Here,"  observes  the  official  reporter  of  the  Debates  of  the 
Convention  (P.  115)  "a  shrill  and  very  peculiar  voice  was  heard  to  say: 
'Less  than  the  county  of  Wilts. ' " 

P.  415  (a) 

"My  passion  for  tobacco  (like  that  for  play  15  years  ago),"  Randolph 
wrote  on  one  occasion  to  James  M.  Garnett,  "has  entirely  deserted  me." 
Dec.  25,  1800,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  In  an  earlier  letter  to  Tazewell,  in 
which  he  made  an  incidental  reference  to  his  old  bete-noir,  Maury,  he  dis- 


Notes  779 


closes  the  fact  that  he  was  a  snuff -taker  too.  "Not  that  I  have  anything 
of  that  little  wasp's  passion  for  castigation, "  he  said,  "but  I  go  to  sleep 
after  dinner  maugre  my  snuff  box."  June  8,  1804,  L.  W.  Tazewell,  Jr., 
MSS. 

P.  423  (a) 

Describing  the  occasion,  Randolph  said:  "We  had  no  riot,  no  fuss, 
no  dancing,  no  great  supper,  and,  what  is  more  uncommon,  no  bawdry. 
We  retired  to  cards  soon  after  the  ceremony  was  over;  refreshments,  the 
very  best  of  their  kind,  both  light  and  substantial,  were  on  an  adjacent 
sideboard,  and  occasionally  handed  round,  just  as  you  chose  them;  and  we 
were  all  as  easy  as  if  we  had  been  in  my  apartments  at  Crawford's.  The 
Governor,  who  did  not  play,  occasionally  went  out  of  the  room,  and  finally 
made  his  escape  without  being  missed.  You  are  not  mistaken  in  Macon. 
In  a  full  suit  of  broadcloth,  striped  silk  stockings  and  dress  shoes,  his 
countenance  beaming  with  benevolence,  and  his  voice  softened  by  the 
occasion,  he  went  through  his  part  with  an  elevation  of  manner  that 
delighted  me.  Whilst  we  were  dressing,  'they  have  both  been  twice 
married'  said  he,  and,  if  they  have  not  yet  found  out  for  what  it  was  in- 
stituted, I  shall  not  tell  them.  They  are  not  tyros."  J.  R.  to  James  M. 
Garnett,  Sept.  28,  18 10,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  424  (a) 

"We  have  been  lounging  a  la  Virginienne  at  the  house  of  a  friend  about  a 
day  and  a  half's  ride."  J.  R.  to  Francis  Scott  Key,  Oct.  25, 1816,  Garland, 
v.  2,  89. 

P.  428  (a) 

One  of  his  last  thrusts  at  "Yankees"  was  given  on  his  death  bed.  He 
descanted  upon  the  honesty  of  his  servant  John;  said  that  he  was  then  in 
possession  of  all  the  money  that  he  had  with  him,  and  concluded  by  con- 
trasting him  with  the  "Yankee,"  who,  if  entrusted  with  a  similar  sum, 
would  soon  be  off  to  Canada  with  it.  Reminiscences  of  Dr.  Francis  West, 
J.  C.  Grinnan  MSS. 

P.  430  (a) 

An  observation  made  by  Madame  de  Neuville  created  a  profound 
impression  upon  Randolph's  mind.  "Madame  de  Neuville,"  he  said  in  a 
letter  to  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter,  "who  feeds  many  of  the  poor  here  has  a 
maxim  that  ought  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold;  that,  when  the  rich  are 
sick,  they  ought  to  be  starved,  but,  when  the  poor  are  sick,  they  ought  to  be 
well  fed,  and  'nourished  with  wine,'  etc."     Feb.  5,  1822,  Bryan  MSS. 

P.  434  (<*) 

The  author  has  endeavored  by  correspondence  and  otherwise  to  trace 
all  the  letters  written  by  Randolph  to  the  various  persons  to  whom  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  writing  letters.     Those  written  by  him  to  Benjamin  Watkins 


780  Notes 

Leigh  and  Mark  Alexander  were  deliberately  destroyed.  In  a  letter  to 
Francis  N.  Watkins,  dated  June  5,  1856,  (Univ.  of  Va.  Libr.)  Judge  William 
Leigh  stated  that  in  several  conversations  Randolph  requested  him  to 
destroy  after  his  death  all  letters  that  he  had  received,  except  such  as  had 
been  written  by  politicians ;  and  that,  as  soon  as  he  had  qualified  as  executor, 
he  destroyed  them  all,  without  exception.  We  entertain  a  great  respect  for 
the  memory  of  Judge  Leigh,  but  this  letter  reminds  us  of  the  well-known 
remark  of  Henry  W.  Grady,  of  Georgia,  in  his  speech  before  the  New 
England  Club  of  New  York,  on  Dec.  21,  1886,  that  General  Sherman  was 
considered  an  able  man  in  his  parts,  though  some  people  thought  that  he 
was  a  kind  of  careless  man  about  fire.  Life  of  Henry  W.  Grady,  by  Harris, 
87.  Among  the  letters  destroyed  by  Judge  Leigh,  were  doubtless  Ran- 
dolph's own  letters  to  Joseph  Bryan,  which  we  know  were  returned  to 
Randolph  by  Bryan's  widow,  {Bryan  MSS.)  and  Randolph's  letters  to  Stan- 
ford.    /.  R.  to  James  M.  Garnett,  Apr.  23,  18 16,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  450  (°) 

One  of  the  severest  shocks  ever  given  to  Randolph's  fastidious  habits  of 
pronunciation  was  the  barbarous  manner  in  which  Ritchie,  the  editor  of  the 
Richmond  Enquirer,  pronounced  the  name  of  the  Dutch  Minister  during 
Andrew  Jackson's  time:  "Your  friend  the  Baron  Huygens,"  he  once 
wrote  to  Van  Buren,  "  (whom  Ritchie,  etc.  etc.,  persist  in  calling  'Huggins' 
to  my  great  annoyance)  to. whom  I  beg  to  be  most  respectfully  presented, 
can  give  you  all  the  information  I  want."  Roanoke,  June  1,  1830,  Van 
Buren  Papers. 

P.  458  (<*) 

Another  child,  in  whom  he  took  the  warmest  interest,  was  a  son  of  his 
friend,  Dr.  Robinson,  to  whom  he  referred  in  his  letters  to  Theodore  Dudley 
as  his  "little  friend  Will ";  or  his  "little  friend  William."  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.f 
Feb.  28,  and  March  18,  1808,  47  and  51. 

P.  472  (a) 

"  Nonum  prematur  in  annum,  is  the  maxim  of  the  great  Roman  critic. 
I  do  not  see  therefore  why  you  should  not  keep  your  compositions  at  least 
half  as  many  days  instead  of  sending  me  what  you  have  just  scribbled  off  in 
a  hurry,  without  time  perhaps  to  read  it  over  once."  Letter  to  Theodore 
Dudley,  March  30,  1808,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  58. 

P.  485  (<*) 

"  I  never  did  'distrust  your  affection  for  me'  until  the  summer  before  last. 
The  surprise  and  anguish  which  then  overwhelmed  me  you  witnessed.  I 
would  not  recall  such  recollections  (it  is  the  office  of  friendship  to  bury 
them  in  oblivion)  but  to  put  you  in  possession  of  the  clew  to  my  feelings 
and  conduct.  I  viewed  you  as  one  ready  and  willing  from  the  impulse  of 
your  own  pride  to  repay  what  you  considered  a  debt  of  gratitude  whilst  you 
held  the  creditor  in  aversion  and  contempt  that  you  could  not  at  all  times 


Notes  781 

restrain  yourself  from  expressing  by  signs  and  even  by  words."     J.  R. 
Theodore  Dudley,  Dec.  19,  18 19,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  206. 

P.  493  fa) 

In  Southside  Virginia,  during  Randolph's  time,  it  was  the  usage  to  make 
deceased  persons  the  subjects  of  funeral  sermons,  and  in  some  instances 
quite  a  time  after  they  had  been  interred.  Among  such  instances  were  the 
funeral  sermons  preached  in  regard  to  Tudor  Randolph  and  Dr.  Bathurst 
Randolph. 

P.  495  (a) 

One  of  the  most  touching  things  about  the  relations  of  Randolph  to  St. 
George  was  his  eagerness  to  promote  any  evidence  of  intellectual  aptitude 
that  he  saw  in  him,  such  as  a  turn  for  drawing  or  wood  carving.  "St. 
George,"  he  wrote  exultingly  to  Theodore  Dudley  on  one  occasion,  "has 
turned  an  ivory  chessman  (a  castle)  superior  to  the  European  model." 
Roanoke,  Aug.  12,  181 1,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  98. 

P.  495  (b) 

Apparently  Randolph  hoped  at  one  time  that  either  St.  George  or  Tudor 
and  Sally,  the  sister  of  Theodore  Dudley,  would  make  a  match  of  it.  "  Poor 
Sally!"  he  said  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Theodore,  "I  had  flattered  myself 
that  she  would  return  to  Virginia  and  make  one  of  our  family."  Feb.  18, 
18 1 6,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  174. 

P.  501  (a) 

Skates,  fish-hooks,  and  Christmas  boxes,  are  among  the  many  things 
which  we  find  Randolph,  from  time  to  time,  purchasing  for  the  youthful 
charges  who  happened  to  be  under  his  roof  exactly  as  if  they  were  his  sons. 

P.  506  (a) 

Another  indication  of  the  keen  interest  felt  by  Randolph  in  young  persons 
of  both  sexes  is  found  in  his  references  to  a  sister  of  Theodore  Dudley,  of 
whom  he  sometimes  speaks  as  "  my  favorite  Fanny. ' '  Dec.  27, 18 14,  Letters 
to  a  Y.  R.,  170. 

P.  514  (a) 

It  is  said  that  on  the  night  before  the  duel  between  Randolph  and  Clay, 
Randolph  came  into  the  hotel  room  at  Washington  in  which  his  brother, 
Henry,  who  did  not  know  that  the  duel  was  impending,  was,  and  leaning 
over  him,  as  he  lay  in  bed,  said :  "God  bless  you  Hal. "  Bishop  Beverley 
D.  Tucker  MSS. 

P.  520  (a) 

In  one  of  his  letters  to  Theodore  Dudley,  Randolph  said  of  Polly :  "She 
is  a  good  creature  as  ever  breathed,  knows  nothing  of  megrims,  hartshorn, 


782  Notes 


spirits  of  lavender,  laudanum,  nor  fits"    Roanoke,  Nov.  30,  1810,  Letters 
to  a  Y.  R.,  80. 

P.  581  (a) 

"That  old  sinner  of  'Marland'",  he  termed  Samuel  Smith,  in  a  letter  to 
Dr.  John  Brockenbrough  of  Jan.  4,  1822.    Garland  v.  2.  157. 

P.  582  (a) 

In  a  letter  to  William  Henry  Harrison,  Gallatin  once  took  occasion  to 
deny  that  he  had  ever  said  that  Randolph  was  under  the  British  influence. 
"No  man,"  he  declared,  "is  more  free  of  extraneous  influence  of  any 
kind  than  he  is."  Sept.  27,  1809,  Writings  of  Gallatin,  ed.  by  Henry 
Adams,  v.  1,  463. 

P.  587  («) 

"  Poor  N.  is  destroyed  body  and  mind  by  paralysis,"  Randolph  wrote  to 
Theodore  Dudley  from  Baltimore.     Feb.  18,  1816,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  174. 

P.  590  (a) 

In  a  letter  to  James  M.  Garnett,  dated  April  14,  18 12,  Randolph  used  the 
words  "A  quondam  friend  of  mine  in  Maryland."  He  doubtless  meant 
Nicholson.     J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  591  («) 

In  a  letter,  dated  Feb.  5,  1807,  Randolph,  after  saying  that  the  infernal 
climate  of  Washington  would  sooner  or  later  be  the  death  of  half  of  them — a 
result  that  might  be  of  great  public  advantage,  he  added,  if  the  selection  of 
victims  were  judiciously  made — prayed  God  that  he  would  at  least  take 
Nicholson's  headpiece  into  his  Holy  Keeping.    Nicholson  MSS.  Libr.  Cong. 

P.  592  (a) 

In  their  letters  to  each  other,  Randolph  and  Garnett,  who  was  an  excel- 
lent letter  writer,  had  nicknames  for  certain  individuals.  Jefferson  was, 
"St.  Thomas  of  Cantingbury  " ;  John  Taylor  of  Caroline,  "Trismegistus"; 
Richard  Stanford  of  North  Carolina,  "Win  Jenkins";  and  John  Nicholas, 
of  Richmond,  "Falconi." 

P.  594  (<0 

When  Macon  was  about  to  die,  true  to  the  simplicity  of  character — 
"white  simplicity"  Keats  calls  it — which  is  so  charming  to  every  truly 
unsophisticated  human  being  when  blended  with  real  moral  and  mental 
superiority,  he  not  only  called  for  the  bill  of  his  physician  and  paid  it,  but 
paid  his  undertaker  for  his  prospective  services  too.  Nathaniel  Macon, 
by  Wm.  E.  Dodd,  398. 

P.  601  (a) 

In  a  letter  to  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  John  Randolph  said  that  Lang- 
don  was  the  only  man  from  "the  universal  Yankee  nation  "  that  he  had  ever 


Notes  783 


found  true  as  steel,  under  all  circumstances.      Feb.  22,  1826,  Littleton 
Waller  Tazewell,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  612  (a) 

For  still  other  New  England  men  Randolph  entertained  a  great  admir- 
ation. One  was  Roger  Sherman,  "who  had  scarcely  his  superior  in  saga- 
city," he  once  said.  Reg.  of  Deb.,  1827-28,  v.  4,  Part  1,  948.  Another 
was  one  of  his  own  contemporaries,  James  Burrill.  The  day  before  the 
death  of  Burrill,  Randolph  wrote  to  Francis  W.  Gilmer:  "Mr.  Burrill,  of 
the  Senate  (from  Rhode  Island),  lies  very  ill,  and  I  fear  will  make  the  third 
loss  in  Congress  this  winter.  He  is  a  very  able  and  amiable  man.  Mr. 
King  and  Mr.  Pinkney  are  the  only  members  of  the  Senate  that  may  be 
considered  equal  (perhaps  superior)  to  him."     Dec.  24,  1820,  Bryan  MSS. 

P.  621  (a) 

Notwithstanding  the  miff  disclosed  by  the  letter  from  Randolph  to  Key, 
the  friendship  between  Lloyd  and  Randolph  remained  unbroken.  In 
Randolph's  letters  are  occasional  references  to  Lloyd's  "jollifications,"  as 
Randolph  once  termed  them;  and  on  one  occasion  James  M.  Garnett,  who 
also  knew  Lloyd  well,  wrote  to  Randolph  that  he  longed  for  something  with 
which  to  dissipate  his  "humor,"  as  much  as  ever  a  breeding  lady,  or  their 
friend  Lloyd,  did  for  their  peppermint  and  magnesia.  July  21 ,  18 10,  J.  M. 
Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  Lloyd's  habits,  however,  were  no  more  convivial  than 
became  the  master  of  Wye,  and  a  link  in  a  long  chain  of  high-bred  and  hospi- 
table gentleman.  At  one  time  or  another,  he  was  Governor  of  Maryland, 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  a  member  of  the  United 
States  Senate,  and  he  was  highly  respected  in  both  public  and  private  life. 

P.  623  (a) 

"I  can  hardly  figure  to  myself  the  ideal  of  a  Republican  statesman  more 
perfect  and  complete  than  he  (John  Taylor  of  Caroline)  was  in  reality — 
plain  and  solid,  a  wise  counsellor,  a  ready  and  vigorous  debater,  acute  and 
comprehensive,  ripe  in  all  historical  and  political  knowledge,  innately 
Republican,  modest,  courteous,  benevolent,  hospitable,  a  skilful  practical 
farmer  giving  his  time  to  his  farm  and  his  books  when  not  called  by  an 
emergency  to  the  public  service,  and  returning  to  his  books  and  his  farm 
when  the  emergency  was  over.  His  whole  character  was  announced  in 
his  looks  and  deportment  and  in  his  uniform  (Senatorial)  dress — the  coat, 
waistcoat  and  pantaloons  of  the  same  'London  brown',  and  in  the  cut  of  a 
former  fashion — beaver  hat  with  ample  brim — fine  white  linen — and  a  gold- 
headed  cane,  carried  not  for  show  but  for  use  and  support  when  walking 
and  bending  under  the  heaviness  of  years."  30  Years  View,  by  Benton 
(1864),  45- 

P.  630  (a) 

Gilmer  fully  shared  Randolph's  aversion  to  the  institution  of  slavery. 
"I  begin  to  be  impatient  to  see  Virginia  once  more,"  he  wrote  to  William 


784  Notes 

Wirt  from  England,  "It  is  more  like  England  than  any  other  part  of  the 
United  States — slavery  non  obstante.  Remove  that  stain,  blacker  than  the 
Ethiopian's  skin,  and  annihilate  our  political  schemers,  and  it  would  be 
the  fairest  realm  on  which  the  sun  ever  shone."  July,  16,  1824,  Trent's 
English  Culture  in  Virginia,  68. 

P.  633  (a) 

Two  very  handsome  tributes  to  Randolph  were  brought  out  by  the 
testimony  in  the  Randolph  Will  Litigation.  "He  was  an  accomplished 
gentleman, ' '  John  Taliaferro  testified.  ' '  In  fine, ' '  declared  Nathan  Lough- 
borough, "I  believe  Mr.  Randolph  while  living  (it  is  still  my  belief)  to  have 
been  among  the  most  wise,  honest  and  sagacious  of  his  species." 

P.  637  (a) 

Few  things  have  been  circulated  more  widely  in  Randolph's  District  than 
words  of  commendation  written  by  him  about  one  of  his  neighbors.  A 
letter  from  his  pen  which  was  long,  if  it  is  not  still  preserved,  was  one  which 
he  gave  to  his  neighbor  Elisha  E.  Hundley  introducing  him  to  John 
Rowan,  of  Kentucky.  "Mr.  Hundley,"  the  letter  said,  "is  a  plain,  in- 
dustrious quiet  man,  who  minds  his  own  affairs  and  does  not  meddle  with 
other  people's  business."     Bouldin,  230. 

P.  640  (a) 

"His  (Littleton  Waller  Tazewell's)  perceptions  are  as  intuitive  and  as 
strong  as  those  of  Mr.  Marshall.  He  has  as  much  intrepidity  of  intellect 
as  Mr.  Pinkney,  and  great  boldness,  but  no  insolence;  no  exultation  of 
manner.  He  wants  only  ambition  to  make  him  rival,  nay,  perhaps,  even  to 
surpass,  the  accomplished  champion  of  the  Federal  Bar."  Sketches  by 
Francis  W.  Gilmer,  36.  Indeed  Gilmer  said  in  the  same  sketch,  that 
Tazewell  was  endowed  with  the  best  and  most  various  gifts  that  he  had 
ever  known  to  concur  in  any  individual. 

P.  670  (a) 

Randolph  once  said  sarcastically  in  the  House  that  the  excellence  of  the 
postal  establishment  in  his  District  was  such  that  a  broad-wheeled  wagon, 
ladened  with  two  heavy  hogsheads  of  tobacco,  would  go  from  his  house 
to  Richmond  in  a  day  and  a  half  less  time  than  the  mail  did;  which  was 
besides  only  weekly.  A .  of  C,  18 16-17,  v.  2,  466.  Some  nine  or  ten  years 
later,  he  declared  in  the  House  that  he  could  not  get  a  reply  to  Washington 
from  Halifax  County,  in  Southside  Virginia,  under  three  weeks,  even  if 
there  were  no  miscarriage  of  the  mail;  but  that  the  Postmaster  General 
had  promised  to  establish  a  bi-weekly  mail  which  would  bring  a  reply  in 
10  days. 

P.  676  (a) 

In  1804  he  had  five  horses  in  training  for  the  race  track.  Letter  to  Jos. 
H.  Nicholson,  Aug.  27,  1804,  Nicholson  MSS.,  Libr.  Cong.    And  in  his 


Notes  785 

Autobiography,  Van  Buren  tells  us  that  Randolph  was  the  owner  at  the  time 
of  his  death  of  more  than  100  horses  altogether.     421. 

P.  676  (b) 

"Miss  W.  (his  mare  Wildfire)  and  Mr.  R.  are  both  equally  ignorant  who 
'King  Caucus'  is,"  he  once  wrote  to  Martin  Van  Buren.  " If  a  horse  at  all 
points  his  company  would  be  peculiarly  acceptable  to  the  lady  at  this 
juncture,  who  is  pining  for  the  loss  of  her  late  companion."  Van  Buren 
Papers,  Libr.  Cong. 

P.  680  (a) 

Describing  the  departure  of  Randolph,  on  one  occasion,  from  Washing- 
ton with  a  young  spaniel  that  some  friend  had  doubtless  given  to  him, 
Nathaniel  Macon  wrote  to  Weldon  N.  Edwards:  "He  carried  with  him  a 
puppy  of  the  same  kind,  scarcely  large  enough  to  follow  his  chair  in  which 
he  went."     May  2,  1828,  N.  C.  Hist.  Soc.  Papers. 

P.  682  (a) 

In  a  characteristic  message  to  Theodore  Dudley,  Randolph  once  wrote: 
"Beverley  and  Polly  desire  their  best  regards  to  you,  so  do  Carlo,  Echo  and 
Dido,  and  also  little  Dash,  who  arrived  last  night  in  the  wagon. "  Roanoke, 
Oct.  2Q,  18 10,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,73. 

P.  687  (a) 

"Bodily  motion  seems  to  be  some  relief  to  mental  uneasiness,  and  I  was 
delighted  yesterday  morning  to  hear  that  the  snipes  are  come."  /.  R.  to 
Francis  Scott  Key,  Mar.  2,  i8iq,  Garland,  v.  2,  96. 

P.  688  (a) 

On  one  occasion,  when  shooting,  he  met  with  an  accident  which,  we 
cannot  but  be  surprised,  should  not  have  happened  oftener  before  the 
invention  of  the  breech-loading  gun.  After  telling  his  friend  Garnett  how 
one  of  his  toes  had  been  completely  crushed  by  the  newly-shod  hoof  of  a 
horse,  he  said:  "Although  I  could  bear  neither  boot  nor  shoe  on  the 
wounded  foot,  I  soon  made  a  shift  to  go  a-shooting  on  horseback.  On 
reloading  my  piece,  the  powder  took  fire,  as  I  poured  it  into  the  barrel,  and, 
communicating  to  the  flask,  which  had  been  previously  filled,  it  blew  up 
with  a  horrible  explosion.  Brunette,  whose  ears  were  smartly  singed, 
started  and  set  off  at  a  pretty  brisk  gate.  Although  I  lost  neither  my  seat 
nor  my  gun,  yet,  my  right  hand  being  wholly  useless,  I  was  compelled  to 
drop  the  latter  in  order  to  seize  the  reins  which  I  had  no  other  means  of 
shortening  but  by  the  assistance  of  my  teeth."  Roanoke,  Nov.  6,  18 10, 
J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS.  The  explosion  was  due  to  a  piece  of  ignited 
wadding  which  had  stuck  to  the  barrel  when  it  had  been  last  discharged. 
The  sore  foot,  Randolph  thought,  probably  saved  his  life;  for  it  was  too  sore 
to  bear  the  butt  of  his  gun  when  he  was  reloading  and  consequently,  when 
the  accident  occurred,  he  had  elevated  the  muzzle  of  his  gun  as  high  as  his 
vol.  11 — 50 


786  Notes 

right  arm  could  reach.     The  sides  of  the  flask  were  picked  up  more  than  ioo 
yards  apart  and  its  top  was  never  found  at  all. 

P.  690  (a) 

"I  should  rather  have  Essex  than  any  nurse  or  attendant  I  ever  saw." 
Jan.  27,  1817,  Letters  to  a  Y.  R.,  184. 

P.  690  (b) 

"A  little  pet  negro,  about  three  years  old,  whom  you  never  saw,  and 
whom  a  red  flannel  frock  has  made  as  happy  as  Queen  Dolly  at  her  Levee." 
/.  R.  to  James  M.  Garnett,  Dec.  31,  18 13,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  690  (c) 

"The  wants  of  some  200  wretches,  whom  I  never  think  of  without  per- 
plexity and  dismay,  diversify  my  time."  /.  R.  to  James  M.  Garnett,  Dec. 
22,  1 8 18,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  696  (a) 

The  intimate  contact  between  master  and  slave  in  Virginia  is  exemplified 
in  an  effective  manner  in  one  of  the  letters  from  Randolph  to  James  M. 
Garnett:  "I  must  rouse  Jupiter,"  he  said,  "who  is  sleeping  very  soundly 
on  a  comfortable  bed  by  the  fire,  and  prepare  for  a  short  journey  to  Sterett 
Ridgely's."    Georgetown,  Feb.  II,  18 16,  J.  M.  Garnett,  Jr.,  MSS. 

P.  700  (a) 

After  Randolph  returned  from  Russia  John  took  advantage  of  his  mas- 
ter's loss  of  reason,  and  reverted  to  his  former  bad  habits,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  Wyatt  Cardwell  in  the  Randolph  Will  Litigation.  He  not 
only  got  drunk  whenever  he  had  a  chance,  but  purloined  some  money  that 
belonged  to  his  master  and  gambled  with  it.  This  witness  also  testified 
that  Essex  too  was  in  the  habit  of  drinking.  John  was  No.  285  in  the  list 
of  negroes  emancipated  by  Randolph  which  was  registered  at  Charlotte  C. 
H.,  and  his  wife  Betsey  No.  286.  Both  are  described  in  the  list  as  being  "of 
black  complexion."  John's  age  is  given  as  63  yrs.,  and  his  height  as  5  feet 
and  2  inches. 


INDEX 


Adams,  Charles  Francis,  V.  I,  14 
Note  A,  200 

Adams,  Henry,  V.  I.  5,  14  Note  A, 
46,  48,  51,  62,  80,  83,  211  Note  B, 
255,  264,  270,  277,  280,  281  Note 
A,  294  Note  A,  303,  308,  315, 
3i8»  319,  348,  358  Note  A,  361, 
635,  638,  640,  648,  655,  661,  V. 
II,  46  Note  A,  59,  61,  146, 
148,  240,  456,  491,  656 

Adams,  John,  V.  I,  157,  160,  171, 
173,  3i8,  359,  399,  507,  533,  V. 
II,  62,  227,  228 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  V.  I,  167 
Note  A,  200,  207,  211,  249,  253, 
306,  308,  309,  338,  348,  501, 
504,  507,  508,  515,  527,  533,  543, 
544,  557,  653,  V.  II,  125,  216,  237, 
303,  542»  624 

Adams,  Rev.  Nehemiah,  V.  II, 
132 

Adams,  Samuel,  V.  I,  178,  508 

Aggy,  Manny,  V.  II,  458,  529, 
699 

Alexander,  Dr.  Archibald,  V.  I, 
144,  145,  148,  V.  II,  104,  133, 
137,  138,  142,  143,  144,  145,  149. 
MIi  153 

Alexander,  James  Waddell,  V.  I, 
582,  587,  599,  V.  II,  58,  68,  98, 
102,  108,  no,  113,  117  Note  A, 
119,  121,  122,  123,  129,  130,  131, 
132,  133,  134,  135,  136,  140,  143, 
144,  145,  149,  150,  151,  152,  154, 
155,  156,  157,  158,  163,  164,  168 

Alexander,  Mark,  V.  I,  611,  613, 
V.  II,  17,  317,  374,  427,  595, 
623 

Alexandria,  V.  I,  576 

Allen,  Col.  Wm.,  V.  II,  424 

Alston,  Willis,  V.  I,  155,  306,  361, 
56o,  571,  587,  588 

Ambler,  John,  V.  I,  296 

Ames,  Fisher,  V.  I,  74,  206 

Anburey,  Thos.,  V.  I,  12,  23,  24,  25, 
V.  II,  114,  115,  148 


Ararat,  V.  II,  459,  463 
Archer,  Wm.  S.,  V.  1, 452, 454,  532 
Arfwedson,  C.  D.,  V.  I,  580 
Arnold,  Benedict,  V.  I,  42 
Austin,  Archibald,  V.  I,  599 

Badger,  Edmund,  V.  II,  9,  37,  39, 

44 
Bagby,  Dr.  Geo.  W.,  V.  I,  37,  45, 

V.  II,  124,  158 
Bagot,  Mrs.,  V.  II,  430 
Bagot,  Sir  Charles,  V.  I,  532 
Baker,  Jerman,  V.  I,  31,  591 
Baldwin,  Briscoe,  Jr.,  V.  I,  611 
Baldwin,  Capt.,  V.  II,  340 
Baldwin,   Joseph   G.,   V.   II,   214, 

384,  4°4 
Banister,  Elizabeth,  V.  I,  28 
Banister,  Col.  John,  V.  I,  28 
Banister,  John  V.  I,  28,  467 
Banister,  Patsy,  V.  I,  38 
Banister,  Robert,  V.  I,  49,  118,  119, 

211,  543 
Banks,  Wm.  B.,  V.  II,  331  Note  A, 

419,  429 
Barbour,  James,  V.  I,  296,  V.  II, 

202 
Barbour,  John  S.,  V.  I,  611,  V.  II, 

45 
Barbour,  Philip  P.,  V.  I,  430,  460, 

535,  612,  630,  631,.  V.  II,  202 
Barksdale,  W.  J.,  V.  I,  534,  V.  II, 

30,  45,   147   Note  A,  366,  429, 

543,  636 
Battersea,  V.  I,  37,  38 
Bayard,  James  A.,  V.  I,  163,  171, 

268,  338 
Baylor,  Robert,  V.  I,  561 
Beebe,  Wm.,  V.  II,  in 
Beecher,  Philemon,  V.  II,  201 
Belknap,  Rev.  Jeremy,  V.   I,  66, 

67 
Bell,  Mrs.,  V.  II,  392,  404,  425, 

457 
Bell,  Mary  Anne,  V.  II,  457 
Bennett,  Anne,  V.  I,  21 


787 


788 


Index 


Bennett,  Gov.  Richard,  V.  I,  21 
Benton,  Thos.  H.,  V.  I,  443,  515, 

567,  V.  II,  51,  63,  77,  203,  228, 

231,  234,  302,  314,  336,  356,  374. 

381,  407,  452,  544,  623,  624,  668 
Bermuda,  V.  1,60,64,70,71,  72 
Best,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  V.  I,  534 
Betsy,  Johnny's  Wife,  V.  II,  50 
Beverley,  Elizabeth,  V.  I,  12 
Beverley,  Mumford,  V.  I,  296 
Beverley,  Fusan,  V.  I,  12 
Bibb,  Dr.,  V.  I,  560 
Biddle,  Nicholas,  V.  II,  39 
Bidwell,  Barnabas,  V.  I,  199,  225, 

226,  229,  230,  232,  246,  247,  248, 

249,  250  Note  A,  255,  256,  265, 

279,  408,  508,  601 
Binney,  Horace,  V.  II,  46,  65 
Binns,  V.  I,  364,  409 
Birkbeck,  Morris,  V.  I,  3  Note  A, 

V.  II,  168 
Bizarre,  V.  I,  3  Note  A,  6,  18,  20, 

43.  45,  74,   106,   118,   128,   129, 

570,  598,  V.  II,   116,  415,  435, 

474,  670 
Bland,  Giles,  V.  I,  22 
Bland,  Richard,  V.  I,  12,  14,  22 
Bland,  Richard  of  Jordan's  Point, 

V.I,  21 
Bland,  Theodorick,  Jr.,  V.  I,  6,  14, 

18,  23,  25  Note  A,  37,  49,  50,  81, 

98,  V.  II,  53 
Bland,  Theodorick,  Sr.,  V.  I,  3,  18, 

21,  23,  25  Note  A,  29,  44,  V.  II, 

268,  269,  270  Note  A,  271 
Bland,  Theodorick  of  Westover,  V. 

1,21 

Bland,  Dr.  Thomas,  V.  I,  28 
Bleecker,    Harmanus,    V.    II,    63, 

279,  602,  612 
Blennerhassett,  Herman,  V.  I,  303 
Boiling  Hall,  V.  I,  34 
Boiling,  Jane,  V.  I,  12,  16 
Boiling,  John  of  Cobbs,  V.  I,  16 
Boiling,  Powhatan,  V.  I,   153,  V. 

II,  175,  258 
Boiling,  Robert,  V.  I,  8,  16 
Bonaparte,  V.  I,  411,  426,  532 
Bonaparte,  Madame,  V.  I,  638 
Booker,  Edward,  V.  II,  638 
Bouldin,  James  W.,  V.  I,  147,  594, 

595,  596,  599,  V.  II,  27,  175,  369, 

372,  414,  454 
Bouldin,  Powhatan,  V.  II,  15,  98, 

99 

Bouldin,  Thomas  T.,  V.  I,  571, 
V.  II,  1,  5  Note  A,  27,  452 

Bouldin,  Wood,  V.  I,  3  Note  A,  V. 
II,  695 


Bowling  Green,  V.  I,  576 
Boyle,  John,  V.  I,  204 
Breckenridge,  Jno.,  V.  I,  276 
Brockenbrough,  Mrs.  John,  V.  I, 

401,411,  533 
Brockenbrough,  John,  V.  I,  63,  121, 
142,  296,  387,  392,  410,  412,  430, 
445,  450,  454,  458,  488,  501,  505, 
509,  524,  535,  539,  558,  570,  573, 
587,  602,  640,  643,  645,  650,  V. 
II,  5,  19,  35,  49,  54,  88,  125,  253, 
305,  307,  308,  309,  310,  311,  313, 
317,  344,  345,  347,  348,  349,  357, 
360,  361,  364,  367,  371,  372,  379, 

399,  401,  407,  408,  424,  429,  431, 
441,  442,  497,  514,  528,  544, 
59i,  593,  594,  635,  639,  641,  642, 
65°,  656,  661,  670 

Brodnax,  Wm.  H.,  V.  I,  611 
Brooke,    Judge  Francis  J.,   V.    II, 

36 
Brougham,     Henry,     V.     I,     284, 

471 
Brown,  Robert,  V.  I,  225 
Bruce,  Charles,  V.  II,  104, 118,  122, 
_  Ho,  155,  703 

Bruce,  James  C,  V.  II,  122,  373 
Bruce,  James,   V.    I,   601,   V.    II, 

104,   121,  Id.  Note  A,  122,  422, 

429 
Bruce,  Philip  A.,  V.  II,  434 
Bryan,  John  C,  V.  II,  54,  538,  539, 

540 
Bryan,  John  Randolph,  V.  I,  31, 

33,4i,  77,  587,  V.  11,46,47,  55, 

56,  257,  262,  316,  352,  375,  380, 

400,  458,    463,    465,    470,    480, 
^  507,  518,  533,  537,  574,  575 
Bryan,   Mrs.   Joseph,   V.    II,   331, 

391,  400,  464,  569,  574,  575,  576, 

578, 579 
Bryan,    Joseph,     V.    I,    75,     127, 

135,     136,    137,    180,    223,    291, 

3i6,    332,  V.    II,    47,    330,    379 

Note    A,    543,    544,    564,    570, 

650 
Bryan,  Thos.  F.t  V.  II,  375,  458, 

463,  465,  470,  575 
Bryant,  Wm.  Cullen,  V.  II,  116 
Buchanan,  James,  V.  I,  655,  656, 

657, 658,  v.  n,  65, 90, 253 

Buchanan,  Mrs.,  V.  I,  130 
Buchanan,  N.,  V.  I,  32,  including 

Note  A 
Burges,  Tristam,  V.  I,  649,  V.  II, 

62  Note  A,  322  Note  A 
Burr,  Aaron,  V.  I,  169,  202,  205, 

267,  289,  295,  296  et   seq.,    560, 

V.  II,  315  Note  A 


Index 


789 


Burrill,   James,   V.    II,    612    Note 
A 

Cabell,  Joseph  C,  V.  I,  68  including 

Note  A,  120,  296,  V.  II,  297 
Cabell,  Wm.  H.,  V.  I,  544  Note  B, 

V.  II,  298,  299  Note  A 
Caldwell,  John,  V.  II,  137 
Calhoun,  John  C,  V.  I,  369,  379, 

427,  435,  448,  V.  II,  15  Note  A, 

21,  22,  89,   137,  214,  238,  339, 

413,430 
Call,  Daniel,  V.  I,  51,  105 
Callender,  Jas.,  V.  I,  205,  216 
Calvert,  George,  V.  II,  425,  431 
Cambreling,  Churchill  C,  V.  I,  649 
Campbell,  Alexander,  V.  1, 105, 112, 

611,  619 
Campbell,  Charles,  V.  I,  53 
Campbell,  G.  W.,  V.  I,  204,  306 
Campbell,  John,  V.  I,  571 
Cardwell,   Wyatt,   V.    II,    10,   27, 
,  368,  500 

Carrington,  Col.  Clem,  V.  I,  150, 

152,  V.  II,  26,  27,  261 ,  262,  344 
Carrington,    Gen.    Edward,  V.    I, 

601,  V.  II,  122,  429 
Carrington,  Henry,  V.  II,  27,  143, 

257,  260,  703 
Carrington,     J.     Cullen,     V.     II, 

Carrington,  Judge  Paul,  V.  I,   19, 

20,  V.  11,26,  143,  258,421 
Carrington,  Paul,  Jr.,  V.  II,  261, 

Carrington,  Robert,  V.  II,  27,  258, 

262  Note  A,  680 
Carter,  Charles,  V.  I,  76 
Carter,  George  of  Corotoman,  V.  I, 

68 
Carter,  Lelia  S.,  V.  I,  68,  id.  Note 

A,  75,  76,  77,  117,  132,  V.  II,  271, 

530,  539,541,  542 
Carter,  Mary  W.,  21,  68 
Cartersville,  V.  I,  582 
Gary,  Col.  Archibald,  V.  I,  113 
Caton,  Miss,  V.  II,  402 
Cawsons,  V.  I,  3  Note  A,  6,  7,  9,  26, 

37,83 
Celia,  Jupiter's  Wife,  V.  II,  50 
Channing,    Wm.     Ellery,    V.    II, 

102,  116 
Chapman,  Dr.,  V.  II,  37,  598 
Charlotte    Court    House,    V.    II, 

343 
Chase,   Samuel,   V.   I,   201    el  seq. 

including  205  Note  A 
Chastellux,  Marquis  de,  V.  I,  3,  11, 

25 


Cheves,  Langdon,  V.  I,  369,  371 
Choate,  Rufus,  V.   I,   509,  V.  II, 

217 
Christie,   Gabriel,  V.   I,    155,   163, 

560 
Claiborne,    Dr.   John   Herbert,   V. 

1,5* 
Claremont,  V.  II,  424 
Clark,  Christopher,  V.  I,  186,  204, 

266,  V.  II,  335 
Clark,  Col.,  V.  II,  373,  429 
Clark,  Daniel,  V.  I,  305 
Clark,  Geo.  Rogers,  V.  II,  221 
Clark,  Rev.  John  T.,  V.  II,  246, 

247  Note  A,  501 
Clark,  Wm.,  V.  II,  221 
Clay,  Henrv,  V.  I,  67,  211,  369, 
370,  381,  385,  425,  429,  440,  448, 
451  Note  A,  452,  473,  504,  511, 
513,  524  Note  A,  527,  541,  634, 
V.  II,  15,  22,  36,  47,  117,  197 
Note  A,  203,  247,  334,  338,  377, 
383,  630 
Clay,  Mrs.  Henry,  V.  I,  515 
Clay,  John  Randolph,  V.  I,  636, 
639,  641,  646,  647,  655,  656,  657, 
658,  659,  V.  II,  58,  322,  376,  457, 
458,  459,  466,  649 
Clay,  Joseph,  V.  I,  177,  287,  307, 
332,  340,  349,  350,  364,  389,  V. 
II,  68,  459,  591,  650 
Clinton,  George,  V.  I,  308,  339,  342, 

348,  349 
Clinton,  George,  Jr.,  V.  I,  350 
Coalter,  Elizabeth  T.,  V.  I,  11,  30, 
3i,  33,  35,  38,  40,  4i,  57,  59,  72, 
77,  101,  133,  154,  463,  468,  V.  II, 
46,  52,  55,  164,  271,  304,  312,  313. 
316,  324,  332,  344,  345,  347,  348, 
350,  35i,  352,  361,  362,  365,  366, 
390,  392,  394,  39*5,  396,  397,  399, 
402,    446,    458,    524,    531,    627, 
666 
Coalter,  Judge  John,  V.  I,  33,  45, 

V.  II,  54,  in,394,  539,541 
Coalter,  St.  George  T.,  V.  II,  56 
Cobb,  V.  I,  450,  V.  II,  624 
Cochrane,  Admiral,  V.  T,  412 
Cochrane,   Mr.,  V.   I,   73,   85,   87, 

88 
Coke,  Jr.,  V.  I,  530 
Coleman,  Dr.  Ethelbert  A.,  V.  II, 

219,  375,  504 
Coleman,  Marion,  V.  II,  390,  504 
Coles,  Isaac,  V.  II,  373 
Coles,  Isaac  A.,  V.  I,  263,  264 
Columbia  College,  V.  I,  73,  85 
Conrad^    David    Holmes,    V.    II, 

80 


790 


Index 


Conway,  Moncure  D.,  V.  I,  85,  89, 

V.  II,  320 
Cooke,  John  Esten,  V.  I,  611 
Cooke,  John  R.,  V.  I,  608,  611,  612, 

613,  V.  II,  521 
Cooke,  Philip,  V.  I,  611 
Coolidge,  Thos.,  V.  I,  13 
Corea,  Abbe\  V.  I,  558,  V.  II,  433, 

598 
Coupland,     Carter,    V.     II,    458, 

490 
Crawford,  Wm.  H.,  V.  I,  87,  182, 

366,  367  Note  A,  496,  497,  504, 

V.  II,  430,  432 
Crowninshield,  Benj.  N.,  V.  II,  212 

Note  A 
Crowninshield,  Jacob,  V.  1, 237, 255, 

560,  V.  II,  209,  212  Note  A 
Crump,  Dr.  John,  V.  I,  541,  V.  II, 

2,  4,  5  Note  A 
Cumby,  V.  II,  706 
Cunningham,  Edward,  V.  I,  465,  V. 

II,  307,  424 
Curd,  Mr.,  V.  II,  453 
Curies  Neck,  V.  I,  16 
Curtis,  Geo.,  V.  II,  62 
Cuthbert,  Alfred,  V.  I,  428 
Cutler,  Dr.  Manasseh,  V.  I,  207, 

210,  363 
Czar  and  Czarina,  V.  I,  642,  643 

Dabbs,   Rev.   Mr.,  V.   I,   594 
Dabney,  Robert  L.,  V.  II,  139,  156, 

377,  664 
Damgerfield,  Martha,  V.  I,  27,  17, 

V.  II,  53 
Dallas,  Geo.  M.,  V.  I,  365 
Dana,  Samuel  W.,  V.  II,  205 
Daniel,  Wm.,  V.  I,  296 
Davies,  Samuel,  V.  I,  62,  63,  V.  II, 

137,  141 
Dawson,  Beau,  V.  I,  502,  560,  V.  II, 

3i8 
Dawson,  Wm.  J.,  V.  I,  15 
Dayton,  Jonathan,  V.  I,  303 
Dearborn,  Gen.  H.  A.  S.,  V.  II,  79 
Decatur,  Stephen,  V.  I,    309,    V. 

II,    279,    334,    335,     339,    402, 

624 
Decius,  V.  I,  223,  225,  231,  246, 

247,  250,  254 
De  Neuville,  V.  II,  430 
De  Neuville,  Madame,  V.  II,  430 

Note  A,  526 
Dexter,  Samuel,  V.  II,  202         f, 
Dillon,  Edward,  V.  II,  113         % 
Dillon,  Dr.  James,  V.  II,  158 
Doddridge,  Philip,  V.  I,  607,  611, 

612 


Dowse,  Edward,  V.  II,  62 

Drayton,  V.  I,  496 

Dromgoole,  Geo.  C,  V.  I,  611 

Duane,  Wm.,  V.  I,  339,  349,  409 

Dudley,  Guilford,  V.  I,  28 

Dudley,  Mrs.  Guilford,  V.  I,  28,  33, 
37,  129  including  Note  A,  131, 
V.  II,  276,  285,  548 

Dudley,  Theodore,  V.  I,  6,  19,  29, 
60,  87,  89,  119,  300,  317,  413, 
414,  415,  444,  563,  565,  581,  V. 
II,  51,  68,  70,  106,  107,  168,  301, 
305,  328,  330,  343,  344,  345,  351, 
354.  359,  376,  377,  389,  394,  395, 
396,  398,  399,  401,  403,  419,  426, 
432,  434,  453,  457,  458,  459,  471, 
495,  497,  508,  515,  521,  544,  590, 
591,  689,  707 

Dunbar,  Dr.,  V.  II,  32 

Dumfries,  V.  I,  576 

Dupont  de  Nemours,  V.  I,  467 

Dupont,  Ir£n£e,  V.  I,  467 

Dupont,  Victor,  V.  I,  467 

Early,  Peter,  V.  I,  204,  256,  293 

Eaton,  Anna,  V.  I,  28 

Eaton,  Gen.  Thomas,  V.  I,  28 

Eaton,  Wm.,  V.  I,  222 

Eboe,  Randolph's  Slave,  V.  I,  636 

Edge  wood,  V.  I,  66 

Edge  worth,  Maria,  V.  II,  440 

Edinburgh  Review,  V.  1,  284 

Edwards,  Ninian,  V.  I,  496 

Eggleston,  Jos.,  V.  I,  296,  357,  358 

V.  II,  655 
Elliott,  Wm.  H.,  V.  II,  178,  355, 

455,  490 
Eppes,  JohnW.,  V.  I,  100,  177,256, 
270,  290,  306,  365,  386,  571,  592 
Note  A,  593  Note  A,  596,  597 
Note  A,  599,  V.  II,  176,655 
Eppes,  Mrs.  John  W.,  V.  II,  70 
Essex,  V.  I,  18,  43,  V.  II,  7,  50,  453, 

690  Note  A,  695,  696,  700 
Este,  David  K.,  V.  II,  65  Note  A 
Ewing,  Mr.,  V.  I,  65,  70,  85 

Falmouth,  V.  I,  578 
Farrar,  Sam.,  V.  I,  572 
Findley,  Wm.,  V.  I,  255,  256 
Fitzhugh,  Wm.  H.,  V.  I,  611 
Fleming,  Miss,  V.  I.,  12 
Flournoy,  Thos.  S.,  V.  II,  183 
Floyd,  Davis,  V.  I.,  303 
Floyd,  John,  V.  I.,  505,  535 
Folsom,  Charles,  V.  I,  492 
Forman,  Gen.,  V.  II,  465,  565,  569, 

578,  579,  58o 
Forsyth,  Jno.,  V.  I,  429 


Index 


791 


Foster,  Sir  Augustus,  V.  II,  604 
Fredericksburg,  V.  I,  576 
Fry,  Elizabeth,  V.  II,  436,  437 
Fuller,  Timothy,  V.  I,  479 

Gabriel  (Negro),  V.  II,  250 
Gales,  and  Seaton,  V.  I,  448,  V.  II, 

88 
Gallatin,  Albert,  V.  I,  87,  98,  155,. 

185,  227,  251,  252,  267,  272,  275, 

277,  307,  325,  330,  367,  532,  547, 

556,   558,   V.    II,    14,   229,   430, 

581,  582  Note  A 
Gardenier,  Berent,  V.  II,  213  Note 

A 
Garnett,  James  M.,  V.  I,  263,  264, 

287,  296,  350,  364,  454,  56o,  565, 

566,  570,  613,  V.  II,   164  Note 

A,  317,  407,  592 
Garnett,  Old  Mrs.,  V.  1,  570 
Gerelot,  V.  II,  70 
Gibson,  Dr.,  V.  I,  365 
Giles,  Wm.  B.,  V.  I,  121,  172,  173, 

175,  200,  286,  295,  355,  358  Note 

A,  505,  532,  534,  589,  610  Note 

A,  612,  613,  Vol.  II,  37,  87,  123, 

297,    410,    428,    542,    582,    587, 

655 
Gilmer,  Francis  W.,  V.  I,  31,  55, 

V.  II,  77,  79  Note  A,  106,  in, 

307,  343,  348,  360,  365,  625,  630 

Note  A,  641 
Gilmer,   Geo.    R.,   V.    I,   496,    V. 

11,65 
Glenlyvar,  V.  I,  107,  118 
Goldsborough,  La  Belle,  V.  II,  401, 

402 
Goode,  Hon.  John,  V.  I,  52 
Goode,  Mr.  V.  I,  536,  611 
Goodrich,  Chauncey,  V.  I,  162 
Goodrich,  S.  G.,  V.  II,  62 
Gordon,  Wm.  V.  I,  536,  608,  611, 

V.  II,  231 
Gore,  Mrs.  Christopher,  V.  II,  401, 

404 
Granger,  Gideon,   V.  I,   185,   190, 

199,   219   Note   A,   286,   V.    II, 

572 
Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  V.  I,   14  Note 

A. 
Green,  John  W.,  V.I,  607,  611,  V. 

11,94 
Green,  W.  B.,  V.  I,  596,  V.  II,  26, 

27,  174,  672,  675,  681 
Gregg,  Andrew,  V.  I,  155,  233 
Grigsby,  Hugh  Blair,  V.  I,  59,  Id. 

Note  A,  92,  V.  II,  64,  93,  165, 

354,640,684 
Groves,  Miss,  V.  I,  12 


Grundy,  Felix,  V.  I,  369,  371 
Gunn,  Genl.  James,  V.  I,  182 

Hackley,  Jane,  V.  II,  495 
Hall,  Captain  Basil,  V.  I,  580 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  V.  I,  87,  184, 

253,  295,  297,  549,  617 
Hamilton,  Gen.  James,  V.  I,  519, 

V.  II,  352,  381,  625 
Hammond,  Jabez  D.,  V.  I,  569 
Hampton,  Wade,  V.  I,  560 
Hanover  Court  House,  V.  I,  576 
Hardaway,  Daniel,  V.  I,  571 
Hardin,  Benjamin,  V.  II,  202 
Harding,  Chester,  V.  II,  68,  95 
Hargrave,  Hester,  V.  II,  324 
Harper,  Robert  Goodloe,  V.  I,  155, 

163,  203,  Id.  Note  A,  217,  V.  II, 

112  Note  A 
Harrison,  Randolph,  V.  I,  107,  123, 

V.  II,  275 
Harrison,    Mrs.    Randolph,    V.    I, 

107 
Harrison,  Thos.,  V.*  I,  296 
Harrison,  Wm.  Henry,  V.  I,  155, 

V.  II,  305  Note  A 
Hartston,  Mrs.,  V.  I,  46,  47,  49 
Harvey,  Jacob,  V.  I,  39,  463,  470, 

497,  563,  639,  647,  V.  II,  20,  80, 

253,  262,  372,  389,  408,  436,  437, 

439,  454,  662 
Harvey,  W.  T.,  V.  II,  257 
Harvie,  Gabriella,  V.  I,  121,  V.  II, 

635,  639,  646 
Hay,  Geo.,  V.  I,  300,  305,  345,  348, 

354,  V.  II,  562 
Hearn,  Mr.,  V.  I,  48 
Henry,  Patrick,  V.  I,  95,  99,  112, 

113,  142,  143,  et  seg.,  146,  et  seq., 

including  147  Note  A,  462,  485, 

493,  V.  II,  5,  64,  127,251,318 
Henry,    Wm.    Wirt,    V.    I,    112, 

113 

Heth,  Harry,  V.  I,  570,  571 
Hetty,  Essex's  Wife,  V.  II,  52,  453, 

696,  700 
Hoar,  Ebenezer  Rockwood,  V.  II, 

172 
Hodgson,  Adam,  V.  I,  577 
Hoge,  Dr.  Moses,  V.  I,  149,  594, 

V.  II,  27,  137,  177,  260,  380,  429, 

654,  655,  662 
Holland,  Jas.,  V.  I,  289,  588 
Holmes,  John,  V.  I,  446,  448 
Hooper,  Edward,  V.  I,  323 
Hundley,  Elisha  E.,  V.  II,  54,  331, 

637  Note  A,  680 
Hunter,  R.  M.  T.,  V.  I,  561 
Huskisson,  V.  I,  529 


792 


Index 


Indian,  John,  V.  I,  18 

Innes,  Col.  James,  V.  I,  75,  79,  80, 

95  including  Note  A 
Irby,  Edmund,  V.  II,  424,  635 
Irving,  Washington,  V.  I,  301,  303 

639,  640,  V.  II,  63,  65,  66,  442, 

446 
Isham,  Catharine,  V.  I,  10 
Isham,  Henry,  V.  I,  10 

Jack,  Randolph's  Bermuda  friend, 
V.  I,  70,  100 

Jackson,  Andrew,  V.  I,  23, 473,  504, 
544,  553,  634,  635,  636,  647,  648, 
650,  651,  654,  659,  660,  661,  V. 
II,  11,  18,  40,  106,  194,  196,  216, 
230,381,430 

Jackson,  James,  V.  I,  183,  258 

Jackson,  John  G.,  V.  I,  166,  218, 
260,  270,  291,  301,  305 

Jackson,  Stonewall,  V.  I,  14  Note 
A 

Jarvis,  J.  W.,  V.  II,  66 

Jefferson,  Thos.,  V.  I,  13,  119,  171, 
214,  220,  224,  230,  232,  246,  251, 
252,  253,  254,  265,  267,  268,  271, 
275,  278,  279,  280,  281,  et  seq., 
289,  290,  302,  305,  306,  307,  309, 
311,  320,  323,  325,  326,  348,  353, 
359,  427,  434,  446,  448,  488,  533, 
549,  558,  573,  593,  637,  V.  II, 
'  70,  77,  103,  219,  228,  232  Note 
A,  287,  542,  571,  585,  608,  630, 
678 

Jesup,  Gen.,  V.  I,  513,  516,  522 

Jeter,  Jeremiah  Bell,  V.  II,  91 

Jewett,  Samuel  C,  V.  II,  79 

Johnny,  J.  R.'s  Servant,  V.  I,  300, 
521,  561,  573,  636,  V.  11,7,31,39, 
40,  41,  42,  43,  50,  184,  197,355, 
470,  696,  698,  700  Note  A 

Johnson,  Achilles  D.,  V.  II,  264 

Johnson,  Chapman,  V.  I,  605,  611, 
612,  613,  614,  615,  616,  617,  618, 
v-  II,  57,  95,  200  Note  A 

Johnson,  Richard  M.,  V.  I,  365, 
366,  369,  371 

Johnson,  Wm.  R.,  V.  I,  532,  550, 
V.  II,  115,315,425,633,670 

Johnston,  Josiah  S.,  V.  I,  521, 
635 

Johnston,  Judge  and  Mrs.  Peter,  V. 

I,     I20,     121,     134,     I40,     V.     II, 

288 
Jones,  Walter,  V.  II,  66 
Jordan,    Dr.    I.    H.,    V.    II,    180, 

181 
Joynes,  Thos.  R.,  V.  I,  612,  632 
Jupiter,  John  Randolph's  Slave,  V. 


I,  573,  636,  641,  V.  II,  7,  31,  50, 
197,  306,  495,  597,  696  Note  A 

Kennedy,  John  P.,  V.  I,  69 
Kennon,  Commodore  Beverley,  V. 

1,  15 

Kennon,  Beverley,  son  of  Com- 
modore Kennon,  V.  I,  15 

Key,  Francis  Scott,  V.  I,  9,  21,  145, 
165,  387,  388,  390,  395,  399, 
400,  404,  405,  410,  412,  413,  V.  II, 
49,  50,  67,  156,  220,  248,  305, 
343,  35i,  358,  403,  425,  430,  435, 
45i,  457,  497,  498,  59i,  619,  655, 
661 

Key,  Miss,  daughter  of  Philip  Bar- 
ton Key,  V.  II,  403 

Key,  Philip  Barton,  V.  I,  203,  V.  II, 
233,  304 

Kilpatrick,  Mr.,  the  teacher,  V.  II, 
459,  463 

King,  Rufus,  V.  I,  87,  408,  454,  555, 
V.  II,  430,  431,  600,  612 

Kippax,  V.  I,  7    ' 

Kippax  Church,  V.  I,  22,  34 

Kirkpatrick,  Rev.  John  S.,  V.  II, 

2,  190  Note  A,  264 
Kremer,  George,  V.  I,  514 

Lacy,  Rev.  Wm.  S.,    V.  II,    209, 

267,  371,410,428,467,  507 
LaFayette,  V.  I,  44,  47,  48,  502 
Lambert,  John,  V.  II,  408,  453 
Langdon,  John,  V.  I,  155,  560,  V. 

II,  600,  601  Note  A 
Lawson,    Gen.    Robert,    V.    I,   44, 

47 
L'Enfant    Pierre    Charles,    V.    I, 

554 
Lee,  Charles,  V.  I,  14,  204,  Id.  Note 

A 
Lee,  Gen.  Geo.  Washington  Custis, 

V.  I,  14,  Id.  Note  A 
Lee,  General  Henry,  V.  I,  14,  25 
Lee,  Henry,  V.  I,  14 
Lee,  Gen.  Robert  E.,  V.  I,  13,  14, 

Id.  Note  A,  51 
Lee,  Robert  E.,  Jr.,  V.  I,  52 
Lee,  Sydney  Smith,  V.  I,  15 
Lee,  Gen.  Wm.  Henry  Fitzhugh,  V. 

I,  14  Id.  Note  A 
Le  Grand,  Mrs.  Nash,  V.  II,  143, 

144,  145,  154,  163 
Leib,  Michael,  V.  I,  179 
Leigh,    Benjamin   Watkins,    V.    I, 

32,  36,  354,  355,  413,  571,  605, 

608,  610,  611  Note  A,  612,  632, 

V.  II,  24,  25,  26,  117  Note  A,  328, 

635 


Index 


793 


Leigh,    John    Randolph,    V.     II, 

54 
Leigh,  Wm,  V.  I,  354,  467,  571, 

601,  612,  613,  651,  V.  II,  2,  6,  7, 

8,  10,  49,  51,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56, 

57,  60,  181,  184,  185,  335,  348, 

350,  361,  366,  368,  370,  413,  419. 

422,  429,  434  Note  A,  462,  539, 

540,  565,  639,  648,  694 
Lewis,  Merriwether,  V.  II,  221 
Liancourt,  Due  de,  V.  II,  113,  127 
Lieven,  Prince,  V.  I,  640,  656,  661 
Lincoln,  Levi,  V.  I,  185 
Livingston,  Edward,  V.  I,  155,  502, 

656 
Lloyd,  Edward,  V.  I,  565,  V.  II, 

612  Note  A,  620 
Lloyd,  Jas.,  V.  I,  416 
Logan,  Dr.  Geo.,  V.  II,  597 
Logan,  Richard,  V.  I,  601 
Logwood,  Tom,  V.  I,  593 
Loughborough,  Nathan,  V.  I,   19, 

582,  643,  V.  II,  8,  381  Note  B, 

408,  631 
Love,  Jno.,  V.  I,  323 
Lowndes,   Mr.,   V.   I,   565,   V.  II, 

425 
Lowndes,  Wm.,  V.  I,  369 

Machen,  Lewis,  V.  II,  82 

Macon,  Nathaniel,  V.  I,  155,  166, 
167  Note  A,  169,  170,  177,  214, 
222,  246,  248,  252,  289,  292, 
306,  307,  332,  340,  364,  370,  560, 
566,  573,  V.  II,  54,  194,  302,  311, 
312,  317,  357  Note  A,  443,  590, 
592,  594  Note  A,  601,  624,  625, 

634 

Madison,  Dolly,  V.  I,  338 

Madison,  James,  V.  I,  25,  67,  74, 
97,  185,  215,  228,  245,  253,  259, 
260,  267,  283,  289,  325,  327,  329, 
333,  336,  337,  338,  339,  342,  351, 
353,  408,  409,  427,  434,  442,  547, 
590,  605,  607,  612,  613,  642,  V. 
II,  22,  94,  203,  241,  268,  287,  452, 
542,  571,  582,  585,  630,  716 

Marshall,  John,  V.  I,  13,  87,  112, 
113,  114,  119,  155,  164,  185,  198, 
201,  295,  296,  302,  461,  487,  533, 
605,  608,  V.  II,  5,  78,  128,  194, 
248,  275,  416,  424,  430,  431,  433, 
518,  530,  546,  617,  637 

Marshall,  John  of  Charlotte  Co., 
Va.,  V.  II,  6,  9,  10,  16,  26,  368, 
462,  694,  695,  702 

Marshall,  Thos.,  V.  I,  100 

Martin  Luther,  V.  I,  204,  207  Note 
A,  215,217 


Mason,  Geo.,  V.  II,  5 
Mason,  John  Y.,  V.  I,  611 
Massey,  John  E.,  V.  I,  53 
Matoax,  V.  I,  3  Note  A,  33,  35,  37, 

40,  45,  127,  128 
Maury,  Walker,  V.  I,  50,  55,  56,  57, 

59,  60,  72,  86 
Maxwell,  Wm.,  V.  II,  133 
McCabe,  W.  Gordon,  V.  I,  53 
McDuffie,  Geo.,  V.  I,  567 
McHenry,  James,  V.  I,  161 
McLane,  Louis,  V.  I,  493,  642,  V. 

II,  446 
Meade,  Mrs.  Geo.  Everard,  V.  II, 

326 
Meade,  Hodijah,  V.  I,  454 
Meade,  Rev.  Wm.,  V.  I,  12,387,  V. 

II,  49,  50,  54,  55,  56,  57,  425,  656, 

661 
Meade,   Wm.    Thompson,    V.    II, 

326 
Melbourne,  Julius,  V.  II,  80 
Melish,  John,  V.  I,  576 
Mercer,  Col.,  V.  1, 68  Note  A,  339 
Mercer,  Chas.  F.,  V.  I,  611 
Mercer,  Fenton,  V.  II,  425 
Mercer,  Hugh,  V.  I,  572,  V.  II, 

46 
Mercer,    John,    V.    I,    296,    348, 

572 
Merry,  Dr.  Samuel,  V.  II,  333 
Michaux,  Jacob,  V.  II,  189 
Milledge,  Jno.,  V.  II,  572 
Miller,   Thos.,   V.   I,   602,   V.   II, 

421 
Mills,  Elijah  H.,  V.  II,  226,  408 
Minor,  Gen.,  V.  \,  348 
Mitchell,  John,  V.  II,  114  Note  B 
Molly,  Little,  V.  II,  690  Note  B, 

696 
Monroe,  James,  V.  I,  253,  293,  299, 

301,  304,  325,  4°8,  411,  453,  454, 

479,  605,  612,  643,  V.  II,  22,  77, 

94,  235,  237,  268,  294,  494,  506, 

585 
Monroe,  Mrs.,  V.  I,  343,  397 
Montgomery,  Jno.,  V.  I,  360 
Moore,  Samuel  McD.,  V.  I,  537 
Moore,  Thos.,  V.  I,  557,   577,   V. 

11,95,440 
Moreau,  Gen.,  V.  I,  454 
Morris,  Gouverneur,  V.  I,  155,  V. 

II,  273  Note  A,  274,  275,  277,  278, 

279,  280,  281,  290,  295  Note  A, 

300,  301 
Morris,  Gouverneur,  Jr.,  V.  II,  293, 

299,  301 
Morris,  Lewis  R.,  V.  I,  169 
Morris,  Phcebe,  V.  II,  65 


794 


Index 


Morris,  Richard,  V.   I,   611,   612, 

632 
Morton,    Little   Joe,    V.    II,    141, 

142 
Morton,  Capt.  John,  V.  II,  5 
Morton,  John,  V.  II,  141 
Morton,  Major  James,  V.  II,  141, 

377  Note  A 
Morton,    Mrs.,  Mother   in    Israel, 

V.  II,  141 
Morton,  Thos.,  V.  I,  40,  V.  II,  27, 

637,  669 
Morton,  Dr.  Wm.,  V.  II,  377 
Morton,  Col.  Wm.,  V.  II,  361,  372, 

373 
Morton,  Wm.,  V.   I,   571,  V.   II, 

5 
Moses,   Randolph's   Slave,   V.    II, 

7 
Munford,  G.   S.,  V.   I,   225,   290, 

350 
Munford,  Geo.  Wythe,  V.  1, 15,  618, 

V.  II,  92 
Munford,  Wm.,  V.  I,  15 
Murray,  Daniel,  V.  J  I,  617 

• 
Nancy,  Hetty's  Daughter,  V.  II,  50, 

453,  694,  695,  696,  700 
Nelson,  Hugh,  V.  I,  14 
Nelson,  Mr.,  V.  I,  289 
Nelson,  T.  M.,  V.  II,  320 
Nesselrode,  Count,  V.  I,  655,  657, 

658 
Nicholas,  John,  V.  I,  155,  156,  168, 

339 
Nicholas,  Wilson  Cary,  V.  I,  155, 
175,  177,  256,  295,  339,  560, 
589 
Nicholson,  Joseph  H.,  V.  I,  138, 
155.  163,  204,  214,  220,  225,  230, 
246,  252,  253,  254,  257,  267, 
268,  271,  286,  287,  289,  297,  299, 
301,  303,  304,  305,  319,  332,  333, 
340,  348,  349,  350,  352,  355,  360, 
363,  396,  559,  56o,  561,  562,  565, 
586,  589,  590,  V.  II,  234,  235, 
250,  303,  304,  312,  313,  316,  328, 
382,  391,  398,  402,  425,  434,  453, 
456,457,  458,  487,  581,  587  Note 
A,  590  Note  A,  591  Note  A,  600, 
670,  672,  673 
Nicholson,  Mrs.  Jos.  H.,  V.  II,  587, 

v,  588'   591 

Niles,  Hezekiah,  V.  II,  82,  87 

Oaks,  The,  V.  I.,  578 
Occoquan,  V.  I,  576,  578 
Ogden,  David,  V.  II,  279,  291,  292, 
297,  298  Note  A 


Oliver,  Robert,  V.  II,  426 
Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  V.  I,  158,  408, 
556 

Page,  Mrs.  Carter,  V.  I,  113 
Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  V.  I,   124, 

144 
Palfrey,  John  G.,  V.  II,  491 
Parish,    David,    V.    II,    598,    599, 

676 
Parish,  Mr.,  V.  II,  488,  493 
Parrish,    Dr.    Isaac,    V.    II,    37, 

43 
Parrish,  Dr.  Josiah,  V.  II,  37 
Parton,    James,    V.    II,    62,    107, 

384.  668 
Peales,  The,  V.  I,  560 
Pegram,   Edward,"  V.    I,   296 
Perry,  Capt.  Matthew  C,  V.  I,  636, 

638 
Physick,     Dr.,    V.     II,     37,     312, 

461 
Pickering,  Judge  John,  V.  I,  200, 

210 
Pickering,  Timothy,  V.  I,  161,  231, 
325,   326,   348,   V.   II,   70,   209, 
603,  610 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  V.  I,  62 
Pinkney,  Wm.,  V.  I,  87,  428,  459, 
461,    V.    II,    81,    313    Note    A, 
666 
Pleasants,  Hugh  R.,  V.  I,  614,  632, 

V.  II,  90 
Pleasants,  James,   V.    I,    14,   296, 

610,  V.  II,  202 
Pleasants,  John  Hampden,  V.  1, 15, 

202  Note  A 
Plumer,  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  S.,  V.  II 

189 
Plumer,  Wm.,  V.  I,  175,  176,  207, 

556 
Pocahontas,  V.  I,  16,  34 
Poinsett,  V.  II,  430 
Porter,  Peter  B.,  V.  I,  369,  371 
Potomac  Creek,  V.  I,  580 
Powell,  Alfred  H.,  V.  I,  611 
Powhatan,    King,    V.    I,    16,    Id. 

Note  B,  34 
Price,  Capt.  Nat.,  V.  II, 
Princeton,  V.  I,  72,  73,  78 
Pryor,  Roger  A.,  V.  I,  15 

Quashee,  V.  I,  463,  652,  670,  694 
Queen,   Randolph's   Slave,   V.    II, 

Quincy,  Edmund,  V.  I,  249,  V.  II, 

491,  601 
Quincy,  Josiah,  V.  I,  48,  98,  306, 

307,  387,  390,  392,  393,  394,  396, 


Index 


795 


Quincy,  Josiah — Continued 

407,  408,  409,  566,  593,  599,  V. 
IT,  120,  146,  226,  227  Note  A,  241 
Note  A,  251,  542,  600,  601,  612, 
669 

Quincy,  Josiah,  Jr.,  V.  I,  509,  V.  II, 
62,89,  ii7,  172,410.491.  542 

Raguet,  Condy,  V.  II,  37,  46 
Randall,  Henry  S.,  V.  I,  14  Note  A, 

V.  II,  384 
Randolph,  Alfred  M.,  V.  I,  13 
Randolph,   Archibald,    V.    I,    107, 

in 
Randolph,     Dr.     Bathurst,    V.    I, 

570,  572,  V.  II,  422,  423,  636,  638 
Randolph,  Beverley,  V.  I,  13,  75, 

79,80 
Randolph,  Brett,  V.  I,  16,  105,  133, 

V.  II,  288 
Randolph,  Mrs.  David  Meade,  V.  I, 

121,  V.  II,  282  Note  A,  299 
Randolph,  Edmund,  V.  1, 13,  31,  67, 

74.  75.  78,  79  including  Note  A, 

93,  V.  II,  202 
Randolph,  Elizabeth,  V.  I,  12,  22 
Randolph,  Frances  Bland,  V.  I,  7, 

21,  22,  28,  29,  30  including  Note 

A,  31  including  Note  A,  32, 33,  34, 

35,  36,  37,  39,  42,  43,  44,  46,  47, 

48,  64,  68,  73,  86,  88,  V.  II,  269, 

270,  271,  517,  529 
Randolph,  Geo.  Wythe,  V.  I,  13 
Randolph,  Harold,  V.  II,  67,  70 
Randolph,  Henry,  V.  I,  12 
Randolph,  Innes,  V.  I,  14,  V.  II, 

67 
Randolph,  Isham  of  Dungeness,  V. 

I,  12,  15 
Randolph,  Sir  John,  V.  I,  12,  13 
Randolph,  John  son  of  Sir  John,  V. 

I,  13 

Randolph,  John,  Sr.,  Father  of  John 
Randolph  of  Roanoke,  V.  I,  7, 16, 
18,  Id.  Note  A,  19,  29,  35.39.V. 

II.  27 

Randolph,  Mrs.  John,  V.  I,  107 
Randolph,  John,  of  Roanoke 

VOLUME   I 

Birth  and  Ancestry 

His  birthplace,  3 

Date  and  Circumstances  of  his  birth , 

3-6 
His  Randolph  Ancestry,  9 
Wm.  Randolph  of  Turkey  Island, 

9 


J.  R.'s  Grandfather,  17 
His  Father,  18,  34 
His  Bland  Ancestry,  21 
Col.  Theodorick  Bland,  23,  37 
The  Banisters,  28,  37,  38 
The  Dudleys,  28 
Theodorick  Bland,  Sr.,  29 
J.  R.'s  Mother,  29,  36,  37,  64,  74 
St.  George  Tucker,  29,  33,  36,  42, 
43,  44,  45,  66,  74.  75.  127 

Childhood 

J.  R.'s  Childhood,  35 

His  boyhood,  37 

Matoax,  35,  37,  39,  40,  41,  127,  128 

Arnold's  Invasion  of  Virginia,  42 

Flight  of  J.  R.'s  Mother  to  Bizarre, 
42 

Her  Stay  There,  45 

J.  R.  and  his  brother  when  at  Bi- 
zarre, 45  including  Note  A  to  50 

Interest  of  St.  George  Tucker  in 
J.  R.'s  Education,  49  to  51 

Virginian  discipline,  51  to  54 

Youth 

J.    R.    and    Walker    Maury    his 

teacher,  55 
His     Youthful     Friendship     with 

Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  57 
J.  R.  as  a  Schoolboy,  59,  85 
His  Early  Reading,  60,  88 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  62 
J.  R.  at  Bermuda,  64,  70,  71,  72, 

100 
Returns  to  Williamsburg,  72 
At  Princeton,  72,  85 
At  Columbia  College,  73,  85 
J.   R.   Studies  Law  with  Edmund 

Randolph,  74,  91,  93 
Meets  Joseph  Bryan,  75 
Becomes  Dissipated,  75,  88 
Has  Scarlet  Fever,  75 
Meets  St.  George  Tucker's  Second 

Wife,  75,  77 
Spends  some  Weeks  at  Wm.  and 

Mary,  75 
Returns  to  Philadelphia,  75 
J.     R.'s     Friendship     for     Henry 

Rutledge,  76 
His  Affectionate  Relations  with  the 

Tuckers,  80 
Theodorick,  J.  R.'s  brother,  74,  80 
Richard,    J.  R.'s   brother,    64,    73, 

74 
Henry  Adams'  Charge  of  Timidity 
against  J.  R.,  83 


796 


Index 


Early  Acquires  hatred  of  debt,  89 
Attended  lectures  on  Anatomy  and 

Physiology,  91 
Early  Relations  to  Politics,  93,  97, 

including  94  Note  A 
Witnesses     the     Inauguration     of 

Washington,  95 
J.  R.'s  Companions  in  Philadelphia, 

100 
Richard  Randolph,  101,  128 
Nancy  Randolph  Scandal,  106 
Duel      Between      Randolph      and 

Robert  Barraud  Taylor,  123 


Early  Manhood 

Addiction  to  Racing,  127,  130 

Visits  Georgia,  127,  135,  136 

J.  R.  Settles  Down  at  Bizarre,  128 

Its  Household,  129 

J.  R.'s  Mobility,  129 

His  Friend  John  Thompson,  130 

Kindness  of  John  Wickham,  131 

J.  R.'s  Habits  at  Bizarre,  131 

Nancy     Randolph     Letters,     121, 

134 
Henry  M.  Rutledge,  135 


Congressional  Career,  Debut  and  Pe- 
riod of  Leadership 

J.  R.'s  Gallomania,  140 
His  Political  DCbut,  141 
Debate  at  Charlotte  Court  House 

between  Him  and  Patrick  Henry, 

142  including  Note  A 
Enters  Congress,  154 
J.  R.'s  First  Appearance  in  Debate, 

155 
His  Next,  155 

Speech  on  Army  Reduction,  156 
Calls  Army  ragamuffins,  159 
Is    Insulted    and    Complains    to 

President  Adams,  160 
Action  of  the  House  Thereon,  162 
J.  R.  Proposes  Discharge  of  Super- 
numerary Offices,  165 
Speech    on    Western    Reserve    of 

Connecticut,  165 
Opposes  Giving  Medal  to  Captain 

Truxton,  166 
Opposes  Mausoleum   in   Honor  of 

Washington,  166 
Washington,  May  He  be  Damned, 

166 
Neat  Reply  to  Rutledge,  167 
Burr-Jefferson   Contest  in   House, 

167 


R.  Made  Chairman  of  House  Com- 
mittee of  Ways  &  Means,  169 

Speech  on  Apportionment,  170 

Speech  on  Federal  Judicial 
Establishment,  170 

Other  Activities,  174  / 

Plumer  on  R.,  175 

R.  Reelected,  177 

Again  Chairman  of  Ways  &  Means, 
177 

Also  Made  Chairman  of  Committee 
Charged  with  Maritime  Ques- 
tions, 177 

Speech  on  Samuel  Adams,  177 

R.'s  Relations  to  the  Louisiana  Pur- 
chase, 178 

Views  About  Compensation  of 
Federal  Officers,  179 

R.  favors  Amendment  Requiring 
Electors  to  Name  President  and 
Vice-President,  180 

Yazoo  Fraud,  180 

Samuel  Chase  Impeachment,  200 

Attacks  of  John  Quincy  Adams  on 
J.  R.,211 

J.  R.  Proposes  Amendment  Author- 
izing President  to  Remove  a 
Federal  Judge,  220 

Eulogizes  Jefferson's  First  Adminis- 
tration, 220 


Congressional  Career.  J.  R.'s 
Quarrel  with  the  Jefferson 
Administration 

Again    Chairman     of     Ways     & 

Means,  222 
Opposes    Giving    Medal    to    Wm. 

Eaton,  222 
Decius  Letters  and  Circumstances 

in  which  They  Originated,  223, 

246 
J.  R.'s  Speeches  on  Gregg's  Reso- 
lution, 233 
Barnabas  Bid  well,  247 
J.  R.'s  Views  on  Impressment,  250 
Efforts    of    Jefferson    to     detach 

J.  R.'s  Friend,  252 
J.     R.     Assails     Non-Importation 

Bill,  254 
His  Great  Influence  at  this  Time, 

255 

Bitterness  Aroused  by  him,  256 
He    Offers    Resolutions   Aimed    at 

Contractors,  257 
Again  Opposes  Yazoo  Claims,  258 
Gives  Fublicity  to  House  Proceed- 
ings     Touching      the      Spanish 
Message,  259 


Index 


797 


Attacks  Madison,  259 
Attacks  Robert  Smith,  261 
Proposes  Repeal  of  Salt  Tax,  261 
Collison  With  Thomas  Mann  Ran- 
dolph, Jr.,  262 
Reasons  for  J.  R.'s  Estrangement 

from  Jefferson,  265 
Strictures  on  Jefferson  by  J.   R., 

281 
He  Becomes  Known  in  England, 

284 
Giles  Opposes  Him,  286 
Again  Becomes  Chairman  of  Ways 

&  Means,  287 
Reaction  in  Favor  of  J.  R.,  287 
His    Indifference  to  Military  Pre- 
parations, 289 
Remains  Hostile  to  Jefferson,  290 
His  Attitude  Towards  Bill  Prohibit- 
ing Importation  of  Slaves,  293 
Burr  Trial,  295 
'  Re-elected   to    Congress   in    1807, 

/    306 
VSucceeded  by  Campbell  as  Chair- 
man of  Ways  &  Means,  306 
Joseph  B.  Varnum,  306 
Van  Zandt  Incident,  308 
Attacks  Standing  Army,  309 
Chesapeake  Incident,  309,  311 
J.  R.'s  Military  Views,  310 
Speech  in  Behalf  of  Revolutionary 

Veterans,  312 
Challenged  by  Gen.  Wilkinson,  313 
J.   R.  Opposes  General  Embargo, 

3J7 
J.    R.'s    Criticism    on    Jefferson's 

Second  Term,  323 
Edward    Hooper's    Comments    on 

J.  R-,  323 

J.  R.  Seeks  to  Make  James  Monroe 

President,  325,  330 
Relations   Between   Jefferson   and 

Madison  and  Monroe,  326 
Correspondence  between  J.  R.  and 

Monroe,  331 
Struggle    Between    Madison    and 

Monroe  for  Presidency,  342 
Estrangement  of  J.  R.  from  Monroe 

344 
Madison  Nominated  to  Presidency, 

350 
Monroe     Defeated    by     Madison, 

353 

J.  R.  Assails  Giles,  355 

Proposes  Military  and  Naval  Re- 
duction, 359 

Ridicules  Montgomery,  360 

J.  R.'s  Standing  in  nth  Congress, 
36i 


Feud  Between  Alston  and  J.  R., 

361 
J.  R.  Gives  Eppes  the  Lie,  365 
Elected  to  12th  Congress,  368  — 
Henry  Clay  and  Other  Remarkable 

Men  in  this  Congress,  369 
War  Republicans  Control  House, 

370 

J.  R.'s  Brilliant  Speech  on  Question 
of  Peace  or  War,  371 

Calhoun's  Reply,  379 

J.  R,  Qpppses  War  of  18 12  at  Every 
Step,  380 

Addresses  a  Letter  to  His  Constit- 
uents, 381 

Congressional  Career — Is  Defeated 
for  Re-election 

Defeated  by  Eppes,  386 
Occupations    After     His     Defeat, 

386 
Correspondence  Between  Randolph 

and  Key,  Quincy  and  Brocken- 

brough  during  War  of  181 2,  387 
J.  R.  Takes  Part  in  War,  413 
Sets   Out  for   Morrisania   to    See 

Tudor  Randolph,  414 
Returns  to  Roanoke,  416 
Sends    Bitter    Letter    to    Nancy 

Randolph,  415 
Addresses  a  Letter  on  War  to  James 

Lloyd,  416 

Congressional  Career — In  Congress 
Again 

Solicited  to  go  to  Congress,  417 
Addresses    Letter  to    One   of    his 

Adherents,  417 
Returns  to  Congress,  426 
And  with  Increased  Power,  426 
Finds    Republican    Party    Adrift, 

426 
Speaks  on  Various  Topics,  428 
Gives    Wm.    Pinkney    a    Thrust, 

428 
Is  Happily  Replied  to  by  Forsyth, 

429 
Ridicules  Clay,  429 
Collides  with  Philip  P.   Barbour, 

430 
Opposes  Bill  to  Incorporate  a  Na- 
tional Bank,  430 
Strictures  on  Madison,  433 
Attacks  Tariff,  434 
Attacks  Slave   Traffic  in   District 

of  Columbia,  437 
Supports  Compensation  Bill,  440 
Challenges  Webster,  442 


798 


Index 


Seized  With  Violent  Illness,  443 
Party  Conditions  in  18 19,  444 
The  Missouri  Question,  446 
Monroe  Makes  Overtures  to  J.  R., 
T  453 

J.  R.  Recovers  Popularity,  454 
Apportionment  Bill,  455 
Eulogy  of  Pinkney,  459 
First  Voyage  to  Europe,  462 
Letters   to    Elizabeth    T.    Coalter 

from  England,  463 
Wanderings  in  Great  Britain,  470 
Social  Success  in  England,  470 
Speech  on  Grecian  Independence, 

472 
Speech  on  Internal  Improvements, 

479 
J.  R.'s  Relations  to  Judge  Roane 

and  Daughter,  488 
Speeches  on   Tariff   Bill  of    18JI4, 

489  * 

Reply  to  Louis  McLane,  493 
On     Committee     to     Investigate 

Charges  Against  Crawford,  496 
Makes  Address  to  his  Constituents, 

496 
Second  Voyage  to  Europe,  496 
Travels  Abroad,  499  to  504 
Teller  in  Presidential  Election,  504 
Re-elected  to  House  in  1825,  504 
Elected  to  U.  S.  Senate,  505 
Attacks  on  John  Quincy  Adams  and 

John  Adams,  507 
Speech  on  the  Panama  Mission  and 

Attack  on  Henry  Clay,  509 
Is  Challenged  by  Clay  and  Fights 

Duel,  513 
Speech  on  Negro  Slavery  in  South 

America,  525 
Speech  on  Executive  Powers,  527 
Voyage  to  Europe  in  1826,  529 
Letters  from  Europe  in  1826,  530 
Defeated   for    Re-election    to    the 

Senate,  535 
His  Bearing  after  Defeat,  538 
Is  Re-elected  to  the  House,  541 
Becomes  Leader  of  the  Opposition 

to  John  Quincy  Adams,  542 
Speech  on  Retrenchment,  544 
Congressional  Career  Ends,  553 

Washington  and  the  Roads  Between 
It  and  Roanoke 

Washington  in  J.  R.'s  time,  554 
His    Social    Life    and    Habits    in 

Washington,  559 
His  Journeys  between  Bizarre  and 

Roanoke  and  Washington,  570 


His  Ridicule  of  his  Fellow  Congress- 
men, 588 

Randolph  as  a  Candidate 
His  Various  Candidacies,  589 

Virginia  Convention  of  1829-30. 

His  Election  to  the   Convention, 

601 
Character  of  the  Convention,  603 
Its  organization,  605 
Part   Taken  by   Randolph  in  its 

Proceedings,  605 
Membership    of    the    Convention, 

609 
J.  R.'s  first  Speech  in  the  Conven- 
tion, 614 
Attacks    on    Chapman    Johnson, 

615 
Alexander    Campbell's    Reply    to 

J.R.,619 
Some  of  Randolph's  Speeches  in  the 

Convention,  620 
J.  R.'s  Criticism  on  the  Attendance 

of  Women  in  the  Lower  House  of 

Congress,  628 
He  Makes  Speech  in  Convention 

Extolling  Philip  P.  Barbour  its 

Presiding  Officer,  630 
His  Great  Influence  in  the  Conven- 
tion, 632,  633 
Some  of  his  Lively  Observations  in 

the  Convention,  632 

Mission  to  Russia 

Becomes  Minister  to  Russia,  634 

Voyage  to  Russia,  636-638 

Banquet  at  Norfolk  before  Embark- 
ing, 636 

False  Reports  About  his  Conduct 
in  Russia,  638 

Presentation  at  St.  Petersburg, 
642 

Letters  from  Russia,  643 

Transactions  at  St.  Petersburg, 
646 

Goes  to  London,  646 

Wretched  Condition  of  Health  on 
his  Return  to  United  States, 
647 

Sums  Received  by  J.  R.  in  Connec- 
tion with  the  Russian  Mission, 
648 

Attacks  on  Him  in  Congress,  649 

Defence  of  J.  R.'s  Conduct  on  the 
Russian  Mission,  650 


Index 


799 


VOLUME  II 
Like  Sweet  Bells  Jangled 

Speeches  of  J.  R.  on  his  Return  from 

Russia,  i 
Attack  on  Thomas  T.  Bouldin  at 

Prince    Edward    Court    House, 

2 

And  on  the  Watkinses  and  Others, 

5 
Bitter  Criticism  by  J.  R.  of  Hotel 

at  Farmville,  6 
Becomes  Insane,  6-i6 
Later  Correspondence  between  J.R. 

and  Andrew  Jackson,  1 1 
Turns  Against  Jackson,  16 
Visits   Washington   in   Winter   of 

1832-33.  29 

The  End 

Goes  on  from  Cumberland  to  Phila- 
delphia, 30 

Last  Interview  with  Henry  Clay, 
36 

Reaches  Philadelphia,  36 

Last  Days,  37 

Services  in  his  Honor  in  Phila- 
delphia, 46 

Body  Brought  back  to  Richmond, 
46 

Burial  at  Roanoke,  47 

The  Randolph  Will  Litigation 

J.  R.'s  Wills  and  the  Contest  Over 
Them,  49 

Randolph  as  a  Parliamentary  Orator 

Testimony  by   Northern   Men  to 

J.  R.'s  Genius,  61 
Commanded  Undivided  Attention, 

64 
Tributes  to  J.  R.'s  Eloquence  and 

Wit,  62  et  seq. 
J.    R.'s    Physical    Characteristics 

and  Portraits,  66 
Ridicule  of  J.  R.  as  Speaker  by 

Niles,  82 
Webster  on  J.  R.'s  Extravagance  in 

Senate,  88 

Randolph's  District 

J.  R.  its  Magnus  Apollo,  98 
Explanation  of  his  Great  Influence, 
100 


The  Morbid  Curiosity  Excited  by 

Him,  103 
Character    of    His    District,    103 

et  seq. 
Its  Population,  in 
Its  Economic  Characteristics,  118 
Its  Social  Characteristics,  124 
Peculiarities  of  Speech  of  its  People, 

127. 
Petersburg,  130 
Slavery  in  J.  R.'s  District,  131 
Presbyterian   Element   in   J.    R.'s 

District,  137 
Manners  in  J.  R.'s  District,  146 
Material  Abundance  in  it,  149 
Social  Spirit  of  its  People,  149 
Their  Religious  Spirit,  150 
Their  Attractive  Social  Character- 
istics, 150 
Schools  in  J.  R.'s  District,  152 
Its  People  Affectionate,  Delightful 

and  Hospitable,  153 
Its   Homes   as   to   Furniture   and 

Gardens,  154 
Its  People  a  Manly  Race,  155 
And    Conspicuous    for    Law    and 

Order,  156 
And  for  Freedom  from  Vice  and 

Dissipation,  157 
But  District  Backward  in  a  Mate- 
rial Sense,  157 
Tobacco  Planting  Main  Industry, 

158 
Doctors  and  Ministers,  158 
Character  of  Towns  and  Industrial 

Activities,  159 
Agricultural  Pursuits,  162 
Advance  in  Prosperity  after  1812, 

165 

Lack  of  Prosperity  Between  1820 
and  1830,  166 

Political  Character  of  J.  R.'s  Dis- 
trict, 167 

Court  Day  in  It,  169 

Conservatism  of  J.  R.'s  District  as 
to  Clerkships,  173 

Randolph  on  the  Hustings 

Recollections  of  Him  by  Some  of 
His  Contemporaries,  174 


General  Observations  on  Randolph  as 
an  Orator 

His  Peculiar  Physical  Apparatus  as 

an  Orator,  200 
His  Sarcasm,  198 


8oo 


Index 


His     Witticisms     and     Epigrams, 

200 
His  Brilliancy  of  Intellect,  200 
His  Culture.  207 
His  Readiness  of  Speech,  208 
His  Happy  Imagery,  209 
His  Happy  Phrases,  211 
His  Supposed  Lack  of  Logic,  213 
His  Decline  as  a  Speaker,  215 

Randolph  as  a  Statesman 

Nothing  National  About  Him,  218, 
222 

Attitude  Towards  Virginia,  219 

His  Relations  to  the  National  De- 
fence, 223 

His  Social  and  Sectional  Prejudices, 
226 

Basis  of  His  Claims  to  Statesman- 
ship, 227 

His  Statement  of  Jeffersonian  Prin- 
ciples, 232 

His  Political  Constancy,  Integrity 
and  Purity,  233 

His  Influence  in  Congress  After 
His  Loss  of  Leadership,  236 

Jealousy  of  Power  Key  to  His 
Political  Career,  239 

Reflections  on  his  Hostility  to  War 
of  1812,  242 

His  Views  About  Slavery,  244 

Randolph  as  a  Man 

His  Personal  Traits,  252 

His  Temper,  253,  262 

His  Quarrel  with  the  Carringtons, 

258 
His  Quarrel  with  St.  George  Tucker, 

267 
His   Savage   Correspondence   with 

Nancy  Randolph,  272 
Subsequent    Correspondence    with 

Giles,  297 
Correspondence  between  J.  R.  and 

Judith  Randolph  about  Nancy, 

296 
Correspondence     between     Nancy 

Randolph  and  Joseph  C.  Cabell, 

297 
J.  R.'s  Wretched  Health,  302 
His  Insomnia,  313 
His  Lack  of  Virility,  318 
Maria  Ward,  325 
J.  R.'s  Fits  of  Insanity,  331 
His  Spells  of  Despondency,  342 
Roanoke,  342,  419,  669 
J.  R.'s  Intemperance,  368 


Summary    of    J.    R.'s    Infirmities, 

379 
His  Courage,  380 
His  Views  About  Duelling,  381' 
His  Veracity  and  Frankness,  383- 
His  Uprightness,  384 
His  Prudential  Characteristics,  385 
His  Respect  for  Moral  Worth,  38$ 
His  Regard  for  Women,  389 
His  Views  About  Marriage,  396 
His  Relations  to  Particular  Women, 

400 
Not  an  Unsocial  Man,  404 
Was    an    Intensely    Social    Being, 

405 
His  Social  Gifts,  405 
His  Remarkable  Memory,  410 
Love  of  England,  412 
Aptitude  for  Quotation,  413 
Fond  of  Singing,  Whist  and  Chess, 

414 
His  Physical  Indulgences,  415 
Addiction  to  Racing  and  Shooting, 

415 

Bizarre,  415 

J.  R.'s  Social  Connections  in  South 
Side  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
419,  429 

His  Richmond  Friends,  424 

His  Maryland  Friends,  425 

His  Philadelphia  Friends,  426 

His  Feelings  About  "Yankees,"  426 

His  Social  Life  in  Washington, 
429 

Wrote  Many  Letters,  434 

Brilliant  Letter  Writer,  434 

Literary  Tastes,  435 

J.  R.  as  a  Traveller,  436 

J.  R.  and  Richard  Rush  on  Julius, 
448 

The  Woman  Tempted  Me  and  I 
Did  Eat,  451 

J.  R.'s  Heart  Was  Generous,  Com- 
passionate and  Tender,  451 

His  Relations  to  Children  and  Boys, 
456 

John  Randolph  Clay,  John  Ran- 
dolph Bryan,  Thos.  F.  Bryan  and 
Carter  Coupland,  458 

J.  R.'s  Relations  to  Theodore 
Dudley,  471 

To  Tudor  Randolph,  487 

To  St.  George  Randolph,  493 

J.  R.'s  Sympathy  with  Young  Men 
and  Women,  501 

J.  R.'s  Love  for  His  Brother  Rich- 
ard, 506 

And  for  Judith  Randolph,  499, 
506 


Index 


801 


Death  of  Judith,  508 

Last  Words  of  Tudor  and  Judith 

Randolph,  509 
Relations  of  J.    R.    to   his  Sister 

Fanny,  509 
To  His  Brother  Henry,  512 
To  His  Brother  Beverley,  519 
To  His  Niece  Elizabeth  T.  Coalter, 

524 
Feelings  of   the  Tuckers  about  J. 

R.'s  Will,  538 
John  Randolph's  Relations  to  His 

Friends,  542 
Henry  Rutledge,  544 
John  Thompson,  546 
William  Thompson,  547 
Joseph  Bryan,  564 
Joseph  H.  Nicholson,  579 
Joseph  Clay,  591 
James  M.  Garnett,  592 
Nathaniel  Macon,  592 
Richard  Stanford,  596 
Dr.  George  Logan,  597 
David  Parish,  598 
John  Langdon,  600 
Josiah  Quincy,  601 
Timothy  Pickering,  610 
Harmanus  Bleecker,  612 
Rufus  King,  612 
Caesar  A.  Rodney,  617 
Daniel  Murray,  617 
Charles  Sterett  Ridgeley,  617 
Francis  Scott  Key,  619 
Edward  Lloyd,  620 
Mr.  Sargeant,  621 
John  Taylor  of  Caroline,  621 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  623 
James  Hamilton,  623 
Mark  Alexander,  623 
Stephen  H.  Decatur,  624 
John  Wickham,  625 
Francis  W.  Gilmer,  626 
Nathan  Loughborough,  631 
Wm.  R.  Johnson,  633 
Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh,  635 
Edmund  Irby,  635 
Wm.  J.  Barksdale,  636 
John   Marshall  of   Charlotte   Co., 

Va.,  637 
Thomas  A.  Morton,  637 
Edward  Booker,  638 
Mrs.  Tabb,  636,  638 
Dr.  Thomas  Robinson,  638 
Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  639 
Dr.  and  Mr's.  Brockenbrough,  641 
Wm.  Leigh,  648 
J.  R.'s  Namesakes,  650 
J.  R.'s  Religious  Character,  650 
J.  R.'s  Horses,  672 


J.  R.'s  Dogs,  678 

J.  R.'s  Rural  Tastes,  685 

J.  R.'s  Love  of  Shooting  and  Hunt- 
ing, 687 

His  Relations  to  his  Slaves,  689 

To  His  Overseers,  702 

Letter  from  J.  R.  to  Dr.  Dudley 
about  Certain  Things  at  Roanoke, 
707 

Conclusion 

General  Observation  Upon  Ran- 
dolph, 708 

Appendix 

Letter  from  J.  R.  to  James  Lloyd, 
713 

Randolph,  Judith,  V.  I,  73,  106, 
107  et  seq.f  114,  129,  132,    133, 

134,  361,  V.  II,  269, 273,  276,  280, 
281,  285,  286,  295,  296,  300,  301, 
328,  394,  417,  491,  493,  495,  497, 
499,  500,  506,  511,  548,  549,  551, 
552,  555.  556,  557,  558,  563, 
654 

Randolph,  Kidder,  V.  I,  364,  V.  II, 

317 
Randolph,  Lucy,  V.  II,  288,  299 
Randolph,  Martha  Jefferson,  V.  I, 

119,  V.  II,  299 
Randolph,  Mary,  V.  I,  12 
Randolph,  Mary  Isham,  V.  I,  10 
Randolph,  Nancy,  V.  I,  106,  129, 

132,  134,  415,  V.  II,  273,  296, 

297,  325,  548 

Randolph,  Peter,  V.  II,  174 

Randolph,  Peyton,  V.  I,  13,  534, 
572,  V.  II,  429 

Randolph,  Mrs.  Peyton,  V.  I,  121 

Randolph,  Peyton,  son  of  Edmund, 
V.  II,  324,  326 

Randolph,  Richard,  of  Curies,  V.  I, 
12,  16,  17,  Id.  Note  A,  18,  Id. 
Note  A 

Randolph,  Richard,  son  of  Richard 
Randolph  of  Curies,  V.  I,  16 

Randolph,  Richard,  brother  of  John 
Randolph  of  Roanoke,  V.  I,  20, 
33,  35,  43,  46,  48,  49,  55,  58,  64, 
73,  74,  75,  81,  82,  83,  101,  102, 
103,  104,  106,  107  t,t  seq.  including 
Note  A,  no,  116,  127,  128,  129, 

135,  145,  V.  II,  129,  269,  271, 
275,  279,  282,  283,  284,  296 

Randolph,  Dr.  Robert  C,  V.  I, 
10 


802 


Index 


Randolph,  Ryland,  son  of  Ricjiard 
Randolph  of  Curies,  V.  I,  16,  18, 
20,  105,  133,  141,  V.  II,  288,  289, 

■    504,  556,  557,  597 

Randolph,  Sarah  Nicholas,  V.  I, 
13 

Randolph,  St.  George,  V.  I,  74,  128, 
330,  331,  337,  338,  V.  II,  54,  55, 
56,  57,  287,  294,  429,  489,  493, 
517,  650,  658 

Randolph,  Theodorick,  V.  I,  20,  33, 
37,  43,  46,  49,  50,  55,  58,  72,  74, 
78,80,81,82,  100,  in,  361,  V.  II, 

275,  282,  283,  506 
Randolph,  Thomas,  V.  I,  81,  91 
Randolph,  Thomas,  the  Poet,  V.  I, 

9,  10 
Randolph,  Thomas,  of  Tuckahoe,  V. 

I,  12,  106 
Randolph,  Thomas  Jefferson,  V.  I, 

13 
Randolph,  Gov.  Thomas  Mann,  Jr., 

V.  I,  13,  119,  177,  262,  270 
Randolph,  Thos.  Mann,  Sr.,  V.  I, 

13,  V.  II,  115,646 
Randolph,  Tudor,  V.  I,  31,  36,  300, 

343,  415,   V.  II.,  146,  273,  274, 

276,  277,  278,  279,  280,  281,  287, 
288,  290,  291,  292,  293,  294,  300, 
429,  455,  456,  487,  509,  517,  600, 
603,610,639 

Randolph,  Wm.,  of  Turkey  Island, 
V.  I,  9;  his  descendants,  V.  I,  12, 
et  seq. 

Randolph,  Wm.,  Jr.,  of  Turkey  Is- 
land, V.  1,  12,  15,  Id.  Note  A. 

Randolph,  Wm.,  V.  I,  116 

Rea,  John,  V.  II,  202 

Read,  Dr.  Isaac,  V.  II,  260 

Red  Hill,  V.  I,  143,  V.  II,  104 

Reynolds,  Mr.,  V.  I,  428 

Rice,  Benjamin  H.,  V.  II,  150 

Rice,  Dr.  Izard,  V.  II,  11 1,  302, 
372 

Rice,  Rev.  John  Holt,  V.  I,  145, 
151,  V.  IIj  104,  117  Note  A,  133, 
137,  156,488,491,  508,654 

Richmond,  Va.,  300  Note  A 

Ridgley,  Sterett,  V.  I,  368,  387, 
396,  401,  406,  414,  V.  II,  67,  425, 
617,  650 

Ritchie,  Thomas,  V.  I,  200,  353, 
354,  459,  53i,  535,  538,  592,  V. 
II,  15,  19  Note  A,  20,  31  Note  A, 
86,  263,  450  Note  A 

Roane,  Miss,  V.  I,  488 

Roane,  Judge  Spencer,  V.  I,  167 
Note  A,  451,  488 

Roane,  Wm.  H.,  V.  II,  317 


Roanoke,  V.  I,  18,  45,  128,  142  in- 
cluding Note  A,  444,  467,  570, 
588,  V.  II,  116,  342,  350,  351,  352, 
357  Note  B,  412,  415,  419,  429, 
475,  669,  670 

Robinson,  Capt.  Harrison,  V.  II, 
55 

Robinson,  Rev.  J.,  V.  II,  178 

Robinson,  Needier,  V.  I,  32 

Robinson,  Dr.  Thos.,  V.  II,  1 13, 333, 
~  338,  405,  638 

Robinson,  Winslow,  V.  II,  22 

Rochambeau,  Count,  V.  I,  45 

Rodgers,  Jane,  V.  I,  12 

Rolfe,  Jane,  V.  I,  16 

Rolfe,  John,  V.  I,  t6 

Rolfe,  Thomas,  V.  I,  16 

Rose,  Robert,  V.  I,  100 

Rush,  Richard,  V.  II,  80,  200,  321, 
448 

Russell,  Lord  John,  V.  I,  26 

Rutledge,  Henry,  V.  I,  76,  93,  127, 
135,  137,  138,  V.  II,  303,  323, 
543,  544 

Saints'  Rest,  V.  I,  62 
Sawyer,  Lemuel,  V.  II,  73,  74,  75, 
76,  228,  229,  230,  252,  253,  265 

Note  A,  406,  506,  542 
Seargent,  Captain,  V.  I,  81 
Sedgwick,  Theo.,  V.  I,  155 
Sergeant,  Mr.,  V.  II,  621 
Sergeant,  John,  V.  II,  46,  253 
Seaton,  Wm.  Winton,  V.  I,  628 
Seaton,  Mrs.,  V.  II,  374 
Schouler,  Jas.,  V.  II,  384  Note  A 
Scott,  John,  V.  I,  611,  612 
Scott,  Winfield,  V.  II,  332  Note  A 
Sheffey,  Daniel,  V.  II,  319 
Shephard,  Abe,  V.  I,  296 
Sherman,  Roger,  V.  II,  612  Note 

A 
Skipwith,  Geo.,  V.  I,  570 
Skipwith,  Mr.,  V.  I,  335 
Skipwith,  Sir  Grey,  V.  II,  154,  530, 

650 
Skipwith,  Sir  Peyton,  Baronet,  V.  I, 

68,  V.  II,  122,  154 
Slaughter,  Rev.  Philip,  V.  I,  10 
Sloan,  Jas.,  V.  I,  240,  246,  255,  256, 

257  Note  A,  291,  308,  588 
Smilie,  John,    V.  I,  155,  245,  247, 

255,  256,  289,  291,  306,  360,  V. 

11,587 
Smith,  Israel,  V.  I,  303 
Smith,  John,  V.  I,  257,  303 
Smith,    Captain  John,    V.    I,    16, 

66 
Smith,  J.  Augustin,  V.  II,  302 


Index 


803 


Smith,  John  Blair,  V.  II,  137 
Smith,  John  Cotton,  V.  I,  225 
Smith,  Robert,  V.  I,  260,  261,  V. 

II,  581 
Smith,  Samuel,  V.  I,  155,  175,  260, 

350,  560,  V.  II,  542,  581  Note  A 
Smith,    Samuel   Stanhope,    V.    II, 

137 
Smith,  Wm,  V.  II,  27 
Smyth,  Gen.,  V.  I,  458,  536 
Snyder,  V.  I,  409 
Southey,  Robert,  V.  II,  441 
Spalding,  Thos.,  V.   II,  572,  575, 

650 
Sparks,  Jared,  V.  II,  61,  300,  491 
Sparks,  W.  H.,  V.  I,  568,  V.  II,  79, 

201 
Speece,   Dr.    Conrad,   V.    II,    137, 

206,  655 
Spencer,  Col.  Gideon,  V.  I,  597 
Stanard,  Robert,  V.  I,  611,  612,  V. 

11,94 
Stanberry,  Wm.,  V.  I,  649 
Stanford,  Richard,  V.  I,  155,  454, 

560,  V.  II,  425,  596 
Stephen,  Jas.,  V.  I,  284,  285 
Stevenson,  Adlai  E.,  V.  II,  201 
Stith,  Anne,  V.  I,  22 
Stith,  Wm.,  V.  I,  12,  14 
Stoddart,  V.  I,  161 
Strong,  Gov.  Caleb,  V.  I,  410 
Stuart,  Gilbert,  V.  II,  66,  95 
Suffield,  Lord,  V.  I,  531 
Summers,  Lewis,  V.  I,  611 
Sumter,  Thos.,  V.  I,  155,  166,  560 
Swartwout,  Sam'l,  V.  I,  305 
Syphax,  V.  I,  17,  43,  73,  V.  II,  323, 

698 
Tabb,  Mrs.,  V.  II,  125,  404,  423, 

458,  497,  636,  638 
Tallmadge,  Benj.,  V.  I,  250,  255 
Tallmadge,  James,  V.  I,  447 
Tatnall,   Col.,   V.    I,    515,   V.    II, 

624 
Taylor,  Creed,  V.  I,  105,  120,  121, 

133,  140,  141  including  Note  A, 

142,   148,   153,  286,  507,  V.  II, 

637 
Taylor,  Mrs.  Creed,  V.  I,  120,  121, 

123,  V.  II,  548 
Taylor,  John,  of  Caroline,  V.  I,  98, 

216,  293,  332,  340,  345,  346,  347, 

349,  56o,  570,  V.  II,  5,  235,  454, 

607,  621,  623  Note  A 
Taylor,  Robert  Barraud,  V.  I,  124 

including  Note  A,  296,  611  Note 

A,  612,  V.  II,  93 
Tazewell,   Littleton  Waller,  V.   I, 

54,  57,  59,  60,  94,  124  including 


Note  A,  293,  296,  297,  305,  332, 
349,  461,  560,  587,  599,  605,  610, 
612,  613,  V.  II,  66,  117,  316,  332, 
425,  431,  639,  640  Note  A 

Thomas,  David,  V.  I,  255  including 
Note  A,  293 

Thomas,  Dr.,  V.  I,  560 

Thompson,  John,  V.  I,  105,  127, 
130  including  Note  A,  V.  II,  546, 

549 
Thompson,  Lucas  P.,  V.  I,  612 
Thompson,  Wm.,  V.  II,  507,  546 
Ticknor,  George,  V.  I,  574,  V.  II, 

599 

Tompkins  and  Murray,  V.  I,  444, 

V.  II,  358,  663 
Truxton,  Capt.  Thos.,  V.  I,  166 
Tuboeuf,  V.  I,  467 
Tucker,  Aunt,  V.  I,  70 
Tucker,  Beverley,  V.  I,  15,  45  Note 

A,    153   Note  A,   354   Note  A, 

396 
Tucker,    Charlotte    Maria,    V.  I, 

65 

Tucker,  David  Hunter,  V.  I,  15 

Tucker,  Fanny,  sister  of  John  Ran- 
dolph of  Roanoke,  V.  I,  33,  43, 
47,  48,  70,  132,  V.  II,  305,  392, 
509,  522,  529,  542,  543 

Tucker,  George,  V.  I,  228 

Tucker,  Henry,  of  Bermuda,  V.  I, 

65 

Tucker,  Henry  St.  George,  of  Ber- 
muda, V.  I,  65 

Tucker,  Henry  St.  George,  V.  I,  14, 
33,  34,  43,  47,  102,  132,  133,  135, 
396,  439,  440,  455,  505,  V.  II,  52, 
53,  54,  55,  56,  268,  269,  283,  332, 
361,  429,  434,  445,  498,  511,  512, 
514  Note  A,  538,  650 

Tucker,  Henry  St.  George,  son  of 
John  Randolph  Tucker,  V.  I,  15 

Tucker,  John  Randolph,  V.  I.,  15, 
43,  66,  440,  V.  II,  54 

Tucker,  Nathaniel,  V.  I,  65 

Tucker,  Nathaniel  Beverley,  V.  I, 
H,  33,  133,  V.  II,  29,  56,  196, 
269  Note  A,  469,  511,  519,  538, 
539,  540,  677 

Tucker,  old  Mrs.,  V.  I,  64,  65 

Tucker,  Polly,  V.  II,  511,519,520 
Note  A,  522 

Tucker,  St.  George,  Author  of 
Hansford,  V.  I,  15 

Tucker,  St.  George,  Step-Father  of 
John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  V.  I, 
29,  34,  36,  42,  44,  45,  46,  49,  50, 
5i,  55,  65,  66,  67,  69,  74,  79,  80, 
81,  82,  89,  97,  99,  102,  103,  105, 


804 


Index 


Tucker,  St.  George — Continued 
115,  116,  120,  128,  130,  132,  133, 
138,  153,  168,  267,  272,  V.  II, 
122,  267,  269,  277,  298,  304,  513, 

m  523,  538,  539,  542,  641 

Tucker,  Thos.  Tudor,  V.  I,  65,  81, 

_ 99,  56o 

Tucker,  Tudor,  V.  II,  54 

Tyler,  Comfort,  V.  I,  303 

Tyler  John,  V.  I,  535,  540,  605,  635, 
V.  II,  317 

Upshur,  Abel  P.,  V.  I,  608,  610,  612, 
632 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  V.  I,  87,  510, 

635  Note  A,  646  Note  A,  654,  655 

Note  A,  V.  II,  13,  14  Note  A,  28 

Note  A,  203  Note  A 
Vance,  Jos.,  V.  I,  543 
Van    Zandt,    Nicholas    B.,    V.    I, 

308 
Varnum,  Joseph  B.,  V.  I,  155,255, 

306,  V.  II,  229  Note  A 
Vaughan,  Clement,  V.  II,  139 
Venable,  Abraham  B.,  V.  I,   142, 

V.  II,  397 
Venable,  Richard  J.,  V.  II,  26 
Venable,  Richard  N.,  V.  II,  Note 

A 
Venable,  Samuel,  V.  II,  26 
Venable,   Col.    Samuel,   Abrahajn, 

Richard  and  Nathaniel,  V.   II, 

142,  154 
Venables,   the,  of   Prince  Edward 

Co.,  V.  II,  123 
Von  Hoist,  V.  II,  200 

Ward,  Benjamin,  V.  I,  44 

Ward,  Maria,  V.  I,  44,  V.  II,  324, 

325,  563,  588 
Warminster,  V.  I,  68 
Washington,  George,  V.  I,  45,  74, 

94,  139,  143,  166,  359,  425,  478, 

498,  547,  549 
Watkins,  Henry  A.,  V.  II,  5,  9,  26, 

27,  45,  170 
Watkins,  Joel,  V.  I,  143  Note  A,  V. 

11,388 


Watkins,  Wm.  M.,  V.  II,  5  Note  B, 
26,  27,  253  Note  A,  260  Note 
A,  331  Note  A,  398,  456 

Webster,  Daniel,  V.  I,  211,  315, 
369,  435,  442,  472,  476,  487,  504, 
527,  V.  II,  31  Note  A,  64,  88, 
217 

Webster,  Mrs.  Daniel,  V.  I,  443 

Webster,  Ezekiel,  V.  I,  211 


Webster,  Fletcher,  V.  I,  443 
rebster,  I" 
Note  A 


Webster,  Noah,  Jr. 


'•  1,  443 
V.  II,  172, 


226 


West,  Captain,  V.  II,  37,  166,  358 
West,  Dr.  Francis,  V.  II,  37,  43 
Westover,  V.  I,  21 
Whittier,    John,    V.    II,    63,    244, 

711 
Wickham,  John,  V.  I,  131,  469,  611, 

612,  613,  V.  II,  5,  54,  214,  424, 

466,  594,  625 
Wilde,  Richard  H.,  V.  1,  496 
Wilkinson,  Gen.  Jas.,  V.  I,  257,  300, 

301,  302,  313,  317  Note  A,  350, 

359,  365,  372,  408 
Williamsburg,  V.  I,  57,  58,  72,  76, 

88 
Williams,  David  R.,  V.  I,  225,  350, 

37i,  397,  V.  II,  590 
Williams,    Mr.,    V.    I,    531,    532, 

533 
Wilson,  Daniel  A.,  V.  I,  536 
Wilson,  Mrs.,  V.  I,  641 
Wintopoke,  V.  I,  44 
Wirt,  William,  V.  I,  86,  304,  325 

Note  A,  354,  454  Note  A,  V.  II, 

137,  138,  625 
Wise,  Henry  A.,  V.  I,  32,  610 
Witherspoon,  Dr.,  V.  I,  72,  73,  78, 

85 
Wolcott,    Oliver,   V.    I,    161,    556, 

557 
Wood,  J.,  V.  II,  67,  70,  611 
Woodbury,  Levi,  V.  I,  87 
Wright,  V.  I,  544 
Wright,  Robert,  V.  II,  202 
Wye,  V.  II,  426 
Wyllie,  Hugh,  V.  I,  594 
Wythe,  George,  Chancellor,  V.  1, 67, 

72,  105 


A  Selection  from  the 
Catalogue  of 

C-  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


Complete   Catalogues  96 fit 
on  application 


\ 


Benjamin   Franklin 

Self-Revealed 

A  Biographical  and  Critical  Study  Based 
Mainly  on  His  Own  Writings 

By 

William  Cabell  Bruce 

Two  Volumes 

Characterized  by  research  and  accuracy,  critical 
insight  and  literary  finish,  this  work  should  popularize 
a  large  amount  of  biographical  material  that  now 
exists  in  forms  wholly  inaccessible  to  the  general 
reader,  and  should  supersede,  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  all  existing  books  with  regard  to  Franklin. 
Throughout  the  narra  Hve  run  citations  from  Franklin's 
own  writings,  thus  making  Franklin  himself  reveal 
his  own  many-sided  personality  in  such  a  manner  as 
no  independent  biographer  could  hope  to  do. 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York  London 


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